In a global trade market estimated at $30 trillion, the sector reaches a critical inflection point. On the occasion of the NRF 2026 exhibition, leading European event for the retail sector, Fire extinguisher, a leading provider of technology services for businesses, will reveal its forecasts. The industry must now transform its technological investments into real operational agility.
According to Kyndryl, retail is approaching a strategic turning point. After several years of massive investments in digital and artificial intelligence, brands today come up against the limits of a technological stack that slows down both their agility and their profitability. In 2026, now is the time to simplify. After years of racing for digital expansion, companies will refocus their priorities on operational matters, inventory accuracy and in-store agility. This pivot is essential because more than 80% of sales still take place in physical points of sale, making logistics precision the pillar of omnichannel success while 32% of critical infrastructure (networks, servers) arrives at end of service. Without this return to technological basics, 48% of managers in the retail industry already see their capacity for innovation hampered by these IT base problems.
Towards the end of fragmented omnichannel systems
The era of piling on disparate layers of technology on obsolete systems is coming to an end. This need for homogeneity has become vital, as 52% of retail leaders admit their current cloud environment was built by accident rather than deliberate strategy. Currently, only 15% of retailers believe they are fully exploiting the potential of their omnichannel systems, the majority being held back by manual workflows and mismatched digital additions. In 2026, the challenge will no longer be to add technological bricks, but to unify data, forecasts and customer journeys around an integrated vision.
L'IA Agentique, response to the transformation of professions
In 2026, after retail executives report an average 33% increase in AI investments over the past 12 months, AI will no longer be seen as a simple optimization tool but as the basis of collaboration between humans and machines. The challenge is above all human since nearly 9 out of 10 retail leaders anticipate a complete transformation of roles and responsibilities under the effect of AI in the coming year. Businesses will adopt agentic AI frameworks, able to act autonomously while remaining strictly governed by clear governance rules. Their objective : restore confidence to teams in the face of automation and break down barriers in organizations still hampered by data silos and obsolete environments, while more than 56% of retail leaders admit to having data that is currently inaccessible.
