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AI is touching “every single aspect” of retail, a top European commerce executive said on Tuesday at the World Retail Congress during a session examining CEO priorities and pressure points.

“We have to accept that it (AI) is there and will be there to stay,” said Pieter van den Broecke, EMEA Leader, Supply Chain Commerce Strategies at Manhattan Associates. “It’s more impactful than the internet and the world wide web. With AI, the uniqueness of human reasoning is actually being taken over by a machine, and it’s going extremely fast.

“It’s touching every single aspect of retail, from ‘who is my customer’ to how can I interact with my customer’ and ‘how can I improve my productivity’?”

During the panel called Inside the CEO Agenda: The Trends Redefining Retail’s Next Five Years, van den Broecke acknowledged the challenges that AI brings: “It’s an opportunity to embrace it but it’s also a threat to actually be disruptive to ourselves,” he said.

The panel heard that retail chiefs are most concerned about AI replacing creativity.

Van den Broecke said he found that intriguing, but said ultimately: “The acceptance should be there. As a retailer you have to build an AI data layer. You have to get connected to the AI data systems.”

He added that fashion companies and department stores had to embrace technological developments while maintaining an in-store presence.

“By 2030 we believe 60 percent of apparel and footwear businesses will be digital,” he said. “Speciality retail and department stores are being attacked by all sides. They will have to really invest in the physical experience of the store while also embracing digital capabilities.”

Another fear chief executives have is holding onto - and building - customer loyalty. The findings of the survey showed that boardrooms believe loyalty is not inherent and that there are now different rules to building trusting relationships.