Rewiring retail and CPG: 2025 CIO agenda for resilience, relevance, and reinvention

The retail and consumer goods sector is operating in a paradox where consumers are price-sensitive and principle-driven, underpinning why chief information officers (CIOs) need a bold, multifaceted agenda (see Exhibit 1).

The retail and CPG sectors are at an inflection point not seen since the rise of e-commerce. The urgency for the 2025 agenda is clear: a combination of post-pandemic consumer behavior shifts, technological leaps, and geopolitical tremors has rendered ‘business as usual’ a recipe for obsolescence.

Exhibit 1: The retail and CPG growth emblem for the CIO

Source: HFS Research, 2025

Product innovation needs to move from gut instinct to algorithmic guidance

In the past, merchandising decisions were guided by seasoned executives’ gut instincts and the previous year’s sales charts. In 2025, that approach is hopelessly antiquated. The winners are those who turn data into gold, mining every click, comment, and sensor signal for insight.

AI algorithms can now predict trends and even design products—from fashion to beverages—by analyzing social sentiment and emerging patterns. The CIO’s role is to arm product teams with these predictive tools and unify data across silos, including sales data, social media feedback, or shelf IoT sensor readings. By doing so, companies such as Nike and Coca-Cola sense and shape demand rather than just react to it.

One might hypothesize that the next hit product might come not from a designer’s sketchbook but from an AI analysis of Gen Z’s TikTok behavior. It’s a hypothesis borne out of reality: brands launching ‘data-designed’ products have seen faster uptake and fewer flops. Data-driven innovation also shortens development cycles—imagine reducing a typical CPG product development timeline from 18 months to 6 using digital simulations and consumer data feedback loops. The historical analogy is the shift from artisans to the assembly line; today, it’s a transition from the merchandiser’s whim to the machine’s wisdom. The practical implication is enormous: fewer stockouts and markdowns because companies are producing what people want, informed by real data.

However, this data deluge raises a critical question: how can products be personalized without being intrusive? Privacy concerns loom large. Consumers love personalized recommendations and products tailored to them, but not the unsettling feeling of being spied upon. CIOs must ensure robust data governance, using techniques such as anonymization and federated learning so that data-driven innovation is fueled ethically. After all, trust, once lost, is hard to regain, and a single privacy scandal can derail even the best innovation strategy.

Build resilient operations for a rainy decade

If the past few years have taught businesses anything, it’s that resilience is not merely a buzzword, it’s survival. Trade wars, a pandemic, port congestions, and now evolving geopolitical rifts (US-China tech decoupling, instability in the Middle East, and US imposing tariffs) have shown the fragility of global operations. For retail and CPG CIOs, resilient operations mean designing systems and processes that bend but don’t break under stress.

Imagine a future disruption—a sudden tariff or sanction that could cut off a key supplier. A prepared firm has a digital twin of its supply network ready to simulate a reroute of manufacturing and AI systems that quickly re-forecast demand and inventory. This is not sci-fi; it’s precisely what resilient ops entail—technology-powered contingency planning. Companies are moving from just-in-time to just-in-case. That may involve maintaining strategic safety stock, multi-sourcing critical components, or using cloud-based ERP that can rapidly shift workflows to different regions.

Technology such as blockchain also comes into play here. By providing provenance tracking, blockchain can quickly identify which shipments or batches are affected by a disruption or recall, containing the problem swiftly. IoT sensors in factories and stores can detect anomalies (be it a machine about to fail or shelves running empty) and trigger preventive action. Edge computing ensures that local operations (a store or a warehouse) can continue running critical functions independently even if a network goes down.

Resilience also extends to financial operations. With inflation and interest rates fluctuating, CIOs must support finance in scenario modeling and real-time analytics to protect margins. The call to action here is a proactive investment in redundancy and intelligence. The cost of fortifying operations can seem high until you compare it to the price of a single prolonged outage or missed season. As the adage goes, ‘Fix the roof while the sun is shining.’ CIOs should harden their operations now because storms are guaranteed.

Think collaboration—it takes a village to sell a product

No matter how large, one cannot master the full spectrum of skills and innovations needed today. This is why CIOs must foster collaborative ecosystems—essentially, networks of partners that create mutual value.

Think of how many brands now partner with payment fintechs to offer seamless checkout or with last-mile delivery startups to get products to doorsteps faster. Even erstwhile rivals become allies in limited ways. Several prominent retailers have formed consortiums for sustainable sourcing standards, recognizing that setting industry-wide norms benefits everyone and reassures consumers.

An intriguing idea is that the firm’s boundaries are dissolving in the quest for better customer service. A decade ago, you outsourced a few IT functions; now, you might virtually ‘insource’ entire capabilities via partnerships. For example, a fashion retailer might integrate an AR startup’s platform into its app rather than develop an in-house virtual try-on feature. The retailer gets cutting-edge capability faster; the startup gets scale and data.

