re is one truth that is becoming more clear with every passing quarter: AI alone will not save your brand. McKinsey & Co’s recent The State of AI: Global Survey found that while 71 per cent of organisations now use generative AI in at least one business function, more than 80 per cent have seen no material impact at the enterprise level. So to put this simply, adoption is widespread, but transformation just isn’t. What this confirms for me is the brands that are seeing runs on the board and gathering wins in this new era will not be those who adopt technology fastest. They’ll be the ones who anchor it in clarity, emotional connection, and creative intelligence. Here’s what the research tells us, and how it maps to the reality we’re seeing every day inside retail. 1. Clarity is the new competitive advantage McKinsey’s data highlights a key organisational finding. Among 25 attributes tested, the redesign of workflows had the greatest impact on EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) when deploying generative AI. But here’s the catch, only 21 per cent of companies using gen AI report that they’ve fundamentally redesigned even some of their workflows. Most are layering AI on top of outdated structures, fragmented processes, and unclear leadership accountability. That’s, unfortunately, not transformation. It’s just noise. Clarity means more than knowing what tool to use. It means knowing what you stand for and how your systems serve that truth, and most importantly, in my opinion, where your human and machine contributions should begin and end. I’ve worked with brands across retail, fashion and wholesale that were fundamentally ‘AI-active’ but impact-poor. What changed their trajectory wasn’t the software, it was the structure, alignment to their narrative and story, and clarity of intent built around it. 2. Connection is the metric that truly matters The same McKinsey report found that astonishingly only 27 per cent of organisations using gen AI review all AI-generated content before it’s published or used. What this means is most brands are deploying automated communications, emails, ad copy, chatbot replies, website text, even customer-facing images, without having a clear oversight system. In retail, this is so dangerous. Unlike B2B or SaaS environments, as much as you may be sick of hearing me say it, retail is emotionally charged. And AI, when deployed without review, risks eroding trust, damaging tone, and producing content that is off-brand, culturally insensitive, or really emotionally vacant. We have to be clear in understanding, knowing and believing that brand connection is not a soft asset, it’s a core economic driver. And as automation accelerates, safeguarding emotional intelligence becomes even more critical, not less. If you are going to win in retail, you must establish brand-safe content frameworks, train AI on emotional nuance, and build systems where human review isn’t an afterthought, but a strategic lever. 3. Creative intelligence is the last real differentiator With platforms like Meta and OpenAI streamlining creative production, content is now produced at an industrial scale. Good isn’t good enough anymore, distinctiveness becomes the new premium. McKinsey’s research confirms that one of the most powerful drivers of GenAI success is the tracking of well-defined KPIs. But most retailers are still tracking quantity over quality, click-throughs, impressions, and time saved. What we seem to continually miss here is emotional impact, brand resonance, and cultural meaning. If there’s one thing I am always challenging my clients on is measuring what matters. Does your AI-generated content feel like your brand? Are you building memory, not just engagement? Are you creating trust, or merely traffic? Creative intelligence means integrating human instincts, cultural knowledge, and emotional clarity into every AI-powered output. It’s not about efficiency. It’s about energy – the energy and vitality your brand emits and the loyalty it earns in return. Strictly: A case study in creative clarity One of the most powerful examples of this thinking in action is a partnership I have with Strictly, a rising Australian streetwear brand inspired by Japanese tattoo artistry and the philosophy of the Samurai. When we began working with Strictly in early 2024, they were already a creatively potent but structurally chaotic start-up. Their founder had built a cult following, their aesthetic was sharp, and their mission was heartfelt and meaningful. But their internal systems, brand storytelling, and customer experience weren’t aligned for scale. Rather than pushing them into automation for automation’s sake, we built a system rooted in narrative, emotion and repeatable excellence: We established an emotionally grounded content framework for each release, turning every product into a chapter of a larger mythology. We rebuilt their internal creative workflows to leverage AI for speed without compromising soul, ensuring brand tone, cultural respect, and storytelling came first. We restructured their Klaviyo ecosystem to deliver emails and automations that reflected psychographic motivation, not just discount codes. The results you might ask? Triple-digit year-on-year growth A returning customer rate more than 60 per cent A sold-out series of product drops built around the “Five Elements” collaboration with Tu Lam (Ronin from “Call of Duty”) Most importantly, Strictly now operates from a place and only from a place of clarity. They know who they are deeply. They know what they mean to their audience. And they know how to scale without losing that emotional gravity, connection, experience and feeling. This is what clarity, connection, and creative intelligence make possible. So where does retail go next? McKinsey’s report ends on a bit of a forward-looking note: Only 1 per cent of companies describe their GenAI adoption as “mature”. Even fewer have implemented all 12 best-practice enablers. The implication? We are still in the early innings but it’s all changing very fast. We are definitely at a critical juncture. AI will continue to accelerate. We all know that. Agentic AI, autonomous systems that can operate independently, are no longer just on the horizon. But the brands that are going to succeed in 2025 and beyond are not those with the most tools. They are those with the most truth. I believe if you are going to be a retailer that owns the next era of retailing it will all come from following the below principles. Clarity of purpose across team, product and platform Emotional connection at every touchpoint, human and automated Creative intelligence that uses AI as a canvas, not a crutch Because in the end, it’s not about how much you can automate. It’s about how much you still matter when you do. The final word Remember, AI can scale your execution. It can optimise your processes and it can even suggest your next best move. But it cannot feel. It cannot lead. And it cannot replace the uniquely human power of identity, emotion and intention. “AI won’t save your brand. But clarity, connection, and creative intelligence will.”