AI Boosts Productivity by 11.5%, But Costs Jobs

UK Firms Report Net Job Losses From AI

The researchers surveyed organisations that have used AI for at least a year across five sectors, including consumer staples and retail. In the UK, companies said AI adoption coincided with net job losses of 8% over the past 12 months while reporting an average 11.5% rise in productivity.

The same reporting suggests the UK may be feeling the impact more sharply than peers such as the US, Japan and Germany. One reason highlighted is that employers face higher cost pressures, which can make automation more attractive than hiring.

What This Looks Like In E-commerce Day-To-Day

For e-commerce operators, the most immediate shift is practical: more work can be done in-house by smaller teams.

Simon, a long-time marketplace seller (case study shared on Chanel X), described using AI to automate tasks that used to consume days. After moving off an ageing PrestaShop setup, he now runs multiple channels via Base.com and a BigCommerce storefront, covering marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Fruugo and TikTok.

One concrete example: he discovered missing ALT text across 5,000+ product images. Rather than manually editing thousands of listings, he used AI to generate a Python script that applied the changes across the site — improving accessibility and supporting SEO. He also used AI-written scripts to manage product options and to flag returning “bad actors” so repeat offenders can be handled quickly.

The Takeaway For Sellers And Marketers

The headline numbers don’t mean every business will cut staff, but they do show a clear direction: productivity gains are arriving fast, and routine work is increasingly being automated.

For European e-commerce teams juggling tighter margins, the competitive edge may come from simple wins — automating catalogue hygiene, image metadata, returns triage, and customer-service tagging, while keeping human time focused on merchandising, creative and growth.