Artificial Intelligence
NRF 2026: You Can’t Spell ‘Retail’ Without ‘AI’
Artificial intelligence, whether in its generative or agentic form, continued to be the predominant buzzword this year at NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show in New York City. Leading providers of retail tech from Honeywell, PayPal, Verizon and Zebra Technologies discussed how their offerings are leveraging AI to revolutionize the retail experience.
AI agents are making the shopping experience increasingly personalized, and the technology is driving more streamlined shopping as well as a more efficient and secure payment process. And customers aren’t the only beneficiaries of these advances: Retail employees are able to upskill faster and provide better customer support.
To learn more about NRF 2026, visit our conference page.
Participants
Matthew Guiste, Global Retail Technology Strategist, Zebra Technologies
Mike Edmonds, Vice President of Agentic Commerce and Commercial Growth, PayPal
Taylor Smith, Chief Marketing Officer, Honeywell
James Hughes, Retail CTO, Verizon Business
Video Highlights
- Zebra Technologies demonstrated using artificial intelligence to track the progress of a customer ordering paint at a hardware store, assisting the shopper from placing an order to completing a purchase and beyond.
- Mike Edmonds of PayPal noted a drastic uptick of people using agentic commerce that is moving them further down the funnel — from discovery to finding and ultimately purchasing products.
- Taylor Smith shared that some of Honeywell’s AI offerings are helping retailers with cross-selling opportunities, as well as upselling and suggested product substitutions.
