The retail sector is preparing for significant changes in 2026 as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to shift how brands connect with customers and how transactions take place. Retailers are focusing on blending digital and physical experiences while responding to new shopping behaviours driven by AI agents.
Omnichannel shift
Shopping centres and retail outlets are increasing efforts to integrate AI-driven insights across multiple departments such as marketing, operations, and merchandising. The focus is now on ensuring different technologies within businesses can communicate efficiently.
"As AI continues to re-define consumer expectations, its widespread adoption presents a strategic opportunity for connecting brand experiences across physical and digital realms. In shopping centres like Westfield Shepard's Bush, we're exploring how AI can provide retailers with data-driven insights into the customer journey, informing departments across marketing, operations, merchandising, and research," said Candice Mayer-Gillet, Managing Director, Westfield Rise.
There is an industry-wide emphasis on breaking down data silos through interoperable technology stacks. This would allow for seamless flow of information and more precise targeting of consumers, making operations such as stock management and store layouts increasingly data-driven and adaptive.
Retail operations
Businesses are expected to benefit from improved campaign management as AI technologies mature. Retail disciplines are increasingly converging, supporting campaigns that not only operate across various channels but also feel customised for each customer.
"In 2026, the challenge will be to ensure the adoption of an interoperable technology stack, enabling the necessary data to flow across departments without becoming siloed. Once this foundation is set, the adoption of AI solutions will drive seamless campaigns, even as disciplines continue to blend, enabling improved efficiency, optimised layouts, stock management, and the design of consumer experiences that feel personal and relevant to each consumer," said Mayer-Gillet.
Omnichannel experience
Retailers are increasingly using AI to gain insights into consumer values and tailor experiences accordingly. The technology is being positioned as a tool to support creativity within retail, rather than just a mechanism for automation. There is a belief that the most successful brands will be those that use AI to enhance-and not purely automate-the shopping journey.
"So, what will the 'true' omnichannel experience look like in 2026? As AI streamlines the shopper journey, retailers will gain clearer, more decisive insights, allowing them to strategise with consumer values in mind. Through this lens, AI can support creativity, expanding the canvas without losing trust. The brands that progress most will not be the ones that automate everything, but the ones who use AI responsibly to unlock ideas and improve clarity while keeping imagination at the heart," said Mayer-Gillet.
AI agents
Another development is the rapid growth in agentic commerce, where AI agents perform shopping and decision-making duties on behalf of consumers. These tools allow buyers to outsource the shopping process and bypass traditional retailer websites, seeking out deals and options according to preset preferences.
"2025 has seen a surge in AI agent-enabled shopping and the rise in agentic commerce. This new phenomenon challenges the assumption that the retailer is always central to the transaction and creates new routes for customers to journey through. As a result, human shoppers no longer need to visit a retailers' website, instead outsourcing to agents to save on time and find the best deals," said Nikhita Hyett, General Manager EMEA, Signifyd.
Retail adaptation
The prevalence of AI agents is prompting retailers to reconsider how they structure their sales processes and customer experience strategies. Organisations are exploring new infrastructure enhancements such as open APIs, embedded wallets, and secure payment stacks compatible with agent transactions.
"If AI agents do, in fact, become the primary intermediary between shopper and shop, we can expect the role of the retailer to shift dramatically. Customer experience - from browsing to checkout - will no longer be designed for human emotions and intuition, but for algorithmic decision-making, fundamentally changing how retailers compete and differentiate," said Hyett.
This evolution also brings new security considerations, with businesses looking into verification protocols, fraud detection models geared towards agent behaviour, and parallel experiences for both human and AI customers.
Changing roles
"Agentic commerce is still new, and while it might intimidate some retailers, it won't render them obsolete. It will however, change how consumers behave, interact with, and expect from retailers throughout the whole shopping journey. Those who adapt to rethink their role not as curators of the journey, but as verifiable, trusted endpoints of sale will thrive," said Hyett.