Retail is Entering a New Era of Execution at Scale

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. This year in New York, it felt different.

Retailers were no longer asking what’s next. They were asking what actually works across hundreds or thousands of stores, day in and day out.

In short, retail has entered an era where execution matters more than experimentation.

AI is No Longer the Headline, Execution is

Artificial intelligence was everywhere at NRF, but not in the way it has been in previous years. Retailers aren’t debating whether AI belongs in their businesses anymore. They’re deploying it directly into demand forecasting, inventory planning, labor optimization, and loss prevention, and they’re measuring it against one unforgiving benchmark: return on investment.

What stood out is that the most successful deployments all share one thing in common: they’re grounded in operational reality. AI only works when it’s fed accurate, real-time data and embedded into everyday workflows. Without that foundation, it’s just another dashboard no one fully trusts.

The smartest retailers have stopped chasing intelligence in isolation; they’re focusing on decision-making at speed and at scale.

Automation Isn’t About Fewer People, it’s About Fewer Problems

There’s still a misconception that automation is about replacing store teams.

Retailers are using automation to remove friction, including endless manual counts, searching for stock that isn’t there, and reacting too late to issues that should have been obvious hours ago. The goal isn’t fewer people, it’s fewer problems.

When store teams have real-time visibility and clear priorities, productivity improves, stress goes down, and execution becomes consistent. Automation, when done properly, gives people confidence, not redundancy.

Inventory Accuracy is the Quiet Power Behind Everything

Omnichannel retail only works if you can trust your inventory data. AI-driven forecasting only works if the inputs are accurate. Store fulfillment only works if the system reflects reality on the sales floor.

And yet, many retailers are still running businesses where inventory accuracy sits somewhere between “hopeful” and “approximate.”

That’s why there’s such a clear shift away from periodic scans and manual checks toward always-on inventory intelligence. Continuous, item-level visibility isn’t a nice-to-have anymore, it’s the foundation that everything else depends on — and a huge strategic advantage.

Physical Stores Aren’t Fading, They’re Getting Smarter

Despite years of predictions to the contrary, physical stores aren’t going anywhere. What is changing is their role.

Stores are now fulfillment centers, brand environments, media channels and data engines all at once. However, you can’t manage that complexity with yesterday’s tools. Without real-time insight into what’s actually happening on the shop floor, stores become expensive guessing games.

Technologies like always-on RFID are increasingly essential because they replace assumption with certainty. They allow retailers to see problems as they happen, not after the damage is done. In 2026, the most effective stores will be the ones where human expertise is backed by system-driven truth.

Sustainability is Becoming Operational, Not Aspirational

Retailers are moving beyond reporting and pledges toward practical action, reducing waste, cutting unnecessary transportation, and avoiding overproduction. And once again, accuracy is at the heart of it.

Better forecasting, real-time inventory data, and stronger execution reduce markdowns, excess stock and inefficiency. Environmental and financial performance are no longer competing goals. When operations are disciplined, they improve together.

Integration is the Real Battleground

Retailers are prioritizing platforms that integrate cleanly into existing systems, connecting inventory, stores, supply chains and digital channels into a single source of truth. Complexity is already high, so adding more disconnected tools only makes execution harder.

This focus on integration and partnership came through strongly in conversations across NRF, including time spent with H&M, where scale, collaboration and long-term execution were front and center.

The Bottom Line

Retail leaders are clear-eyed about the pressures they face. What’s changed is the confidence that the tools now exist to run retail businesses with far greater precision than ever before.

The next phase of retail won’t be defined by bold experiments or shiny pilots. It will be defined by discipline, accuracy and execution at scale.

Retailers that invest in trusted data, real-time visibility and integrated platforms won’t just survive what comes next, they’ll set the pace.

Peter Oram is CEO of PervasID, a technology company providing always-on RFID that gives retailers real-time, item-level inventory accuracy across stores and supply chains.