JANUARY 2026
JANUARY 2026
Managing Editor: John Mathews
Senior Writer: Stephanie Kreml
Writers: Mary Alison, Allison Gillchrist,
Kim Langdon Cull, Connie Yerbic, Elena Borrelli
Magazine Designer : Michelle Wong
Digital Publishing Director: John Louis
Advertising: David Miller
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Copyright © 2026
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, the publisher accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions. The products and services advertised are those of individual authors and are not necessarily endorsed by or connected with the publisher. The opinions expressed in the articles within this publication are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of the publisher.
Retail enters 2026 not chasing transformation for its own sake, but demanding results. Across this edition, one message is unmistakable: strategy now lives or dies in execution.
This year’s State of the Retail Industry is shaped by leaders whose perspectives are grounded in decades of experience, rigorous data, and deep collaboration with retailers navigating sustained change. What they share here is not theory—it reflects lived operational realities, evolving consumer expectations, and the hard lessons learned from scaling innovation in complex environments.
We’ve organized these insights across five defining lenses. Retail Reset frames the macro forces reshaping the industry, from economic pressure to shifting shopper behavior. Intelligent Retail shows how AI and data have moved beyond experimentation into the operating backbone of modern commerce. In Winning the Customer, experience, loyalty, and retail media converge into a unified growth engine where relevance drives revenue. Operational Edge explores how store intelligence, payments innovation, and supply chain agility turn execution into a competitive advantage. Finally, Ecosystem Enablers highlights the broader forces—from returns to accessibility and compliance—that quietly shape long-term performance.
Together, these perspectives reveal an industry maturing. The winners of 2026 will not be those with the boldest innovation headlines, but those who connect strategy to systems, intelligence to operations, and insight to measurable value.
Retail’s next chapter isn’t about promises. It’s about delivering—consistently, confidently, and at scale.
Happy reading.
John Mathews
editor@retail-today.com
Thriving in an Always-On Retail Economy
Fueled by Data, Shaped by Technology, Accelerated by Innovation