NRF 2026 Event Recap: Retail Intelligence Enters Its Agentic Operations Era

NRF 2026 in New York was an exciting week for the retail industry and a meaningful moment in how retail leaders are thinking about the future of decision-making. Across the show floor and in sessions throughout the event, conversations reflected a shared focus on performance. Retail teams are looking for faster decisions, tighter inventory, smarter pricing, and technology that fits the way retail actually runs day to day.

What stood out this year was a clear shift in how those goals are being approached. Retailers are moving beyond viewing AI as a tool for analysis and beginning to see it as an active participant in daily operations. The idea of Agentic AI, systems that can surface insights, explain what is happening, and guide teams toward action, came up repeatedly in discussions. Rather than asking for more dashboards or more data, leaders were focused on how to shorten the distance between a question and a confident decision.

The Energy on the Floor and at the Booth

From the moment the doors opened, the energy was strong. Conversations quickly moved from curiosity to detailed questions about operating models, adoption, time to value, and measurable impact.

CortexEye, a new product previewed by Impact Analytics, became the centerpiece in many of these discussions. As retail leaders saw it for the first time, they were amazed to see how one can simply ask a question in plain language and get a clear answer with diagnostics, context, and recommended actions. 

The concept of replacing static dashboards with conversational AI, powered by a retail semantic layer and agent-driven reasoning, resonated strongly with leaders looking to reduce time spent navigating reports and increase time spent making decisions. The ability to map all enterprise data, structured and unstructured, without requiring end-user knowledge of SQL or report building gave them the confidence that this tool could be a true industry game-changer.

A standout element of the Impact Analytics booth was the airbrush artist creating custom bags for visitors. While people waited for their unique designs to be painted, many thoughtful conversations took place.

A major highlight of NRF 2026 was the Impact Analytics presence on the Big Ideas stage, featuring two dynamic sessions led by our CEO, Prashant Agrawal, alongside industry leaders. Both sessions drew standing-room audiences and showcased the strength of our vision for AI-native, agent-led retail.

Big Ideas Stage: From Chaos to Clarity: AI-Powered Pricing & Inventory as the New Margin Engine

In the first session, Prashant Agrawal, CEO, Impact Analytics, was joined by Chris Norris, Retail Director, Group Platforms and Digital Technology, Al-Futtaim, a global retail technology leader overseeing complex international retail operations. Their conversation focused on how AI-powered pricing and inventory are becoming core financial engines inside modern retail organizations.

They discussed how retailers can connect data, AI, and strong change management to improve margin performance, inventory productivity, and alignment across multiple markets and brands. The audience response showed how closely this topic aligns with executive priorities today.

Retail leaders are under pressure to manage volatility while still delivering predictable financial results. Pricing and inventory decisions sit at the heart of that challenge. When those decisions are powered by AI and embedded into everyday workflows, they become strategic levers that leadership teams can rely on.

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Big Ideas Stage: From Pilots to Profits—Agentic AI with Proven ROI, at Scale

In the second Big Ideas session, Prashant Agrawal, CEO, Impact Analytics, was joined by Valentina Labate, Chief Strategy Officer for PittaRosso and Scarpe&Scarpe. Together, they shared how AI-driven decision intelligence is embedded across leadership, merchandising, and store operations within her organization.

Valentina described how her teams use Impact Analytics Agentic AI every day to focus on performance drivers, align on priorities, and accelerate decisions. Leadership meetings are more focused. Teams spend more time acting and less time reconciling reports. A common decision language now supports cross-functional alignment.

Her story resonated strongly with executives in the room because it reflected a common reality. Retailers have data. They need faster, clearer ways to turn that data into confident action. Decision intelligence helps make that possible at scale.

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NRF 2026 Takeaways for Retail Leaders

Agentic AI Is Moving Into Daily Retail Operations

One of the most important signals at NRF 2026 was how quickly Agentic AI is becoming part of real retail workflows. Conversations moved beyond exploration and into practical execution, with a focus on how agents can support decision-making across merchandising, planning, pricing, and inventory every day.

