New data from Shopify reveals one in six Australian and New Zealand retailers have no plans to use AI in operations in 2025 – triple compared to the rest of APAC. This gap could limit productivity gains in one of the economy’s most vital and dynamic sectors.

The survey of Shopify merchants found that while a majority (83%) of ANZ businesses plan to use AI in some capacity in 2025, nearly one in six (17%) have no plans to integrate it into their operations at all. This is nearly three times higher than the rest of APAC (6%). Even among those planning to adopt AI, the data suggests a measured approach: just over half (55%) expect to use it for content generation such as product descriptions and social media captions, while fewer intend to use AI for customer service (27%) or personalisation (26%).

These findings come ahead of the Economic Reform Roundtable, widely known as the Productivity Summit, next week. The summit will bring together business, union and government leaders to build consensus on ways to improve productivity, enhance economic resilience and strengthen budget sustainability. With retail representing a major driver of employment and innovation, Shopify’s research highlights an opportunity for targeted action to close the gap in AI capability and confidence.

“AI won’t replace the creativity or ambition of entrepreneurs, but it can free them to focus on what they do best,” said Shaun Broughton, Managing Director, APAC and Japan at Shopify.

“Right now, what we see is a gap in enablement. Closing it will require investment in digital infrastructure, programs to build digital capability across the economy, and policy settings that help businesses adopt AI with confidence.”

Other key ANZ findings from the survey include:

• 43% of merchants expect to use AI for marketing initiatives such as product recommendations, social advertising, and SEO, compared with 50% in APAC.
• Nearly a third (30%) intend to use AI for data analysis and insights, lower than the rest of APAC (44%).
• About a third (33%) expect to automate and streamline business processes using AI.
• Less than a fifth (19%) plan to use AI to detect and prevent fraud, lower than the rest of APAC (29%).
• Similarly, 19% expect to optimise pricing strategies with AI, below the rest of APAC (28%).
• About one in seven (14%) plan to use AI to assist with product development.
• Just over one in ten (13%) expect to optimize inventory and supply chain logistics using AI.

The findings are based on a survey of 234 Shopify merchants in Australia and New Zealand, and 518 from the rest of APAC (752 total). The survey was conducted from June 30 through July 10, 2025.