NRF 2026 preview: It’s time to get smart about all things ‘agentic AI’

It seems hard to believe, but NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show (and retail’s biggest event of the year every year) is coming up fast. Retailers are less than a month away from once again having to develop an itinerary that somehow manages to make the most productive use of their time spread across more than 170 sessions, 1,000 vendor booths and countless networking opportunities. In just three days. Three. Days. A daunting task, to be sure.

But maybe I can help. I have spent decades studying, talking about and writing about technology trends in retail. As such, I have a good sense of the hot topics capturing retailers’ attention as they attempt to adapt their strategies to the unprecedented disruption and uncertainty we face today.

It will likely come as no surprise to you that “agentic AI” tops the list of hot topics right now. By a wide margin. Agentic AI is literally everywhere. We are without a doubt approaching (to borrow a phrase from Gartner) the peak of inflated expectations for agentic AI in retail.

The reality is this: It’s only a matter of time before your competitors are taking advantage of many of these game-changing agentic AI capabilities.

That’s why I recommend you make the most of your time at the NRF show in January. I strongly urge you to listen to experts, talk to your peers and, yes, meet with vendors in the exhibit hall. The exhibit hall is where the rubber will meet the road. And the exhibit hall is where you will experience firsthand how agentic AI is being adopted by technology vendors, including Revionics, as we progress our multi-agent AI pricing system.

I’ve done some digging and compiled a few recommendations for sessions and exhibits that I think will ensure you leave the Javits Center on January 13 much more prepared to define the next steps on your journey to agentic AI than when you walked in.

First and foremost, take a close look at the schedule of agentic roundtable discussions on the AI Stage. The list is evolving as more speakers get recruited and topics get refined, but already the lineup looks like it’s full of sessions that will include commentary from retailers working with agentic AI.

I would also recommend you keep an eye on Google at NRF. Google is certainly all-in on agentic AI and is Revionics’ strategic technology partner for our AI solutions. Google will have much to discuss and share on the topic of agentic AI during the event this year.

Additionally, data scientists from Revionics will be speaking about how we are building and deploying multi-agent applications on Google’s Vertex AI in a session titled “Revionics Elevates Retail Pricing with Agentic AI” at 1:00 p.m., Sunday, January 11, in Google booth #5507.

An Ulta Beauty executive will be speaking on the AI Stage on Monday, January 12, in a session titled “Winning in the Agentic Era: Ulta’s Take on the Commerce Roadmap to Success.” I suspect this will be time well spent, as we will hear from a retail leader with experience implementing AI agents.

CDW is sponsoring and co-presenting an intriguing session titled “From vision to value: How Agentic and Perceptive AI are shaping the future of retail.” The session description promises to “cut through the hype to explore how retailers are moving from science experiments to autonomous value creation.” Sounds intriguing and potentially informative, depending on the as-yet-unannounced retailer speakers. (Buzzword alert: For those not yet familiar, “Perceptive AI” refers to systems designed to sense, interpret and understand things in a human-like way to deliver perception-driven reasoning.)

There are, of course, many other sessions focused on AI that will likely include an agentic component, including Revionics’ Big Ideas session on Monday, January 12, titled “The Retail Leader’s Edge: Pricing for AI, Tariffs, and the New Consumer.” During this session, Revionics clients will share their real-world experiences with evolving pricing strategies and leveraging transformational AI. They will also share practical lessons and the story behind their success, from today’s AI applications to the future potential of agentic AI in retail.

Also, please be sure to visit us at booth #4639. We’d love to show you exactly what we’re building and where we are headed with all things agentic AI.

There’s clearly a lot to learn about the imminent future of agentic AI, and NRF 2026 represents a great opportunity for a crash course. I sincerely hope we’ll see you there.