From AI‑driven discovery to tariff‑induced price sensitivity, the 2025 holiday retail season revealed how technology and economic headwinds reshaped consumer behavior and retail strategies.
Walmart, Meta, and Omnicom are launching a data‑linked influencer matching initiative that uses purchase behavior and creator analytics to drive measurable retail media sales.
CES 2026 launches in Las Vegas as the CTA forecasts U.S. consumer tech spending will reach $565 billion, driven by AI, sustainability, and omnichannel retail innovations.
AI agents are now browsing and buying for shoppers—brands must optimize data, build trust, and adapt to generative search or risk falling off the digital shelf.
Creator-led video content is now a critical driver of ecommerce sales, transforming how brands plan, fund, and measure retail growth.
How AI agents are reshaping retail and the digital shelf. Learn what brands need to win at Walmart as bots browse and buy, why trust and clean product data matter, and how generative engine optimization, structured content, and AI monitoring drive recommendations.
Outdated EDI systems are quietly hindering retail growth—Orderful shows how to modernize fast and scale omnichannel with confidence.
Slalom reveals how generative AI drives real retail results by embedding intelligence into workflows and prioritizing trust, governance, and people.
Clean data keeps retail moving. Orderful SVP Jonathan Kish explains why EDI still powers omnichannel, where it breaks, and how modern integrations speed onboarding, cut chargebacks, and sync inventory as AI driven shopping raises the bar for accuracy.
Retail’s future depends not just on AI, but on building the people who can bring innovation to life.
Generative AI delivers value when it shortens the path from data to decisions. Slalom leaders share how retailers use AI across supply chain, product, and customer experience, plus the governance and culture needed to move from pilots to production.
Elon Musk claims AI will eliminate poverty and make saving money obsolete, calling for a future of universal high income amid rollout of Trump accounts.
Retail strategist Doug Stephens discusses trust, AI skepticism, and the societal role of retail as the industry looks toward 2026 in The Backroom podcast.
Walmart’s agentic AI approach redefines retail automation by embedding autonomous agents into operations, shopping experiences, and supply chain workflows.
Federal and state tensions over artificial intelligence regulation are deepening in Washington, with debates over centralized oversight, states’ rights, and AI’s societal risks reshaping tech policy.
Discover OpenAI’s major partnerships in 2026, from AWS and Disney to Walmart and Target, shaping AI across enterprise, retail, media, and entertainment.