Technology

Walking the floor at the NRF Big Show last month, one thing became obvious very quickly: retail isn’t short on ideas anymore. For the past decade, the industry has been stuck in a loop of pilots, proofs-of-concept and innovation theatre. Every year brought new tools, new buzzwords and new promises, but not always better execution.…

Retail CIOs are juggling expectations that don’t naturally align. Boards want visible artificial intelligence progress. An enhanced customer experience is expected from consumers across all communication channels. Stores need resilient systems that can tolerate anything a weekend rush throws their way. Digital teams want cleaner signals for the tools they’re deploying. None of this is…

Retailers are investing heavily in artificial intelligence because they see the possibility of faster decisions, stronger planning cycles, and better alignment across their organizations. Many teams begin these projects hoping AI will help them move with more confidence, yet successful AI programs usually start long before the first model runs. These programs begin with a…

Retail is fast becoming one of the economy’s most technology-driven industries. Artificial intelligence at checkout, computer vision for loss prevention, real-time analytics, dynamic pricing, personalized promotions, and seamless fulfillment now shape the in-store experience. More than just points of sale, stores are now data-driven and intelligent at all times. Behind every new technology, one dependency…

At the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City earlier this month, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviewed Tony Bacos, chief product and technology officer at Stitch Fix, an online personal styling service. Bacos detailed how Stitch Fix works to target common shopping challenges and change the way consumers discover style recommendations through the utilization…

Retailers have been hearing about “the future of AI” for years, but 2026 is the year it will become operational. Artificial intelligence is quickly moving from being a novelty that consumers test out with curiosity to a tool they turn to for comparisons, deal-finding, and full purchase-path orchestration. In PYMNTS’ 2025 Black Friday survey, 50.3…

As we begin a new year, retail leaders can be forgiven for feeling a little more cautious than usual. Tighter consumer spending and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty have fueled concerns around inflation, costs and supply chain resilience. Amid these headwinds, the retailers that will come out ahead will be those that double down on what matters…

Surviving on an average net profit of just 1.6 percent, grocers haven’t typically had much room to experiment with new ways of doing business. At the same time, advanced data analytics and machine learning have rapidly disrupted how retailers operate and raised the bar for consumer expectations, including other low-margin retail sectors. Why has grocery…

The retail industry has never been more fluent in artificial intelligence, and yet, never more limited by it. Most retail leaders can articulate the power of generative AI. They’ve seen chatbots draft marketing copy, image tools design product listings, and data models predict seasonal demand. But ask those same teams how AI could bridge online…

For retailers today, meeting customer expectations takes more than adding artificial intelligence tools. The real impact comes when those tools work together, coordinating data, automations and insights so that operations run smarter and customers feel the impact. That’s what AI orchestration promises, and it’s starting to reshape the retail industry from the inside out. What…