2025年全球消费品与零售业首席执行官展望

Foreword Today’sconsumer and retail CEOs are navigating anincreasingly polarized environment. Global ambitionscollide with local realities, affluent consumers continueto spend, while others trade down and seek value. For CEOs, there are no easy answers. Successdepends on the ability to make bold choices amiduncertainty, to balance risk and opportunity, and to Companies must decide and be explicit about where toplay — local versus global, premium versus value, physical Like most other industries, the consumer and retailsector faces a convergence of macro forces —geopolitical volatility, inflation, climate disruption, andthe accelerating impact of artificial intelligence (AI), yetthese play out in specific ways given the size and shape This year’s CEO Outlook highlights how consumer andretail leaders are responding: investing in AI to driveefficiency and personalization, reimagining workforceskills for a digital future, and aligning sustainabilityefforts. The environment is complex and fast-moving — Isabelle AllenGlobal Head of Consumer,Retail and Leisure Executivesummary Inchallenging economic conditions, consumer and retailCEOs remain optimistic about growing the business andimproving earnings, albeit at a modest rate. Customerexperience is a high priority, as companies pursuepersonalization, while supply chain disruption looms large,due to conflict, tariffs and climate shocks. Mergers and performance improvements in productivity, efficiencyand customer experience, although they are awareof the need to establish trust in AI, and overcome The sector is also ahead in integrating sustainabilitywith business strategy, as a source of competitiveadvantage rather than a mere compliance objective.AI also has the potential to boost energy- and resource CEOs recognize the far-reaching impact of AI on theworkforce, and are ahead of the curve in activelyredesigning roles and career paths. They alsoacknowledge that key AI skills are in short supply, and Consumer and retail CEOs have become accustomedto uncertainty and rapid change, and this year’s CEOOutlook finds the sector in the midst of technological Perhaps unsurprisingly, AI is a major investmentpriority, as the sector scales up its usage of agents,automation and analytics. CEOs are already seeing Economic outlook and CEO perspective78%of consumer and retail CEOs areconfident in their industry’s growthprospects, but only 65% 63% of consumer and retail CEOs state that their rolehas evolved significantly, with new expectationsand greater complexity are optimistic about thegrowth of the global Keyfindings are redesigning roles andcareer paths as a long-term AIworkforce strategy — equalhighest of any sector (cross- Economicoutlook andbusiness confidence have fully embeddedsustainability into theirbusiness (down from 82% 34% Economicoutlookandbusinessconfidence Yet they also express declining confidence in thegrowth prospects of both their company (77 percent in2025 compared to 82 percent in the previous year) andindustry (78 percent, down from 81 percent in 2024).These figures reflect a difficult trading environment,characterized by K-shaped consumer demand, with Compared to other sectors in the global CEO Outlook,fewer consumer and retail leaders anticipate annualearnings growth of 5–9.99 percent (just 13 percentagainst a cross-industry average of 18 percent) — a Consumer and retail CEOs’ confidence infuture global economic growth increasedto 65 percent from 58 percent in 2024, 52%up from 30 percent in 2024,and 15 percent in 2023, and24 points higher than the Aligningoperations and supply chain with The top operational priority is improving customerexperience (16 percent), followed by advancingdigitization and connectivity (13 percent). Thesetwo ambitions are interconnected, as companiesprogress towards seamless commerce and CEOs say supply chain is the biggest challengedriving short-term decisions, at 52 percent — upfrom 30 percent in 2024, and 15 percent in 2023,and 24 points higher than the cross-sector average.The shocks to supply chains in recent years, fromthe COVID-19 pandemic, through conflict in severalregions, trade barriers and climate events, rising CEOs’ operational priority to achievegrowth objectives over the next three years Anotable shift to strategic M&A M&A is the third priority for achieving growth objectives, andjust 35 percent of C&R CEOs expect ‘high-impact’ acquisitions(down from 46 percent in 2024) — the second lowest of anysector, against a cross-sector average of 41 percent. Whilstthe sentiment captured through the global survey may notfully reflect the active M&A environment we are seeing in theUS market, for example, the lower ranking likely reflects thecontinued elevation of customer experience and digitizationinitiatives, which many CEOs view as more immediate levers forgrowth. The KPMG Q3 2025 M&A consumer and retail trendsreport notes an overriding sentiment of ‘cash, core and caution’ Cash, core an