AI dominated the agenda. Store formats continued to evolve. And customer expectations reached new heights. The #NRF2026 (the NRF Big Show in New York) brought the biggest retailers in the world to discuss the most important retail trends for 2026 and beyond.

From AI-powered operations to frontline execution and brand growth, retail is entering a new phase of execution, ecosystem thinking, and customer connection. Here are six insights from NRF 2026 that stood out for us.  

1. AI has moved from experimentation to execution

The conversation has shifted decisively.  

“Should we use AI?” is not a discussion anymore. The question now is “Where does AI create real, measurable value today?”  

Sessions focused heavily on agentic AI, automation, demand forecasting, and personalisation.  

Sessions like “AI-Powered Productivity: Elevating Customer Experience Through Business Insights, Digital Simulation, and Advanced Robotics” demonstrated how AI is becoming a central operational engine driving insights, warehouse productivity, and service levels.  

2. Customer Experience remains a powerful retail differentiator

In the session "How Customer Experience Still Creates Retail’s Competitive Edge”, leaders from Veronica Beard, UNTUCKit, James Avery Artisan Jewelry, and NewStore shared about the importance of prioritising the customer experience, delivering experiences that are seamless, personalised and memorable, whether in-store or online. This creates emotional connections and loyalty through every interaction.  

But to deliver these seamless experiences, an orchestration between product, store, digital and operations is needed.  

3. Execution on the frontline is where revenue is won or lost

Sponsored by our partner Axonify, the session “Every shift counts” featured leaders from Michael Kors and Sprouts Farmers Market.  

The session reframed frontline execution from an operational cost to a revenue engine.

Joe Horton (Senior Director, Retail Sales and Operations at Michael Kors) and Kyle Eynon (Director of Training & Development at Sprouts Farmers Market) shared how their organisations focus on making every shift count by:  

• Ramping associates faster, so new employees contribute sooner without sacrificing confidence or quality
• Maximising labour spend, ensuring time on the floor is spent on the right actions, not low-value activity
• Equipping managers with real-time insights, so coaching and decisions happen in the moment, not after the fact
• Providing on-the-job guidance, rather than relying on pre-shift training or post-hoc reporting

A critical takeaway was that strong execution comer from clarity, aligment, and reinforcement in the flow of work. When employees understand what "good" looks like this shift, performance follows.

4. Leadership at the intersection of purpose and performance  

Although NRF 2026 was rich with sessions about technology, the opening keynote “Welcome to The Next Now!” featuring Bob Eddy (BJ’s Wholesale Club) and Ed Stack (DICK’s Sporting Goods) reminded us that people still define competitive advantage.  

Their conversation emphasised the importance of leadership strategy in navigating shifting expectations, community engagement, and growth with purpose.  

This is something we agree is incredibly important to retail success here at Capability Group and we have worked with several large retailers to lift the capability of their frontline leaders over many years.  

5. Retail is being rebuilt around ecosystems

Retailers are redesigning their operating models to connect stores, digital platforms, supply chains, and customer data into unified ecosystems. The goal is to create adaptive systems that respond in real time to demand, disruption, and behaviour.  

What’s changed now is the mindset. Channels are no longer owned in silos. Ownership is shifting toward outcomes: speed, accuracy, availability, and experience.  

Sessions such as “One store, one forecast” emphasised that fragmented tech stacks undermine speed, margin, and trust.

6. Ryan Reynolds and the new rules of brand building

A refreshingly perspective on what it takes to build brands that scale and endure. Across ventures including Aviation Gin, Mint Mobile, Wrexham A.F.C., and Maximum Effort, Ryan Reynolds has proven that outsized growth requires authentic connection. Moderated by Ethan Tandowsky, CFO at Adyen, the session explored how humor, creativity, and cultural relevance can transform customers into communities.

A powerful insight from the conversation was that modern brand power is built through relentless authenticity and a deep understanding of audience culture.  

Brands that invite customers into the story and empower teams to live that story on the frontline create loyalty that competitors struggle to replicate.

Check out more retail resources >>

A lot of great ideas and stories, as well as tangible and actionable insights. More to follow.

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