AI Is a Board-Level Topic

Retail AI conversations are increasingly happening at the executive and board level. Leaders are focused on how AI improves financial performance, supports margin goals, and strengthens operational control. The discussion centers on measurable outcomes tied to revenue, margin, and working capital.

Decision Speed Is a Competitive Advantage

Retailers that can interpret signals and act quickly are gaining an advantage. AI-driven decision intelligence helps leadership teams understand what is driving performance and where to focus next. Speed with clarity is becoming a defining capability.

Pricing and Inventory Must Work Together

Executives recognize that pricing and inventory decisions are deeply connected. AI platforms that bring these areas together support more balanced decisions, improving sell-through, reducing excess inventory, and protecting margins.

Retail-Specific Expertise Matters

Retail leaders showed strong interest in solutions built specifically for retail. Domain knowledge, purpose-built models, and workflows aligned to retail processes create faster time to value and stronger adoption.

Change Management Is Essential

Technology alone does not drive results. Successful AI programs include strong enablement, training, and cross-team alignment. Retailers are looking for partners who understand both the technical and human sides of transformation.

Decision Intelligence Across the Enterprise

One of the most consistent themes in conversations at our booth was the need for connected intelligence across functions. Retail leaders want to break down silos between merchandising, planning, supply chain, and finance.

They are looking for a shared view of performance that helps everyone align around the same priorities. This is where Impact Analytics continues to lead with a unified platform that supports planning, assortment, inventory, pricing, and decision intelligence together.

Executives responded positively to the idea of having a central intelligence layer that brings context to data and helps teams understand drivers of performance in real time.

Agentic AI in Daily Retail Workflows

Agentic AI generated strong interest at NRF, and the most engaging discussions focused on how these capabilities live inside everyday retail workflows.

Retail leaders were curious about how AI Agents can:

• Highlight exceptions that need attention
• Explain performance shifts in clear business language
• Connect cause and effect across functions
• Provide evidence and reliability signals
• Compress time to gain insight dramatically for weekly and daily decision cycles

When AI operates within the rhythm of the business, it becomes a trusted partner for merchants, planners, and pricing leaders. This practical integration was a key part of our conversations and demonstrations.

Expanding Interest Across Retail Segments

Another encouraging NRF 2026 retail trend at NRF was the level of engagement from retailers beyond the largest enterprise tier. Many organizations are facing the same pressures around margin, inventory, and demand volatility.

These retailers are looking for solutions that can be deployed quickly and scaled over time. They value modular platforms that deliver impact without requiring massive transformation programs upfront. This broadening interest signals continued growth in retail AI adoption across the market.

The Impact Analytics Experience at NRF

NRF 2026 was energizing because of the quality of conversations happening across the event. Retail leaders openly shared the challenges they are navigating, from margin pressure to demand volatility, and explored how decision intelligence can help their teams move faster and operate with greater confidence.

Engagement extended beyond the show floor into smaller, more focused discussions that allowed for deeper dialogue around strategy, transformation, and long-term priorities. These moments created space for meaningful exchanges and stronger connections among retail leaders from around the world.

Throughout the event, discussions spanned the full spectrum of retail decision-making, from planning and pricing to inventory and cross-functional alignment. The combination of thought leadership on stage, in-depth conversations across the event, and hands-on demonstrations reinforced a clear takeaway: retail AI is becoming embedded in how decisions are made, and leaders are actively looking for practical ways to bring intelligence into everyday operations.

Retail Intelligence Is Moving Forward

NRF 2026 showed that retail leaders are ready to operate with greater intelligence, agility, and alignment. AI is becoming embedded in the core processes that drive performance. Executive teams are focused on platforms that connect data to decisions and decisions to financial results.

For Impact Analytics, this is not a one-time moment. Every year, we bring new retail AI capabilities to help our clients operate better, move faster, and deliver stronger financial results. The conversations across the week reflected that progress, and NRF proved to be a powerful stage for that evolution.

Heading into NRF 2027, Impact Analytics is doubling down on decision intelligence that delivers measurable ROI and anticipates demand before it hits.