2026年零售趋势报告

2026TRENDS

Retail

TREND1

AI&AgenticTools

TREND2

AgileRetail

TREND3

Managing

Price-SensitiveCustomers

TREND4

RetailMediaNetworks

TREND5

ContinuedEmphasisonCustomer

Experience

A

swekickoff2026,the

retaillandscape

continues

tobefacedwithanever-changingcustomerand

growingglobaluncertainty.Retailershavetobe

ultra-responsivetotheircustomers’needs,lessening

reactiontimefrommonthstoweeksifnotdays.Theyalsohavetocontinuetonavigateevolvingsupplychains,

constantlyadjustingtoimpactsfromtariffsand

geopoliticalshifts.LayerintothatthegrowthofAI&

agentictools,whicharenowcommonlypartofany

conversationaboutretailgrowth,andtheoutlookfor2026isoneofopportunitiesandchallengesforretailerstosinkorswimwith.

Aswelookintothetrendsfortheyear,wesee

opportunitiesforretailerswho’vemadeinvestmentsin

technologyandprocesstoimprovereactiontimesand

efficiencies,andchallengesforthosethatarerelianton

agingplatformsthatarestretchingjusttokeepupwiththetablestakesof

moderncommerce.

Thisreporthighlightsfivekeytrendsweexpecttoimpacttheindustryin2026andbeyond.

2

andenableteamstofocusonthecustomerexperience.3

TREND1

,囚

AI&AgenticTools

AI-poweredtoolsandagentsareincreasinglycommonamongretailerslookingtoenhanceoperations.Infact

,98%ofretail

executives

expecttoachievefullAIdeploymentby2028.AsAIusagecontinuestorise,retailersshouldmakesuretheyare

preparedtomakethemostoutofwhatAIhastooffer.

OneofthebiggestshiftsisthefocusonagenticAIusecasesfor

retailers

,asseenatNRF2026.

Agenticcommerce,

agenticmarketing,

andotheragenticusecasesaretopofmindasretailerstrytostreamlineoperationsandadapttocustomerexpectations.

AgentictoolstaketherecentAIsurg

ebeyondprediction

and

conten

t

generation,

incorporatingindependenttaskexecution.Agentscantake

auserpromptorothertrigger,developaplan,andthenworkthrougha

multi-stepprocess,potentiallyleveragingdatabasesorAPIstoexecute

tasksinothersystems.

UsecasesareseenincustomerserviceatGap,whereagentshandle

routine

customerservicerequests,

andat7-Eleven,whereagentshelp

with

time-consumingdocumentationtasks.

Onethingthatisclearisthe

importanceofthesetoolsas

enablersfortheoperatorexperience

,not

overrunningorreplacingit.

Beyondtheseapplications,retailerscontinuetoexpandtheiruseof

AI

acrossbroadertechnologyplatforms

todriveefficiency.

AI-powered

demandforecasting

isbecomingincreasinglyaccurate,enabling

retailerstooptimizeinventorylevels,reducewaste,minimize

out-of-stocks,andimproveproductavailability.AIalsocontinuesto

powercustomerpersonalization,allowingretailerstorecommend

productstailoredtospecificshoppers’preferences

andsendtargeteddiscountsandindividualizedemailcampaigns.Together,these

capabilitiesenhancethecustomerexperienceandstrengthenlong-termloyalty.

AsAIbecomesmoreembeddedinretailoperationsin2026,success

willdependlessonthetechnologyitselfandmoreon

howprepared

organizationsaretouseit.

Governanceandguardrailswillbecriticaltoensureagentsaugment,ratherthanoverride,humanjudgment.When

designedwell,agenticandotherAItoolswillreduceoperationalburden

4

TREND2

AgileRetail

AgileretailisagrowingframeworkthatappliesAgile

developmentprinciplestoprioritizespeedand

flexibilitywhilestayingcloselyalignedtocustomer

needsinretailexecution.Ascustomerdemands

grow,retailersneedtobeabletobefastertorespond–

nolongercantheywaituntilnextseason,orevennextmonth,tobeabletoreacttoachangeindemandorbehavior.

