Considered the main barometer of global retail, the NRF Retail’s Big Show reached its 116th edition and brought with it the key NRF 2026 trends that will transform the sector in the coming years.
The event, held between January 11 and 13 in New York, USA, under the theme “The Next Now,” made clear the structural shift underway in global retail and ecommerce. Innovation is no longer a sporadic initiative but has become the core of business strategy, with a strong focus on experiences, data, convenience, and digital security.
For Latin American countries such as Brazil, the NRF 2026 trends present significant opportunities by enabling retail companies to leap forward through the use of AI, data, and new payment ecosystems, allowing them to compete at a higher level even amid complex economic and regulatory environments. At the same time, they pose challenges, as they require digital maturity, system integration, and a new management mindset.
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Artificial Intelligence as Retail Infrastructure
Artificial intelligence is no longer just a competitive differentiator and has become a mandatory layer of the business. Not surprisingly, studies by KPMG show that this innovation in the retail sector is expected to grow by more than 150% over the next three years, increasing from 33% in 2025 to 85% by 2027.
The trend is for retailers to integrate AI natively into their operations. This means applying the technology not only to product recommendations or automated customer service, but also to inventory management, demand forecasting, pricing strategies, campaign planning, and personalized shopping journeys.
For the Latin American market, the rise of agentic retail represents an opportunity to accelerate efficiency gains. Companies can use AI to automate their supply chains, reduce costs, optimize inventory forecasts, and leverage fragmented data to personalize offers, making operations more resilient to logistical and economic instability.
Unified Commerce: The Era of Continuity
Another key insight from NRF 2026 is the concept of unified commerce, which refers to the full integration of systems and customer touchpoints. Consumers no longer see boundaries between physical and digital retail. For them, the experience must be continuous and frictionless.
This transformation requires full integration across systems, data, and operations. Payments, checkouts, logistics, and post-sales processes must communicate seamlessly to enable a frictionless omnichannel journey. However, retail is still maturing in this area, especially in Latin America, where technological fragmentation remains common.
In this context, payment methods play a central role, acting as a convergence point in the customer journey by connecting intent, conversion, and transactional data. When well-structured, they provide valuable insights into purchasing behavior, preferences, and fraud risk, becoming a true intelligence engine for the business.
Customer Experience as a Strategic Asset
Among the NRF 2026 retail trends, customer experience stands out as an asset just as important as product, logistics, or price. In saturated markets where products are increasingly similar, experience becomes the key competitive differentiator.
Data-driven personalization, omnichannel integration, and the transformation of physical stores into relationship spaces rather than mere transaction points represent the new pillars of global retail.
In the Latin American context, where trust is a sensitive factor—especially in digital environments—experience is also directly linked to security. Stable payment processes, secure checkouts, and effective data protection are essential elements in shaping brand perception, driving repeat purchases, and fostering customer loyalty.
Generation Z and the New Consumer
NRF 2026 also highlighted that Generation Z represents not just a demographic shift, but a mindset shift.
This new consumer values speed, authenticity, and purpose. Instead of relying on traditional advertising to discover brands, they turn to algorithms, social networks, and other digital media. Retention is not automatic, but earned through consistency between brand messaging and real actions. Simply claiming to be innovative or inclusive is no longer enough—it must be proven in practice.
As a result, investing in new language, communication channels, and relationship models with this audience becomes an essential strategic factor, including for Latin American retail.
Attention Economy and Retail Media
Another major theme among the NRF 2026 trends is Retail Media. Retailers are no longer just sales channels, but also media channels. With projections that Brazilian ecommerce will generate R$ 258.4 billion in revenue by 2026, transforming traffic into advertising space to monetize audience and data becomes critical for the sector.
In this scenario, content is treated as a conversion asset. Whoever controls consumer attention controls the sale, fundamentally changing retail marketing logic. It is no longer just about driving traffic, but about creating relevant experiences within this ecosystem. This shift means that product and brand discovery is increasingly mediated by algorithms and AI, through GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), rather than relying solely on traditional SEO.
Data as a Decision Engine
One of the clearest takeaways from NRF 2026 is that data is no longer used only to explain the past, but to shape the future. Orchestrating decisions based on reliable, real-time data, supported by artificial intelligence, has never been more essential.
NRF demonstrated that behavioral and transactional data are the true raw materials of strategy, guiding everything from demand forecasting to risk management and experience personalization.
What NRF 2026 Trends Reveal About the Future of Retail
The main NRF 2026 trends highlight a moment of deep transformation in retail, which is becoming more integrated, technology-driven, and experience-oriented. Innovation, data-driven decision-making, and customer experience are no longer separate initiatives, but complementary elements within a single business ecosystem.
Therefore, retail companies that want to remain relevant and competitive in 2026 must view NRF 2026 insights not merely as trends, but as a concrete and essential journey toward sustainable growth in this market.
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