Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In large retail operations, category management teams spend significant time deciding which product goes onto which shelf and in which order. Shelf space is very expensive real estate in retail. According to Consumer Packaged Goods(CPG) Research, 10 percent improvement in shelf availability can drive a 5 percent sales lift. Shelf updates don’t happen frequently because…

New York Fashion Week (NYFW) has always been about more than what happens on the runway. Look behind the shows and you’ll see a real-time signal of how the fashion industry is evolving and where its biggest pressures lie. As I spoke with designers, brand leaders, and retail executives at NYFW last month, one theme…

For decades, retailers have invested heavily in owning the customer relationship. Loyalty programs, first-party data, and personalization engines were all designed to ensure brands, not intermediaries, understand their customers best. That foundation is now at risk of slipping away as artificial intelligence-powered platforms increasingly take over the shopping experience. As consumers increasingly discover and purchase…

In modern retail, artificial intelligence is everywhere. From forecasting engines to dynamic pricing tools and demand planning dashboards, AI is now firmly embedded within the industry. In fact, 70 percent of retail companies are either piloting or have already partially implemented agentic AI systems, according to FluentCommerce. However, despite this widespread adoption, full deployment is…

Shoppers are shifting their tactics. Burdened by rising prices, depressed spending power, and slumping consumer sentiment, they are, as KPMG explained, “more cautious, more cost-conscious, and more selective than they’ve been in years.” Recent consumer research shows that shoppers still expect instant value, immediate product availability, and a highly relevant experience both online and in-store.…

Retailers have spent years refining their digital offerings to fit human needs, optimizing layouts, promotions and messaging to capture attention and drive conversion. However, a new factor that will increasingly reshape how purchase decisions are made in 2026 doesn’t shop online, like a human. Consumers are ramping up their use of bot shoppers — automated…

Artificial intelligence can identify your target audience in seconds, optimize campaigns in milliseconds, and generate hundreds of creative variations in minutes. Marketing automation has never been more powerful — or more tempting. Yet the marketers winning right now aren't the ones automating everything. They're the ones who know exactly what not to automate. Because while…

The retail landscape has undergone more transformation in the last 24 months than in the previous decade. While the past few years were defined by the rise of enterprise artificial intelligence optimizing supply chains and back-office efficiencies, 2026 marks the year the "AI agent" officially takes the driver’s seat in the consumer journey. As we…

The innumerable artificial intelligence shopping agents launched before Black Friday last year came at the most opportune time, as tighter spending budgets drove consumers to embrace the technology and lean on its ability to instantly discover the best gifts at the best possible prices. Despite consumers largely being skeptical of AI, this past holiday shopping…

For nearly two decades, online shopping followed a familiar pattern: search, browse, compare, click. Retailers fought for attention with search engine optimization tactics, paid ads and optimized product pages designed to nudge a human toward “Buy Now.” Artificial intelligence has rewritten the script. Agentic commerce, where AI agents search, evaluate, recommend, and even complete purchases…