NRF’s The Retail Big Show, the world’s leading annual retail event, brings together retailers’ border ecosystem to explore the latest trends, discover emerging technologies, and plan the future of retail through expert-led presentations and insights.
This year, one topic dominated the conversation amongst retailers. As we look ahead to 2026, the rise of agentic AI in retail is a trend they can no longer ignore. While artificial intelligence (AI) has already transformed retail operations from personalization to inventory management, its evolution into agentic AI marks the next major shift. These autonomous, goal-driven AI systems are set to impact every aspect of retail, redefining how retailers operate, scale, and compete in a fast-changing industry.
One expert-led presentation in particular caught our attention: From Production to Customer Experience: The Power of Agentic Ecosystems. This article distills the session’s key takeaways and considers their impact on retail’s evolution. We’ll explore Salesfloor’s approach to developing straightforward AI solutions that help retailers build stronger customer relationships and unlock new engagement opportunities.
In-store experience is alive and well
After years of speculation that retail would fully transition to digital, physical stores have proven their staying power. In-store purchases now account for more than 87% of all sales for most retail industries, according to Tony D’Onofrio, President at Sensormatic. He even pushes this idea further: even if parts of a transaction happen online, all of them imply a store or a physical location. This is why most online retailers are trying to expand their physical presence, without abandoning digitization. What we are noticing is a proliferation of channels, rather than one being replaced by another.
Our thoughts: AI as the bridge between store associates and customers
At Salesfloor, our data consistently reinforces the continued importance of physical stores in the customer journey. Time and again, our statistics demonstrate that brick-and-mortar locations remain essential to retail performance. Personal outreach at the store level, especially when focused on building customer relationships, yields outstanding outcomes. Looking at our 2025 metrics, emails from individual store associates generated 3x the open rates compared to automated or impersonal marketing messages. We are confident that the relationship between stores and their local customer base will continue to significantly influence retailers’ sales success. The next step is to leverage AI to eliminate friction in the relationship-building process between local store associates and customers; not to replace human interaction but to strengthen it.
The friction often arises from two sources: sales associates doubting their messaging skills and facing tight time constraints. Embedding an AI Messaging Assistant directly into their outreach tool addresses both issues head-on, removing barriers to customer engagement and streamlining the creation of quick, on-brand communications.
The impact AI has on the retail industry is already massive
AI is expected to significantly impact the retail and hospitality industries in the next few years. It will not replace the physical store, but it will indeed make it better, according to Tony D’Onofrio, President at Sensormatic:
“AI is not just hype; it represents a $9.2 trillion impact for retailers through the year 2029.”
Their survey data reveals that 58% of consumers want retailers to leverage AI to streamline their purchasing journey. Additionally, three-quarters of consumers report already using AI tools when buying products, and surprisingly, the adoption is generalized across all different generations. Although 84% of retailers have adopted AI, they are now seeking ways to maximize its capabilities.
Personalization without compromising privacy
Salesfloor is developing an AI-powered style advisor designed to address critical challenges for retailers and customers alike. While retailers want to streamline product discovery and provide natural, conversational support that brings their online shopping experience closer to the personalized service available in physical stores. On the other hand, AI and agentic AI also spark worries amongst consumers.
Survey data shows that shoppers have two primary concerns: protecting their personal information and the risk that AI shopping agents could be biased toward encouraging excessive spending. To earn customer trust, we anticipate that retailers will need to clearly communicate how they use AI and handle consumer data. Which is why retailers should seek ethical solutions such as the Salesfloor AI Stylist, capable of balancing the expectations of privacy while nurturing a personalized and relevant experience for the consumer.
Salesfloor’s personal AI Stylist
The AI Stylist functions as an around-the-clock sales associate, offering the same personalized recommendations customers would receive from in-store staff. On the other hand, we also care deeply about shoppers’ perceptions. This is why we developed a product that is both practical and ethical. Our personal AI Stylist does not compromise the shopper’s data as the conversational AI only stores the activities for the user itself. It can remember a person from one visit to another, but does not store or share personal data.
While retailers are starting to embrace AI, their digital shopping experience remains imperfect, prompting them to focus more on eliminating obstacles and enhancing customer satisfaction. Tony D’Onofrio points out that the “search part” is the primary area still requiring refinement in the digital commerce journey. According to him, many major e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon, have not yet mastered how to effectively guide shoppers through overwhelming product selections.
“The retail industry is at a crossroads where it needs to balance between efficiency, automation, and transparency, which is exactly what we are developing.”
– Lorenzo Benazzo, Chief Product Officer at Salesfloor
“Our AI Stylist is a core part of our agentic strategy. It is trained on a decade of clienteling expertise and the rich conversational data behind Salesfloor’s $5B+ in attributed revenue.”
– Oscar Sachs, CEO at Salesfloor
The path forward: embracing AI as a partner, not a replacement
The future of retail isn’t fully digital or entirely physical. It’s intelligently integrated, thoughtfully automated, and fundamentally human. Agentic AI is the tool that will help retailers achieve that balance, but only if they strategically embrace it and implement it thoughtfully.
The shift is here. The opportunity is massive.
Talk to an expert to learn how Salesfloor can help you implement a smart, actionable AI strategy for your retail business.
