AI spending drives revenue gains for CPG & retail marketers

A recent survey of senior marketers in retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) across Europe indicates that investment in artificial intelligence (AI) is widely perceived to be boosting revenue, with a majority of respondents recognising measurable business benefits.

The study conducted by Censuswide for Epsilon involved 300 senior marketers in the UK, France, and Germany. It found that 61% reported direct revenue growth following the adoption of AI technologies within their organisations.

Varying levels of maturity

The research sheds light on the stages of AI adoption across the region. Only 16% of marketers described their organisations as 'Leading' in AI use, defined as developing in-house models, building proprietary tools, or employing agentic AI for comprehensive campaign management. Among the surveyed countries, France had the highest proportion of 'Leading' marketers at 19%, compared to Germany at 17% and the UK at 13%.

The most common stage among organisations is 'Scaling', with 36% of respondents stating their companies are integrating AI across multiple channels for media buying and personalised content. At the opposite end, 21% remain in the 'Exploring' phase, trialling tools such as ChatGPT and AI-powered assistants for basic applications. Notably, the UK showed a higher tendency towards experimentation, with 27% in the exploring category, versus 22% in France and 15% in Germany.

The study highlights that those still exploring AI have lower expectations regarding its benefits. Just half of these respondents expect revenue growth from adopting AI - ten percentage points lower than more advanced peers. Their optimism about reducing media ad waste is also slightly lower, at 31% compared to 34% among more established users.

AI impact and performance gaps

Esme Robinson, Director, Platform Solutions at Epsilon, offered insights on how expectations shift as AI tools are deployed throughout organisations.

"What stands out is how expectations evolve once AI tools are actually deployed. They deliver on topline metrics like revenue and acquisition, but gaps emerge when it comes to deeper performance indicators like conversion or ROAS. That's where identity becomes essential. Without a connected view of the customer across channels, AI doesn't know what it's optimising for - you lose precision, and with it, efficiency. The marketers seeing the strongest returns are the ones anchoring AI in rich, first-party data and a clear customer identity."

While AI is viewed favourably for its contributions to high-level metrics such as revenue and customer acquisition, the research indicates that improvements in specific performance indicators - like conversion rates and return on ad spend (ROAS) - are less pronounced. This could mean missed opportunities to enhance efficiency and effectiveness further.

Data privacy and other barriers

Concerns over data privacy represent the primary barrier to broader AI adoption, highlighted by 37% of respondents. Other significant challenges include high implementation costs and the difficulty of integrating AI tools (33%), as well as limited internal expertise and skills (30%). Lesser barriers identified were lack of stakeholder buy-in (20%), lack of measurable return on investment (20%), and resistance to change (19%).

Autonomy and regulation

The willingness to permit AI to act autonomously varies by organisation. Only 6% of senior marketers said it is unlikely their organisations would let AI make autonomous decisions. Among those at the 'Leading' stage of adoption, 47% already allow AI to act autonomously to some extent, while only 18% require full human oversight. Epsilon suggests this shift reflects a recognition that effective scaling of AI necessitates some degree of autonomy in decision-making.

The survey also shows a high level of awareness about forthcoming regulations such as the EU AI Act. With the main obligations due to come into effect in mid-2026, 50% of respondents said their organisations are formulating a response, with 28% reporting an established compliance strategy and dedicated resources. However, around 21% acknowledged they currently have no concrete plans in place to address regulatory changes.

The methodology involved surveying 300 senior marketers across the UK, France, and Germany, focusing on the CPG and retail sectors, all of whom are engaged in some stage of AI adoption ranging from exploration to leading implementation.