Rory O’Connor, founder and CEO, Scurri urges retailers to stop viewing AI as a back-office efficiency tool and start treating it as marketing infrastructure. With customer loyalty now won or lost in the post-purchase journey, Rory argues that AI-powered delivery, tracking and returns must be harnessed as branded experiences that build trust, drive repeat purchase and create lasting equity.
The AI-enabled shopper is already here. Our 2025 consumer research shows that 38% of UK shoppers already use AI-based tools when shopping online, with adoption soaring to 70% among 25-34-year-olds. Millennials overall sit at 59%, while over-65s lag behind at just 16%. In other words, AI is already embedded in younger consumers’ purchase habits, and their expectations are rapidly reshaping retail.
This generational split matters. Younger shoppers expect proactive AI updates and personalised recommendations as standard. Older cohorts, meanwhile, need more reassurance and transparency before they engage. For marketing managers, that means segmenting post-purchase communications: delight the digital-first with frictionless automation, but build trust patiently with older demographics.
AI adoption to date has been strongest in areas that reduce friction. Our research found that 36% of shoppers use customer service chatbots, while 35% rely on price comparison tools, and 33% engage with AI-driven product recommendations.
These are all features that streamline the path to purchase. The same principle must now be applied to delivery and returns, which remain two of the most emotional and anxiety-prone stages of the journey.
For example, 60% of consumers want AI-powered real-time tracking, while 57% expect AI to optimise order allocation and 51% value proactive delay updates. Yet only 34% say they would pay extra for AI-enabled fast delivery.
Social commerce raises the stakes higher. The rise of TikTok Shop, Instagram Shopping and Pinterest AI has accelerated demand for seamless fulfilment. These platforms use AI to deliver hyper-personalised recommendations and instant service, making shopping feel as easy as scrolling.
Our research shows 72% of shoppers believe AI will help retailers meet social commerce demands, but only 57% are currently comfortable with AI managing delivery for social platform orders. That trust gap widens with age: confidence peaks at 85% among Gen Z but drops to just 58% for Baby Boomers.
This creates both a challenge and an opportunity. For younger cohorts, AI-driven delivery is a differentiator that reinforces the immediacy of social shopping. For older shoppers, it must be framed around reliability, reassurance and transparency to close the confidence gap.
Delivery as a brand experience
AI has redefined delivery from a logistics process into a brand-building opportunity. Predictive analytics can now allocate orders to the best carrier, forecast delays before they occur and send personalised updates in a retailer’s own voice.
Done right, every delivery notification becomes a brand moment. Instead of a generic “your parcel is on its way,” retailers can send a proactive delay alert paired with a personalised product recommendation, a reassurance message styled in their brand tone of voice, and an update that connects seamlessly with loyalty programmes. These are all opportunities to build trust, reduce WISMO (Where Is My Order?) queries and deepen engagement.
For all its promise, AI also raises questions of trust. Half of UK consumers trust AI to improve shopping without compromising privacy, while the other half remain cautious. Comfort levels drop sharply when it comes to behavioural tracking: 59% are happy for AI to use purchase history for personalisation, but only 48% accept tracking online behaviour. A resounding 94% say transparency about how AI works is non-negotiable.
That makes openness a brand differentiator. CMOs should build AI transparency promises into their customer strategy: explain clearly what data is used, why, and how it benefits the shopper. Offer opt-in controls. Bake this language into FAQs, customer service scripts and marketing copy. Retailers who own the transparency agenda will own the trust agenda.
It is tempting to see AI purely through the lens of efficiency. Indeed, many of its benefits from reduced customer service costs to faster returns, fall under operations. But the real competitive advantage lies in reframing AI as marketing infrastructure.
Every AI-driven delivery update, every proactive return suggestion and every personalised post-purchase notification is a chance to create brand equity. They turn one-time buyers into repeat customers and, critically, transform functional interactions into moments of delight. For example, proactive delivery updates reduce queries and frustration; AI-optimised returns make customers more likely to shop again; and AI-driven recommendations after delivery increase CLTV and average order value. Moreover, social commerce AI sync ensures consistency across TikTok, Instagram and webstore orders. Success comes from orchestrating multiple AI-enabled touchpoints into a seamless, branded post-purchase journey.
Consumers are mastering AI quickly. By the time they interact with your brand, their expectations will already have been shaped by best-in-class experiences elsewhere. The risk is stark: meet them with seamless, transparent and personalised post-purchase experiences, or risk losing them to competitors who do.
At Scurri, we believe the battle for loyalty is no longer won at the point of sale. It is won in the moments afterwards, in the anticipation, the reassurance, the delivery and even the return. AI gives retailers the tools to turn these touchpoints into emotional connections. The question is whether brands choose to treat them as operational necessities, or as marketing assets that define the customer relationship. For more insight into this topic click here to download the full report and research.
