NRF Europe 2026 preview: here are five sessions retail technology leaders definitely shouldn’t miss
With NRF 2026: Retail's Big Show Europe now under a month away, retailers scanning a programme of more than 100 sessions could be forgiven for not knowing where to start. RTIH has picked out five sessions worth blocking out in advance - in the order they run.
Tuesday 15th September - Rebuilding supply chains for unified commerce
12:15, Breakout Stage 2. On opening day, the spotlight falls on logistics. Renée Hartmann (Advisor, RETHINK Retail), Mariusz Kwiatkowski (Head of Supply Chain Transformation, Pets At Home), Audrey Ceuppens (Global Head of Grocery & Retail, Bolt) and Nijole Kvietkauskaite (CEO, IKI Lietuva) unpack how supply chains are adapting to real-time, data led decision-making and agile distribution models built for unified commerce.
Wednesday 16th September - From corner store to continental platform
10:00, Vusion Theatre. Tomasz Blicharski, Chief Strategy & Development Officer at Żabka Group, sets out how the Polish convenience retailer is scaling one of Europe's most technology driven retail ecosystems - a strategy that will also define his tenure once he becomes the group's CEO in January 2027.
Wednesday 16th September - Grocery goes connected
14:15, Vusion Theatre. Ryan Hamburger, Chief Commercial Officer at Instacart, and Guilherme Cardoso, Head of E-commerce at Sonae MC/Continente, discuss how grocery retailers are stitching together smart trolleys, in-store sensors and e-commerce data into a single real-time customer view, drawing on examples from Europe, the US, Australia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Thursday 17th September - Agentic commerce and the fight for the purchase journey
10:00, Vusion Theatre. Romain Roulleau (Group Digital & E-commerce Director, Kingfisher), Marc Lolivier (General Delegate, FEVAD) and François-Xavier Leroux (Partner, KPMG Advisory) argue the real risk of agentic commerce isn't being left behind - it's retailers losing control of the purchase journey to autonomous AI agents acting on shoppers' behalf.
Thursday 17th September - Turning AI into practical wins
11:45, Breakout Stage 1. MediaMarktSaturn, L'Occitane and Mango compare notes on where AI is already delivering results. Bastian Sehnert (Head of Data & AI Initiative Office, MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group), Dorian Candavoine (E-commerce Director EMEA, L'Occitane en Provence) and Marlies Hersbach (Chief Online & Customer Officer, Mango) share concrete use cases showing how AI is solving operational and customer-facing pain points today, without sidelining the role of human talent.
The session is moderated by Raphaël Kattan, Retail Transformation Analyst at Maddyness & Talenco.
Passes still open
With the show now under a month away, retailers can still register for a free Expo Pass to attend these sessions and the full 300+ exhibitor floor.
