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NRF 2026: As Omnichannel Evolves, Staying Connected Is the Expectation

Effective data governance is even more crucial as businesses evolve their artificial intelligence deployments.

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Matt is an associate editorial director and award-winning content creation leader. He is a regular contributor to the CDW Tech Magazines and frequently writes about data analytics, software, storage and cloud topics.

The global pandemic in 2020 affected retailers in numerous ways, many of them negative. But the restrictions of the crisis also forced many merchants to improve their ability to serve customers across multiple channels. Those are muscles that are still getting stronger for many retailers.

“One of our biggest evolutions was COVID,” said Jeremy Graham, vice president of engineering for athlete technology at Dick’s Sporting Goods, during a presentation this week at the NRF 2026 retail conference and expo in New York. “That accelerated our buy-online, pickup-in-store curbside service, and it showed that we have more ways to interact with our customers. It started to be a differentiator.”

Retailers and experts at the conference noted that as stores have leaned into opening and widening new channels of commerce, they’re finding success in the form of increased sales and better customer experiences.

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The Pace of Change Makes Retail Technology a Moving Target

The evolution of customer expectations is putting new pressure on omnichannel retailers to deliver faster, more seamless service. Dick’s Sporting Goods has responded by sharpening its same-day delivery capabilities — a critical offering when customers need equipment urgently, sometimes even while traveling. “At the end of the day, we want to get our athletes what they need, when they need it,” Graham said.

Dick’s Sporting Goods has also developed innovative ways to interact with customers across channels. When shoppers show interest in golf, for instance, the retailer’s contact center can connect them directly with golf pros and other experts, giving them a more informed and personalized experience. Inside its stores, Dick’s Sporting Goods has expanded its House of Sport concept — an immersive environment featuring activity zones where customers can test equipment firsthand. Interactive digital displays add another layer of engagement, delivering product-specific content based on what shoppers are exploring.

“We want to make the journey as seamless as possible, however our athletes interact with us,” Graham said.

Meeting these expectations has required a stronger technology foundation. While expanding its omnichannel capabilities, Dick’s Sporting Goods found its tech stack had grown overly complex. To address this, the company broke its website operations into specific microservices and adopted cloud-first, cloud-native strategies to improve agility and performance.

EXPLORE: See retail solutions that lead to multichannel insights.

Payments Are an Essential Element of the Omnichannel Experience

Omnichannel commerce isn’t just about how customers shop; it’s also about how they pay. “Omnichannel started out about a decade ago and really has become a must-have for merchants around the world,” said Jeff Pomeroy, senior vice president for enterprise payments and payment service provider platforms at PayPal.

MJ Worsham, vice president of restaurant technology at Five Guys, emphasized the importance of offering consistent payment options across all customer touchpoints. If a payment method is accepted online but not in-store, he noted, it can create friction that diminishes the overall experience. As commerce continues to span websites, apps, stores and third-party platforms, unified payment systems become increasingly essential.

We want to make the journey as seamless as possible, however our athletes interact with us.”

Jeremy Graham Vice President of Engineering for Athlete Technology, Dick’s Sporting Goods

A connected payments ecosystem benefits more than the consumer-facing side of the business. Consolidating and standardizing payment data can significantly improve back-end operations — from point-of-sale workflows to accounting to supply chain insights. “What we want is a unified experience,” Worsham said.

Retailers expanding internationally face an additional challenge: Payment preferences vary widely by region. To succeed globally, merchants need partners capable of supporting a diverse and shifting landscape of payment providers, ensuring flexibility no matter where customers choose to shop.

Pushing Beyond the Barriers to Omnichannel Success

The demands of modern retail have shifted dramatically, said Ariel Haroush, CEO and founder of Outform. Today’s consumers hold higher expectations and expect instant gratification whether they’re in a store, browsing a website or tapping through a mobile app. Technologies that strengthen the omnichannel journey are no longer optional; they’re essential tools for maintaining relevance.

Deploying these new solutions can feel daunting, particularly for organizations that may already be juggling legacy systems or limited IT resources. But retailers must push past those barriers. “The risk of not evolving is greater than the risk of adopting new technology,” Haroush said.

As customer expectations continue to rise, the retailers that succeed will be those willing to experiment, invest and rebuild their operations around a connected, frictionless experience. The omnichannel advances sparked during the pandemic have now become the foundation for serving shoppers in the years ahead — where staying connected isn’t just an advantage but the expectation.

To learn more about NRF 2026, visit our conference page.

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