Retail TouchPoints

AI’s impact on retail can feel like a high-speed train, racing past each proverbial station. Just a year ago, retailers were looking to determine where generative AI had its place. Now, organizations have moved well past initial exploration, many having completed pilots, tested use cases, and shown early signs of value. It’s clear that AI is not a moment passing by and will continue to play a meaningful role in how retailers operate and compete.

Deep Dive: Turning the Catalog Into a Living Sales Channel Featuring: Bogdan Mile, Chief Product Officer at Flipsnack and creator of Catology The product catalog is one of commerce’s oldest tools, but in wholesale, it remains surprisingly central to how business gets done. Buyers still use catalogs to evaluate assortments, compare pricing and decide what to stock.

Walmart, Wing Expand Drone Delivery Network Published: October 7, 2026By james.hickey Photo courtesy of Walmart/Wing Key takeaways Walmart and Wing are expanding drone delivery to Denver and Seattle as part of a broader push to reach 270 stores and 40 million customers. The service is designed to make fast delivery of everyday items more accessible through the Walmart app, Walmart.com and the Wing app.

Many fashion CIOs I talk to are still asking whether to modernize off their legacy fashion ERP systems. That question was worth debating five years ago. Today it’s mostly settled by the calendar as mainstream support for some of these legacy platforms is winding down over the next few years, barely two planning cycles away for most retail calendars. Legacy fashion ERP was, for two decades, a tool that fashion had for managing color, size, and seasonal complexity.

Self-checkouts (SCO) have become a cornerstone of retailers’ labor and traffic planning. These terminals are now expected, and often preferred, by shoppers, and with convenience still a top motivator of shopper decisions, it seems an obvious win. The calculation should be simple. Self-guided checkouts can help reduce wait times, free up associates for restocking and support, and give shoppers more control over their in-store experiences. Less friction equals more satisfied customers.

Retailers are divided on AI shopping agents: Amazon blocked Meta’s Muse to protect its data advantages and customer relationships, while Shopify welcomed it — a split that reflects fundamentally different strategic positions on where customer relationships will live in an agentic future.

Years ago, I tagged along on store visits with a colleague from headquarters. While I walked the floor checking windows and browsing signage, he stood quietly near the entrance, watching a new associate greet customers. Afterward, he walked over, introduced himself, and warmly showed her how she could have engaged that customer better. I remember thinking it was the most valuable thing that would happen in that store all day… and it would never show up in any report.

The Future of Local Retail & Last-Mile Fulfillment [display_gallery_copyright_text] In today’s age, consumers rely on both the proximity of a local retailer and the speed and convenience of digital commerce. With 80% of customers expecting retailers to offer same-day delivery, consumers are putting pressure on independent retailers to execute on this expected part of the retail experience.

Same-day delivery has become the baseline expectation for customers, and in-home delivery is rapidly becoming standard rather than a premium. Eighty percent of consumers now expect retailers to offer same-day delivery. For retailers, the question is no longer whether to offer these services; it’s whether they’ve built the operational foundation to do so without exposing the business to avoidable cost, operational disruption and customer experience risk. In-home delivery raises the stakes.

Body-worn cameras have moved past loss prevention to help de-escalate tense encounters and protect frontline workers. Retailers report that deterrence and stronger incident documentation deliver more value than theft prevention alone. Effective use depends on clear policies, employee training and integration into a broader security strategy. Not long ago, body-worn cameras were mainly associated with law enforcement.