Six retail technology trends that will shape 2026

Agentic Commerce: When AI starts shopping for the customer

In recent weeks, one term kept popping up again and again - specifically in keynotes, side conversations, and follow-up notes from NRF: agentic commerce. It has quickly become one of the most discussed topics in retail technology this year, so it’s worth first clarifying what it means - and then looking at the potential impact for retail.

What is the impact of Agentic Commerce?

Agentic commerce refers to a form of digital commerce in which AI-driven agents can automate shopping tasks on behalf of consumers, from product discovery and comparison to transaction execution, within defined preferences and constraints. Unlike traditional AI assistants that simply help users explore options, these agents can complete multi-step processes with minimal human involvement.

This shift moves commerce from “people using systems” to “systems acting on behalf of people.” These agents process structured inputs, navigate options, and interact with backend systems to accomplish tasks that today require manual steps. For retailers, this shift has very concrete implications: all of this only works if the data behind it is right!

Why real-time is key

Inventory information and product data must be precise, structured, and continuously up to date. Agentic commerce doesn’t tolerate ambiguity, outdated stock positions or incomplete product information. AI agents don’t improvise - they execute. Their decisions are only as good as the data they consume. For retailers, data quality stops being an operational hygiene factor and becomes a strategic prerequisite. Without a reliable, real-time foundation, agentic commerce doesn’t just underperform, it simply doesn’t work.

Universal Commerce Protocol: Infrastructure, not a feature

While new AI shopping interfaces attract most of the attention, Google quietly introduced something far more fundamental at NRF: the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). UCP is an open-source standard. It provides a unified, secure way for consumer interfaces to connect to commerce backends. Examples include Google’s AI Mode in Search, Gemini, and similar AI-driven interfaces. Product search, carts, checkout and fulfillment are designed to speak the same language.

Algorithms as main target audience

UCP is not just another shopping feature; it is an architectural statement. Chatbots illustrate how shopping could work, while UCP defines how commerce must be structured to support it. As digital assistants will increasingly purchase on behalf of customers, algorithms become a new and critical target audience. For retailers, this means shifting investment away from surface-level innovation toward foundational, interoperable infrastructure.

Inventory moves to center stage

One of the most striking insights from recent industry research, including McKinsey’s “State of Fashion 2026” report, is that inventory now ranks among the most stressed areas of retail operations, alongside pricing and sourcing costs. For fashion, footwear and sports retailers, this is existential. Margins are tight, and customers increasingly expect instant availability across channels.

Across NRF discussions, one message kept resurfacing: real-time, item-level inventory visibility is no longer a nice-to-have. It is the foundation for profitability, customer experience and effective store execution.

Architecture beats point solutions

Retail operates in real time. Customers move, products move, and expectations shift instantly. Yet many inventory systems still show stock at rest - reconstructed manually, after the fact. This is where open standards such as EPCIS and the concept of a digital twin become critical. RFID doesn’t just count items; it creates a living digital representation of every product in the store. Instead of abstract stock numbers, each item becomes identifiable, trackable and verifiable. Shelves can be scanned in seconds. Entire stores can be counted in minutes.

Architecture as backbone

Real-time availability becomes a natural outcome rather than a constant struggle. This architectural layer turns fragmented data into one trusted source of truth. When inventory data is reliable, both people and systems can act instantly - from replenishment and fulfillment to loss prevention. Modern retail rarely fails because teams don’t care. It fails when systems are fragmented. Architecture matters more than ever.

Always-on: What can be automated, will be automated

Earlier this year, I already touched on automation and overhead RFID reading in my “Fun with Inventory” article. At the time, the question was whether the industry was truly ready to move beyond manual scanning. Conversations and announcements at NRF have since made one thing very clear: this topic is not only relevant - it’s accelerating. Rising labour costs, combined with new technical capabilities, are turning automation from an efficiency ambition into an operational necessity.

Automation becomes the new standard

For years, the RFID industry shared a common ambition: achieving accuracy and efficiency without relying entirely on manual handheld scanning. That ambition is now becoming reality.

Advances in RFID tags, reader performance and cloud-native platforms enable continuous, always-on RFID infrastructures. Stock counting no longer depends on periodic manual effort. Replenishment processes, item locationing, fitting-room analytics and shrink insights become automated and scalable.

Several use cases are maturing rapidly:

• Automated stockroom-to-sales-floor replenishment: Replenishment is still one of retail’s biggest pain points. Today it’s often manual or semi-automated. Fixed RFID infrastructure can make it a smooth, compliance-proof process.
• Locating misplaced items instantly: In fashion stores with thousands of SKUs, search time kills productivity. RFID-enabled locationing can do 90% of the work, with handhelds handling the “last meter.”
• Fitting room insights & conversion: Know what goes in, what comes out, and what gets left behind - the holy grail of conversion analytics.
• Integrated loss prevention: RFID combined with Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) gives retailers shrink insights they’ve never had before - what’s missing, from where, and when.
• Money mapping & store layout optimization: Knowing exactly where items move inside a store gives retailers new levers to optimize space and service.

RFID enters consumer devices

A major inflection point is approaching. Qualcomm recently announced the Dragonwing Q-6690, the first enterprise mobile processor with fully integrated RAIN RFID capabilities, and showcased it at NRF. This unlocks smaller, more efficient devices and proximity-aware experiences. And it’s only the beginning. As EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) requirements accelerate adoption, RFID will increasingly bridge enterprise and consumer worlds.

Impact on consumer and shopping experience

For consumers, this shift fundamentally changes how they interact with products. Easy, direct access to product data becomes possible at item level - not via QR codes or apps, but through seamless, proximity-based interaction. Consumers can verify authenticity, origin and sustainability claims instantly. Care instructions, warranty details, recalls or resale eligibility can be accessed even years after purchase. For circular use cases, such as repair, reuse or resale, the product itself becomes the carrier of its digital identity.

This also unlocks new post-purchase experiences. Think of effortless product registration, automated warranty handling, smarter returns and exchanges, or personalized after-sales services triggered by the item itself. In-store, consumer-facing RFID enables frictionless product discovery, assisted selling and availability checks without scanning barcodes or searching screens. At home, it lays the groundwork for smart inventory awareness — from wardrobe management to automated replenishment.

Conclusion: The customer decides who wins

Today’s consumer is informed, impatient and increasingly intolerant of friction. Loyalty is fragile and must be earned continuously. In this environment, inventory accuracy and on-shelf availability stop being internal KPIs and become brand promises. Every missing item represents not just a lost sale, but lost trust.

As AI agents, open standards and always-on infrastructure converge, one thing becomes clear: Retailers who invest in visibility and architecture will win. Those who don’t will be invisible. To customers and to algorithms alike.