Future of retail isn't agentic as sociability, discovery, tactility, and enjoyment remain key
AI has its place in the retail sector, particulary online where its influence is being felt in discovery and search. But it will never replace the human shopper in physical stores. So says Neil Saunders, Managing Director and Retail Analyst at GlobalData Retail.
In a Linkedin post, he said: "When it comes to retail technology, extremes are common. Hot takes like ‘e-commerce will end stores’ and ‘the metaverse will dominate shopping’ have, at times, been floated. Both have been wrong. The latest view in some circles is that the future of shopping is agentic: that AI agents will do all, or most, of our shopping. I am happy to wager that they will not."
This is not to say that AI isn’t important. It’s already touching on many aspects of online shopping – especially for discovery and search. Those things will evolve. But what about stores where – despite gloomy predictions – most retail sales still occur? They’re not going anywhere, says Saunders.
“The idea that people will give up visiting shops and turn over buying activity to AI bots is absurd: it shows a deep disregard for the ‘why’ behind shopping,” he commented.
"For many people, shopping isn’t just a functional task for technology to optimise. It is about human needs - about sociability, discovery, tactility, and enjoyment. A lot of shopping is emotional. Technology has its place and AI will augment shopping in many positive ways, but it will simply not replace the human shopper."
RTIH AI in Retail Awards
Brarista, IBM Consulting, Foundit!, Quorso, Vusion, Sensei, Reckon.ai, EE, Walkbase, Globant, Riskified, and Goddiva were among the winners at the RTIH AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by VenHub Global, 3D Cloud, EdTech Innovation Hub, and Retail Technology Show.
Our 2026 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 29th January, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Lucy Porter.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “According to Amazon’s Andy Jassy: AI is a once in a lifetime reinvention of everything we know, and the largest technology transformation since the cloud.”
“Whether that’s overstating it or not, we're certainly seeing an increasing number of innovative, potentially game changing developments in this space across both traditional and digital retail spaces. And that is reflected in tonight's finalists, who are boosting customer experiences and tackling retailers' painpoints across the likes of physical stores, online, omnichannel, supply chain, and payments.”
“To quote one of our judges: I have to admit, judging these awards was so difficult. So many that would have been worthy winners. And great to see how AI has moved firmly into delivery mode. Firmly into delivering for customers and driving huge innovation.”
Congratulations to our 2026 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended our Thursday, 29th January gathering.
Stay tuned for an indepth review of the awards ceremony in the next edition of RTIH magazine.
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