Cloudinary has published a global retail survey on visual commerce trends, covering 539 retailers across 14 countries.

The findings suggest retailers are trying to meet a wide range of consumer demands at once, with no single priority dominating decision-making. Mobile shopping was cited by 43% of respondents as a top buyer trend, followed by high-volume video at 42%, social commerce at 39%, hyper-personalisation at 35%, sustainable production at 26% and omnichannel experiences at 25%.

That broad spread of priorities is driving heavier use of video, user-generated content and artificial intelligence in day-to-day operations. The survey suggests these tools are no longer treated as isolated experiments, but are being integrated into routine production, publishing and moderation work.

One of the sharpest changes highlighted in the research is the growth in retailers' video libraries. Some 41% of those surveyed now host 1,000 videos or more, up from 8% in Cloudinary's 2024 video survey of eCommerce professionals.

A smaller group is operating at far greater scale. Six per cent of respondents fell into what Cloudinary described as "mega-hosts", with video libraries of 100,000 titles or more.

Most retailers expect that volume to keep rising, with 62% planning to deliver more video this year.

Respondents linked that investment to both commercial and brand benefits. Seven in 10 said video helps build brand trust and confidence, while 69% said it improves product credibility. A further 63% said it drives product purchases, 61% said it improves market awareness or search visibility, and 35% said it helps reduce returns.

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