Byleveragingdatatospottrendsinadvance,Agileretailallowsorganizationstorapidlyrespondtopotentialshifts.Itisemergingasawayforretailerstocombatrisingoperationalcostsandvolatiledemandamid

ongoingeconomicandpoliticaluncertainty.Agileretailsupportsimproveddeliverytimesandmore

automatedfulfillmentprocesses,ultimatelydrivinggreaterefficiency.Asretailersprepareforthenewyear,transformingAgileretailintoanend-to-endoperationalstrategycanhelpenhanceresponsivenessand

adaptabilityatboththeenterpriseandlocallevel.

Smartwarehousesandmicro-fulfillmentcentersarejustoneofthewaysAgileretailisexpanding.These

small,automatedhubscanbestrategicallyplacedclosertoshopperstoenablefasterdeliverytimeswhile

reducingtransportationemissions.Thiscapabilityisincreasinglyimportantas

80%ofshoppers

expect

retailerstooffersame-daydelivery.Movingawayfromlarge,centralizeddistributioncenterscanhelpretailersmeettheserisingexpectations.

Inresponse,hyperlocalfulfillmentisgrowingintoastandardpracticeforretailersheadinginto2026.

Companieslike

Walmart

arealreadyleveragingmicro-fulfillmentcenterstospeedupdelivery.Thisshiftnotonlyimprovesoperationalefficiencybutalsoallowsretailerstobetteralignproductavailabilitywithlocal

preferences,leadingtohighercustomersatisfaction.

Retailexperiencesthemselvesarealsobecomingmorelocalized.Forexample

,McDonald's

hastailoreditsmenuofferingsgloballytospecificregions’dietarypreferences.Withadvancesin

generativeAIandmachine

learning,

retailerscannowleveragecustomerdatatolocalizeproductofferingsandadaptproductstothe

specificneedsofeachregion.

Lookingahead,Agileretailwillcontinuetoshapetheindustry.RetailersthatinvestinAI-drivenforecasting

andflexiblefulfillmentmodelswillbepreparedtomeetshiftingcustomerpreferences.Additionally,thosethatadoptAgileprincipleswilloperatewithhigherefficiency,whilethosethatdon’twillriskfallingbehindina

competitivemarket.

5

TREND3

ManagingPrice-SensitiveCustomers

Shoppersremainhighlypricesensitiveastariffsandeconomicuncertaintycontinuetoinfluenceshopperbehavior.Infact,72%ofconsumersreportedreduced

spendinginthepastthreemonths.Aspricesensitivityincreases,shoppers

areplacinggreateremphasisonthevaluepropositionsoftheproductstheychoose

tobuy.Thisheightenedfocusonpricehasledmanyshopperstoreducediscretionaryspendingandtrade

downtocheaperalternatives.

Movinginto2026,thisprice-sensitivebehaviorisbecomingmorestrategic.Customersaremorelikelyto

switchtolower-pricedbrandswhenthequalitydifferencesseemminimal;however,s

hopperswillstayloyal

to

higher-pricedbrands

whentheyfeelthoseproductsaremoredurable,sustainable,orofhigherquality.Asaresult,aclearlydefinedvaluepropositionisbecomingessentialforbrands,whomustcommunicatewhytheirproductsjustifyapremiumprice.

Retailerscanalsocombatpricesensitivitybyusing

AI-basedpricingo

ptimizationandloyaltyprograms.

AI-basedpricingtoolscanhelpretailersreadjustpricesinrealtime,helpingthemstaycompetitivewhile

protectingormaintainingprofitmargins

.Loyaltyprogramsf

urtherenhanceperceivedvaluebyoffering

rewardsandpersonalizedoffers.Infact,loyaltyprogrammembersdemonstrate

approximately33%lower

pricesensitivity

forproductsinstoreswheretheyholdmemberships,makingtheseprogramsaneffectiveleverforretailers.

In2026andbeyond,shopperswillcontinuetofavorbudget-friendlybrandsalongsidethosetheybelieveareworththeaddedcost.Retailersthatstrengthenandclearlycommunicatetheirvaluepropositions,whether

throughquality,convenience,orstrongbranding,willbebetterpositionedtoattractandretaincustomersinaprice-sensitivemarket.

