NRF 2026 Recap: AI, Unified Commerce, and the Future of In-Store Retail
Each January, NRF’s Big Show brings together retailers, tech providers, and industry leaders to share what’s happening now in retail and what’s coming next. At NRF 2026, keynotes, sessions, and show-floor conversations highlighted the themes shaping retail in the year ahead.
Our team spent time learning directly from retailers, operators, and partners on the show floor — hearing firsthand what’s working, what’s changing, and where retailers are feeling pressure heading into 2026.
Below are the retail trends and insights that stood out most, combining NRF’s recap with what we learned through real conversations at the show.
1. AI in Retail Is Becoming Operational
AI dominated the conversation at NRF, but not in the speculative way it once did. The focus has shifted toward how AI actually shows up in retail workflows — supporting forecasting, customer service, merchandising, and planning.
In conversations with retailers, the most common theme was selectivity. Teams are becoming more deliberate about where AI fits, prioritizing tools that integrate cleanly with existing systems and produce measurable gains rather than experimental features that live in isolation.
2. Unified Commerce Is Gaining Ground
Customer experience problems are usually symptoms of deeper operational issues.
At NRF, those operational pressures showed up clearly in conversations about inventory accuracy, fulfillment complexity, and day-to-day execution. Fragmented tech stacks were often to blame.
Unified commerce has emerged as a response to that complexity, bringing POS, eCommerce, inventory, and customer data into a single view.
Rather than adding new tools to their existing stack, retailers are increasingly focused on replacing disconnects with a stronger foundation.
3. The Brick-And-Mortar Store Is Being Repositioned
Some of the most interesting conversations at NRF weren’t about technology at all.
They were about stores.
CMSWire described how NRF 2026 emphasized a return to human-centered retail and in-store experience, with stories and sessions highlighting the importance of physical presence and closer customer engagement even as technology continues to evolve.
In this context, the store isn’t competing with digital. It’s complementing it.
Above: Physical stores are being repositioned to support an evolving customer journey.
4. Younger Shoppers Are Raising the Bar for Consistency
Gen Z and Gen Alpha came up often at NRF — not just because they’re becoming a bigger part of the market, but because their expectations are shaping how everyone else sells.
A few themes kept repeating:
- Experiences need to feel connected across channels
- Brands are judged more on authenticity than polish
- Inconsistency can lead shoppers to go somewhere else
Retailers we spoke with are adjusting quickly, especially as their younger shoppers move between physical and digital shopping and expect the experience to stay consistent.
5. Customer Loyalty Is Becoming Less About Points
Customer loyalty conversations at NRF felt noticeably different this year.
Rather than focusing on discounts or earn-and-burn mechanics, retailers talked about loyalty as a way to better understand customers over time. Data, personalization, and relevance were central to those discussions, especially as brands look for more sustainable ways to retain customers.
When loyalty programs connect back to commerce and customer data, they stop feeling like an add-on and start feeling intentional.
Where These Trends Converge
What tied these themes together wasn’t a single technology or tactic — it was a broader shift in mindset.
Retailers are simplifying where they can, connecting systems where it matters, and designing experiences that work across channels without forcing customers to think about how the backend operates. NRF made it clear that progress in 2026 will come from alignment, not accumulation.
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