The Times Square ball has dropped, the champagne has gone flat and the New Year’s resolutions are…wavering, but still holding. All of this means it’s time for Retail TouchPoints to get retail industry experts’ take on the year ahead.
Because AI will undoubtedly have the biggest influence on pretty much every aspect of retailing, we’re saving the deep dive into that topic for the third of this three-part series, publishing Thursday. Today’s article — featuring experts from MG2, Pinterest, Publicis Sapient, Reddit, Walmart Data Ventures and more — looks more broadly at consumer trends retailers can expect to see in 2026, including the growing need for restorative wellbeing in retail settings. Additionally, Gen Z will continue to exert its influence on retail as these younger consumers seek out and even demand more streamlined circular commerce capabilities and many retail gurus are concerned about the fragmentation and lack of consistent measurement tools and KPIs in retail media networks — a deficit that could slow the growth of this revenue stream.
And stay tuned for part two of this series tomorrow, which will feature responses to our request for one issue to be presented to the nation’s political leaders, a legal and regulatory “wish list” reflecting the bigger world retail operates in.
Curation, Emotional Clarity will Rule the Day in 2026
To say that 2025 was a volatile year in retail (not to mention in the larger world) is a massive understatement, and consumers will be looking for comfort and an emotional reset as they move into this new year. Retailers and brands can help with more carefully curated options to aid shoppers afflicted with the “analysis paralysis” that can come with too many choices.
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“The next era of retail will be shaped by a collective and growing longing for restoration. After years marked by fatigue, chronic stress and emotional overload, consumers are moving toward brands that actively safeguard their wellbeing. They are seeking products, services and environments that preserve energy rather than depleting it, in spaces that help them regulate, reset and return to themselves. Retail that prioritizes emotional clarity and nervous system health will become a decisive differentiator.”
-Melissa Gonzalez, Principal, MG2 and Founder, MG2 Advisory
“Most of the industry still assumes shoppers want more options and more content. What we’re seeing is the opposite: they want better options, and they solve that through curation. The winners in 2026 won’t be those who can simply reach shoppers, but those who can show up in the exact moments when people are actively making up their minds — helping them move confidently from inspiration to action.”
-Kate Hamill, VP of Enterprise Sales in North America, Pinterest
“Brands that harness data and insights to predict — not just react to — customer wants and needs will set a new standard in 2026. By embedding customer insights into every decision, from product development to marketing, brands are empowered to deliver agile, customer-centric innovation and meaningful engagement at scale. The future isn’t just about having more data — it’s about making that data work smarter and faster.”
–Mark Hardy, SVP, Walmart Data Ventures
The Lines Between Retail Media, Social Media and AI Commerce will Blur
Retail media networks may have become victims of their own growth: our experts see fragmentation, inconsistent measurement tools and a lack of internal silo-busting affecting these networks’ ability to reach consumers and deliver results to advertisers — all problems that must be addressed head-on in 2026 if retailers wish to continue to grow their media empires.
“A year ago, we were just taking about ‘retail media.’ Now we have three parallel universes emerging: discovery commerce (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube); retail media (Amazon, Walmart, Instacart, Target); and agentic commerce (AI-driven shopping agents). Each one has its own playbook, its own KPIs, its own owners inside the organization. And brands are being asked to navigate all of this while dealing with cost pressure, “do more with less” mandates and the misconception that AI equals automation which equals immediate cost savings.
What keeps me up at night is the gap between where the industry is going and how most organizations are currently structured. If leadership teams don’t break the silos, rethink how they allocate budgets and build shared measurement frameworks, they’ll end up optimizing each channel individually while losing the bigger picture of how consumers actually shop. 2026 will reward the brands that orchestrate across discovery, retail and AI — not the ones treating them as separate worlds.”
–Melissa Burdick, Co-founder and President, Pacvue
“A key area [of investment in 2026] is the orchestration of retail media networks (RMNs), with retailers shifting their excitement from merely launching an RMN to integrating strategies across networks. Significant investments in unified data platforms will allow retailers to harmonize their own RMN with third-party channels, such as Google and Amazon, offering brand partners a more cohesive, high-ROI advertising solution.”
-Sudip Mazumder, SVP, Retail Industry Lead, North America, Publicis Sapient
“Looking ahead to 2026, our investment is focused on helping brands build and deepen meaningful connections with communities. We’re continuing to execute against our product roadmap to create Reddit-unique ad experiences that deliver value to both users and brands. This means reducing friction for brands and making it easier for them to meet audiences where they are, contribute to conversations and ultimately drive business outcomes.”
-Anna Haffner, Director of Large Customer Sales, Reddit
“In the past year, many retailers added screens across their stores to capture attention. But the future of in-store experience is not about more screens. It is about creating immersive and personalized environments that feel helpful rather than disruptive. Retailers will prioritize experiences that encourage customers to discover, taste and explore products in ways that build trust and deliver measurable value. Advertising has to enhance the shopping experience if it is going to earn a customer’s attention.
Measurement is the other area where we will see a major shift. The industry is still grappling with fragmentation and a lack of comparability. In 2026, brands will expect clearer, closed-loop measurement that reflects the full customer journey across both physical and digital touch points. They will look for insights that go beyond single-campaign reporting and show longitudinal, multi-touch and cross-channel engagements, from discovery all the way to conversion.”
-Harvey Ma, General Manager, Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP)
Gen Z’s Values Focus will Reward Efforts to Streamline Circular Commerce
As Gen Z gains purchasing power, this generation’s demand thattheir values to be reflected in their retail choices, particularly when it comes to acting sustainably, will be ignored at retailers’ peril.
“94% of Gen Z report friction when trying to shop by their values and many turn to thrift stores or circular models like Madewell to bridge that gap, showing clear demand for in-store resale and recycling programs that make sustainability more accessible. As circularity moves from novel to expectation, retail will evolve into a network of live marketplaces. Stores will become hubs where peer-to-peer resale, repair and recycling are seamlessly integrated. Shoppers will bring items in, resell to one another, earn loyalty currency and access real-time resale valuations — all within a space that rewards sustainable participation as much as purchase.”
-Melissa Gonzalez, MG2
