Amazon is betting its multibillion-dollar investment in robotics will yield significant near-term savings, as the technology giant races to cut costs in its sprawling retail network amid rising spending on artificial intelligence.

The Seattle-based group is expected to spend up to $25bn on its retail network, including investment in a new generation of robotics-led warehouses, as it seeks efficiencies across the business and to improve delivery times in the face of growing competition from low-cost rivals such as China’s Temu.

While most of Amazon’s planned $100bn in capital expenditure this year will be spent on expanding AI initiatives such as computing infrastructure, about a quarter will be directed at its ecommerce arm where the business is investing heavily in automation, according to analyst estimates.