Moreover, consider consumer data: with third-party cookies going extinct, retailers and CPG firms are pooling their first-party data in privacy-compliant clean rooms to gain richer insights into consumer behavior across contexts. These are ecosystems of data and technology at work.

Ecosystem thinking also means platform thinking. Retailers are turning themselves into platforms—not just selling their own goods but enabling other vendors, developers, and even influencers to plug in and create value. Amazon was a trailblazer with its marketplace. Now, everyone from Walmart to small boutiques, is exploring curated marketplaces or community-driven selling. In CPG, giants are incubating startups in-house, effectively partnering with the entrepreneurs who might have disrupted them.

For CIOs, orchestrating an ecosystem requires open architecture (APIs, modular systems) and strong governance (to ensure data sharing is secure and partners are trustworthy). CIOs and their business counterparts must play the conductor role together to effectively lead this effort. The practical upshot is faster innovation and the ability to tackle big challenges, whether it’s an industry-wide sustainability drive or a unified response to new consumer trends, collectively rather than alone. Firms clinging to a narrow focus may be outpaced by loosely affiliated networks of collaborators that simply learn and move faster.

An intelligent supply network is essentially your autopilot

Since the first barcode was scanned in 1974, technology has been intertwined with supply chain efficiency. However, 2025’s supply chains are meant to be more than efficient—they must be intelligent and almost autonomous. Picture a logistics network that anticipates a surge in demand (say, for cold beverages in an unusually warm spring) and preemptively repositions stock or a system that re-routes deliveries in real time because a natural disaster closed a port. Thanks to AI, IoT, and cloud computing, these capabilities are now within reach.

CIOs should be championing the move to what one might call a ‘self-driving’ supply chain. Sensors (the eyes and ears) everywhere, monitoring factory equipment vibrations to predict maintenance needs, GPS trackers feeding live locations of trucks, and even products ‘talking’ from store shelves via smart packaging. All this data flows into cloud platforms where AI algorithms (the brain) make sense of it. Machine learning models can forecast demand with unprecedented accuracy by analyzing historical sales and variables such as weather patterns, social media buzz, and economic indicators. This addresses the age-old retail nightmare of overstocking some items while understocking others.

Finally, it’s resilience—again. An intelligent supply chain is resilient because it spots trouble early and adapts. This loops back to our earlier point about resilient operations—much of that is executed in the supply chain domain. CIOs must ensure end-to-end visibility, from raw material to store shelf because you can’t improve what you don’t see. The technologies to do this exist; it’s often the silos and legacy systems that hold companies back. Breaking those down is as much a leadership mandate as a tech one.

Seamless transition across channels through unified commerce

Today’s consumers don’t think in channels – they think in terms of the brand and their need, here and now. CIOs must eliminate the seams between brick-and-mortar stores, websites, mobile apps, social media, voice assistants, or any future channels that might emerge. Omnichannel is not a new buzzword, but in 2025, it goes beyond having an online and offline presence. It’s about true continuity. A customer might start the purchase journey on Instagram, continue on a store’s mobile app, and complete it in a physical store—and expect the retailer to remember who they are at each step.

However, personalization is very different for these new-age shoppers. It’s certainly not the disturbing scenario of being stalked by internet ads. Privacy concerns are real—heavy-handed use of personal data can spook customers, especially as privacy laws tighten. And younger users are surprisingly savvy about data. Personalization means the brand understands customer needs without constant prompts. If they leave items in an online cart, a gentle reminder or having those products ready in a fitting room when they visit the store is expected. However, don’t show them the new plant-based leather line just because they are vegan. Instead, develop each customer’s own persona where shopping variations exist irrespective of common stereotypes associated with certain lifestyle decisions.

Achieving this level of personalization requires crunched data, AI, and tact. The solution is transparency—ask for data in a fair value exchange (e.g., via a loyalty program offering clear benefits) and give consumers control over what they share.

The omnichannel experience also must adapt to a fragmented demographic mix. A one-size-fits-all approach will fail in a market where you serve teenagers, busy middle-aged parents, and elderly shoppers under one brand. Cultural nuances matter too, especially in America’s diverse consumer base—marketing and product offerings may need to reflect different communities and regions. Digital maturity varies; not every customer will download an app or scan a QR code. Good omnichannel design includes low-tech off-ramps (like an easy way to reach a human or a simple checkout option) so no segment feels alienated.

Ultimately, omnichannel success is measured by one thing: customer satisfaction. You’re on the right track if your net promoter scores and repeat purchase rates are rising. If not, no amount of channel expansion will fix a fundamentally broken experience.

