Welcome to Shaping Tomorrow

Global Scans · Retail · Weekly Summary


  • [New] The National Retail Federation just released its 2026 retail sales forecast and the headline number is worth paying attention to: retail sales are projected to grow 4.4% in 2026, reaching $5.6 trillion. Palm Tree Retail Store Consultants
  • [New] Global ecommerce sales are expected to hit $6.88 trillion in 2026, accounting for 21.1% of total retail sales. Salsify
  • [New] Retail media networks are projected to account for 15.4% of all ad revenue by 2028, eclipsing television. Indepth Research Institute
  • [New] TL; DR Walmart will roll out digital price tags across all its US stores by the end of 2026 to streamline pricing, reduce manual labour and improve operational efficiency. Flipflow
  • [New] Looking ahead to 2026, retail will have transcended clicks-to-site and entered the era of clicks-to-conversation. SalesHiker Blog - WhatsApp CRM Tips, Updates and Insigh
  • [New] Ongoing developments in the Middle East, evolving trade policies, and supply chain disruptions continue to influence pricing and availability, while innovation in retail, foodservice, and consumer products signals where growth opportunities lie. SeafoodNews
  • [New] Smartphone retail prices could climb 13% industry-wide throughout 2026 as manufacturers pass costs to consumers. MEXC
  • [New] The deployment of proven AI agents is an opportunity for UK retail banks to move away from scripted bots toward multi-step workflow execution that operates within clearly defined governance and policy boundaries. The Fintech Times
  • [New] McKinsey projects $1 trillion in US retail revenue will be orchestrated by AI agents by 2030. Thomas Wiegold - AI Solutions & Web Development
  • [New] AI's role in retail will not just lead to efficiency but could also reverse retail concentration by helping smaller brands scale faster and compete with retail giants such as Amazon, which may be overwhelmed by a new wave of nimble, AI-powered startups. Coresight Research
  • [New] In agentic commerce, the risk in not investing is greater than investing and getting it wrong, even though retailers do not yet know exactly what will happen with agentic AI. Coresight Research
  • [New] By integrating advanced technologies, Walmart hopes to become a leader in both retail and advertising sectors. Retail Media IQ
  • [New] Venture funding in AI KM startups hit $5 B in Q1 2026, signaling IPO pipelines that could diversify retail exposure beyond mega-caps. / USA AI Knowledge Management Tools Surge in Adoption Amid 20
  • [New] Retail sentiment has been more volatile, reacting sharply to the Q4 earnings miss in early 2026, but long-term institutional smart money appears to be using recent dips to build positions ahead of the 2027 clinical catalysts. FinancialContent
  • [New] US advertisers will spend $71.98 billion on retail media in 2026, up 18.7% from 2025. eMarketer
  • [New] McKinsey projects the global agentic commerce opportunity at $3 trillion to $5 trillion by 2030, with $1 trillion in US B2C retail alone. eMarketer
  • [New] AI platforms will account for 1.5% of total US retail ecommerce sales in 2026, or $20.57 billion in spending, nearly quadruple 2025 figures. eMarketer
  • Retailers such as Marks & Spencer dealt with major cybersecurity issues, resulting in supply chain disruption and a temporary halt to online shopping. Retail Systems
  • Brands could revisit their Incoterms - shifting from DDP to DAP or, in some cases, FOB - to redistribute part of the transport and duty burden to US retail partners. Le New Black
  • With a significant increase in sales, retail media is becoming arguably the most lucrative aspect of e-commerce, with expected growth rates in the coming years. Amaano blog
  • At the 2026 National Retail Federation show, Google Cloud unveiled an agentic solution to bring shopping and customer service together on a single interface that will be used by businesses including Kroger, Lowe's, and Woolworths. InternetRetailing

Last updated: 23 April 2026



Please stand by...

The magic is happening, but it might take a couple of minutes.

Login