Industry leaders believe 2026 will be about the evolution of shopping. Consumers have changed the way they discover products and consider purchases, whether on social media or through genAI-powered conversational searches.

In the upcoming year, retailers will be leveraging data to support more relevant in-store experiences and adapt dynamically to individual shopper journeys. Here are some important ways that marketing experts see this happening.

Targeted in-store experiences

Retailers don’t have to shake up their entire brick-and-mortar space to improve the in-store experience. Instead, many retailers will use well-positioned screens and product displays to support branded experiences or promotions on a test-and-learn basis, without overhauling the store design.

“A big misconception is that an effective in-store media experience is inherently complicated,” said Marlow Nickell, cofounder and CEO of GroceryTV. “Over the past year, we’ve seen retailers pull back from expansive, unproven concepts, and return to placements that feel natural to shoppers, and are easier for retailers to manage operationally.”

Through this measured approach, experts think consumers will see many more instances of enhanced shopping experiences, as retailers look to adapt to changing shopper behaviors. Shoppers aren’t abandoning in-store for digital shopping, they’re becoming more omnichannel and fragmented. At the same time, these omnichannel shoppers will notice AI-powered enhancements when they use the retailer’s app.

“Most purchase decisions still happen in the store, and the scale to influence those moments has grown significantly,” Nickell said. “More retailers are taking a ‘crawl, walk, run’ approach to in-store media, and the industry is better off for it.”

Smarter use of shopper data to fuel experiences

In 2026, industry leaders believe retailers will shore up their data infrastructure, saying brands, retailers, and, most importantly, shoppers will benefit.

“Brands have been using technology to create off-site shopping experiences like shoppable

videos, try-on filters, and tap-to-learn creative that collapse the path from discovery to purchase,” said Lance Wolder, head of strategy and marketing at PadSquad. “The real opportunity in 2026 will come when marketers start applying retail data to create a

richer experience for shoppers. When creative technologists tap into this data set, they’ll create

more expressive consumer touchpoints that shoppers will genuinely want to engage with.”

Omnichannel consumers are adopting more complex journeys.

• Over 50% of shoppers consult two to three different channels for mid-tier items like apparel, sporting goods and beauty, according to a December report from Salsify.
• 20% of shoppers check four to six channels.

The shopper journey is more fragmented, and some experts see it collapsing. This will place greater need on authenticating shoppers in order to use retailer data, while keeping privacy as a top priority.

“The new journey is nonlinear, automated, and privacy-forward,” said Tom Burke, CEO of AtData. “We’re focusing on the infrastructure that will improve the value and usability of identity data even when the old funnel collapses.”

He added: “Investments will focus on identity-centric risk management: tools that verify customers earlier, block refund abuse and fake-account creation, and reduce friction without sacrificing trust.”

Dynamic real-time response

With a better data infrastructure, retailers will be positioned to respond dynamically to shopper behavior and product availability in real time, according to experts. This improved digital experience will build trust with shoppers, both in-store and online.

“Retailers will merge real-time product availability, historical purchase behavior, and campaign performance into unified measurement systems,” said David Dettmer, global CTO atCourtAvenue. “This will improve forecasting, incrementality modeling, and multi-touch attribution.”

Experts say delivering on accurate real-time inventory, order status and personalized shopping preferences will add value to the customer relationship and help retailers rise above their competitors.

Brands and retailers will also leverage this data by tying store inventory to targeted campaigns, making ad budgets more efficient, according to Dettmer. This improved efficiency saves customers time by serving meaningful messages about products that are actually available in the retailer’s inventory at the moment they see the ad.

These forecasted improvements to customer experience, in-store and online, will improve trust between retailers and customers during challenging economic times.

This was originally featured in the Retail Daily newsletter. For more retail insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.