The key for CIOs is to enable marketing teams to experiment quickly and cheaply. Maybe an augmented reality (AR) campaign on TikTok doesn’t drive massive sales, but it provides insight and keeps the brand relevant. Maybe a gamified mobile app with loyalty rewards significantly boosts engagement time. Either way, CIOs must provide digital platforms and analytics to support these initiatives.

Another intriguing angle is community and content. Brands are becoming content creators and community builders. A sports apparel company might run an online fitness community; a grocery chain might produce cooking videos and recipes that tie into its products. These forms of engagement don’t scream ‘buy now’ but keep customers connected and coming back. And, as a bonus, they generate first-party data for the brand. Live shopping events are essentially modern, interactive infomercials on social platforms that blend entertainment with commerce and are growing in popularity.

CIOs play a pivotal role by providing a stable yet flexible tech backbone for such efforts. IT’s purview encompasses the website, mobile app, streaming capability, and real-time analytics to measure success. It’s a partnership: the CMO’s team brings creativity, and the CIO’s team ensures it can run at scale and securely. Importantly, immersive does not mean frivolous—every engagement should be tied to a metric (foot traffic, web conversions, social mentions, sales uplift) to gauge impact. Digital campaigns yield a wealth of data.

Customer support will become a key differentiator in brand loyalty, more so than price or product variety. As shopping choices proliferate, consumers will stick with brands that support them superbly.

Enhanced support also means reaching customers on their terms. If Gen Z is on WhatsApp and TikTok, support must exist, perhaps just a DM away. If it’s an older customer,  a well-informed human agent should be ready because, in all likelihood, they would prefer a phone call. CIOs must equip support teams with a 360-degree customer view (aggregating purchase history, preferences, and sentiment from past interactions). Nothing annoys a customer more than repeating the same situation multiple times.

However, take note of one cautionary tale—don’t chase shiny tech just for tech’s sake. The aim is to deepen customer engagement and loyalty. While Gen Alpha might love a Roblox-style virtual store experience, Gen X might prefer a well-crafted loyalty program that partners with their favorite travel or dining brands. Sometimes, a simple in-store workshop or an online user forum can be more immersive than a pricey VR app that only a few people may use twice, at most. The art lies in choosing the right tool for the right audience.

Sustainable and circular retail are non-negotiables

Not long ago, ‘sustainability’ in retail was mostly a PR talking point or a niche product line of organic cotton tees. Now, it’s a make-or-break element of strategy. Consumers— especially younger ones—increasingly vote with their wallets for brands that match their values.

Yet, there’s a real impact question: Do these noble intentions convert to actual purchasing behavior? Often, there is a gap between what people say and what they do. Many shoppers lament the waste of fast fashion but still snap up cheap outfits.

This is where regulation and corporate initiative intersect with consumer sentiment. Europe is forging ahead with strict sustainability and circular economy mandates (from carbon reporting to right-to-repair laws), and similar pressures are mounting in the US. Savvy CIOs will get ahead of the curve by building traceability and circularity into their IT systems. That could mean blockchain-based ledgers showing a product’s journey from raw material to store shelf or reverse logistics systems to handle returns for resale or recycling.

For CIOs, ‘sustainable retail’ translates to a few key tasks.

• One is data, i.e., measuring carbon footprint and social impact across the supply chain—a colossal data integration challenge.
• Another is enabling new business models such as rental, resale, or subscription services (which often have sustainability angles).
• Finally, cybersecurity plays an unsung role. As supply chains become transparent, the data needs to be secure to avoid greenwashing scandals or exposure to proprietary sourcing info.

The long-term vision is a circular retail system where products live multiple lives, waste is minimized, and technology tracks everything.

The Bottom Line: Each agenda component—from leveraging data goldmines to fortifying operations, from reimagining customer touchpoints to championing sustainability—requires leadership and execution. The common thread is integration, where technology is the enabler that ties together people, processes, and partners across this complex value chain. The call to action is to start now.

Audit where your firm stands on each of these six dimensions. Identify quick wins (perhaps upgrading an old e-commerce platform for better omnichannel integration) and longer bets (maybe a pilot for a blockchain traceability system or a GenAI lab for product innovation).

As CIO, you must be the evangelist—translate this agenda into a vision that the CEO, CMO, and CFO all buy into. This is not just an IT roadmap; it’s a business survival strategy. Use data and success stories to make your case, for e.g., how a competitor’s AI-driven personalization boosted sales or how embracing sustainable practices opened new markets.

In practical terms, break down silos between IT and business. Each agenda item might be ‘owned’ by a different department (marketing for immersive experiences, the supply chain for logistics, etc.), but technology and data run through them all. Set up cross-functional teams for each strategic theme and lead from the front.

The long-term implication is that the very nature of shopping will evolve into something more intelligent, interactive, and interconnected. Retail might no longer be a standalone sector but part of a broader consumer ecosystem blending entertainment, lifestyle, and services.