New European Union rules are making online returns simpler for consumers and more demanding for retailers.
The regulator said weak competition in the sector can contribute to higher prices, poorer quality and less product availability.
Google Cloud will underpin a unified data foundation combining customer and product intelligence.
The fall in core retail sales was mainly due to weaker sales at food and beverage retailers, and general merchandise retailers.
The report comes as online return rates approach 20% of sales, with the US online returns market estimated to be worth almost $850bn.