6

TREND4

RetailMediaNetworks

networks

(RMNs),withretailerstestingon-siteadsand

AD

Thepastfewyearssawthe

experimentationofretailmedia

sponsoredproductplacements.However,RMNshaverapidly

becomeafullyfunctioningadvertisingchannel.Majorretailerslike

Walmart,Target,andAmazonh

aveallbeenutilizingRMNs,using

theircollectionsoffirst-partydatatopowerhighlytargetedad

placementsacrosstheirwebsitesandapps.

RMNsusedatatotargetadstoshoppers.Whenretailerscollect

informationonconsumerspendingbehaviorandpurchasehistory,oftensupportedbyloyaltyprogramdata,theycanmoreaccuratelycurateadsthatresonatewithshoppers.Thesemorerelevantadscanimprovereturnoninvestmentforadvertiserswhileexpandingprofitopportunitiesforretailers.Thisshifthighlightshowretailisnolongerlimitedtosellingphysicalproductsalone.

Asdirect-to-consumer(DTC)brandscontinuetoriseinpopularityandincreasecompetition,retailersneedtofindwaystodiversifytheirrevenuestreams.DatamonetizationthroughRMNsenablesretailerstocapitalizeontheshopperinsightstheyalreadycollect,creatingnewsourcesofvaluebeyondtraditionalretailmargins.

However,withthisdatamonetizationcomesconcernsabout

privacya

nddatagovernance.

Shoppersarebecomingincreasinglyawareofhowtheirdataisused,an

d87%ofconsumers

saythey

won’tdobusinesswithacompanytheydon’ttrusttoprotecttheirinformation.Asretailersrelyonfirst-partyshopperdatatosupporttargetedadvertising,strongcompliancewithprivacyregulationsandresponsibledatamanagementpracticesareessentialto

maintainingcustomertrustandtransparency.

Lookingintothefuture,RMNsareprojectedtoreachavalueof

$7.3billiong

loballyby2034.Insightsderivedfromloyaltydataand

purchasebehaviorwillcontinuetoenhancetargetingcapabilities

acrossthesenetworks.Retailersthatinvestinstrongdata

governancealongsideAI-drivenoptimizationwillbebetter

positionedforsuccessasRMNadoptionbecomesmore

widespread.

7

TREND5

ContinuedEmphasisonCustomerExperience

Omnichannelfeatureshavebeenimplementedacrossretailovertheyears.Technology-backedprocesseslikeBOPIS,self-checkout,andapp-basedorderingareallincreasinglyofferedandpreferredbyshoppers.Today,

87%of

retailersn

owhaveaBOPISoption,while

77%ofshoppers

preferself-checkoutduetoitsspeedandconvenience.As

retailersenter2026,omnichannelcapabilities,alongsidecontinuedinvestmentinin-storetechnology,willremainacriticalpartoftheoverallcustomerexperience.

Forstarters,

store-in-storeformats

giveshoppersaccesstomoreproductofferings.Forexample,theSephora

inKohl’spartnership

givesshoppersaccesstoSephoraproductswhilehelpingKohl’sdriveadditionalfoot

traffic.Thismodelalsohelpsloweroperatingcostsforthesecondarybrandandcreatesaddedconveniencebyallowingcustomerstoshopformoreproductswithinasinglelocation.

In-storetechnologyhascontinuedtoadvanceaswell.Retailersareusingtoolssuchassmartdisplaysand

digitalkiosks

togiveshoppersmorewaystoexploreproductsandcompletepurchases.Digitalkiosksallowcustomerstosearchforitemsandpaydirectlyin-store,whileARandVRtechnologiesenablevirtualproducttrialswithoutphysicalinteraction.Forinstance,Sephorahasintegratedits

“VirtualArtist”

toolintoitsapp,

allowingshopperstotryonmakeupremotely.Thesetechnology-enabledexperiencesenhanceconveniencewhilestrengtheningengagementbetweenshoppersandretailers.

Socialmediahasalsobecomemorecloselyintegratedintotheshoppingjourney.Moretha

n40%of

Americans

havemadeapurchaseonsocialmediaandsaytheywoulddosoagain.Embedded