Impact of Artificial Intelligence Applications on Profitability of Large-Scale Retailers in Gweru Urban, Zimbabwe

The study focused on the impact of artificial intelligence on the profitability of large-scale retailers in Gweru urban Zimbabwe. The study revealed that most of the successful retailers across the world are as a result of adopting artificial intelligence. In Gweru urban there is less utilisation of artificial intelligence by large scale-retailers. The study revealed a number of factors promoting the adoption of artificial intelligence by large-scale retailers. These factors include, technological readiness, availability of big data, organisational culture, regulatory framework, taxpayer acceptance, the need for data quality and privacy and security concerns. Also, the study Analysed the artificial intelligence applications for large-scale retailers. These AI include, price optimisation, fraud detection and prevention, predictive analytics for more accurate sales forecasting, supply chain optimisation, customer service Chatbots and automated replies, inventory management, personalised recommendations, visual search and image recognition. The study also, examined the impact of artificial intelligence on the operations of large-scale retailers. The impact of AI discussed include; improved accuracy, enhanced fraud detection, increased efficiency, real time monitoring, data driven policy making, improved customer experience, cost driven savings, revenue growth, provide a source of competitive advantage. The study revealed the challenges of adopting AI these include; data quality issues, lack of transparency and accountability. The study adopted a pragmatism philosophy as it utilised both qualitative and quantitative strategies in collecting and analysed the data. The results of the study revealed that there is a positive significance in adopting and implementing artificial intelligence on the profitability large-scale retailers.