- Posted on : March 2, 2026
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- Industry : Corporate
- Tech Focus : Data & AI
- Type: Blog
Agentic AI Conversations at NRF 2026
The discussions and outcomes at NRF 2026 were crystal clear: Chatbots are so 2016! Building an Agentic AI Retail Enterprise is the future, and it starts now.
2024 was about AI ‘talking’ to you, and 2025 was about AI predicting the unseen. 2026 is about AI that can act and provide an advantage.
Our participation at "Retail’s Big Show" in NYC highlighted a trend that is really heating up: Retailers are no longer satisfied with dashboards that tell them they are out of stock. They want systems that see the shortage, negotiate with the supplier, reroute the shipment, and update the marketing campaign.
All of this in lightning speed, and before humans even start contemplating their next purchase.
The Agentic Advantage
Agentic AI is a structural reinvention of the retail space. By moving from reactive automation to truly autonomous with human ingenuity, retail set-ups look to unlock:
- Deeper Personalization & Faster Insights: Traditional AI recommends a jacket based on your most recent click. Agentic AI interprets Intelligent Context, noting that it’s raining in your city, you have an upcoming trip to London, and your favorite brand just dropped a limited-edition item. It curated a personalized "travel kit" and offers real-time discounts, luring people to purchase
- Reduced Latency & Cost: By eliminating the "human-in-the-loop" for routine approvals, execution cycles drop from days to seconds. This "zero-latency" approach can reduce operating costs by up to 25%.
- Regulatory & Data Compliance: In an era of strict data privacy, AI agents act as built-in compliance officers, ensuring that every automated transaction adheres to regional regulations (such as GDPR or CCPA) without manual auditing.
Simply Unmissable - Agentic AI
What makes Agentic AI "unmissable"? It’s the move toward Intelligent Automation. Unlike old-school scripts, these agents possess:
- Reasoning & Planning: They don't just follow Step A to Step B. They understand a goal (e.g., "Reduce overstock in the Northeast region") and devise a multi-step plan to achieve it.
- Seamless Orchestration: Imagine a "Symphony of Agents." A Price Agent spots a competitor's sale; it talks to the Inventory Agent to check stock levels, which triggers the Content Agent to update the web banner. They work as a unified team, not siloed tools!
Clean Room Collaboration for Secure Partnerships
The real "secret sauce" for Agentic AI success is Clean Room Collaboration. This allows retailers and CPG partners to share sensitive data in a secure, encrypted environment.
Agentic AI thrives by acting as a neutral mediator that analyzes combined datasets to find growth opportunities, like cross-brand promotions, without exposing raw customer data to either party.
Scale the Agentic Frontier with Infogain
With an AI-first approach accepted by global customers, we set up the foundation for Future-Ready Retail.
Our recent work has shown that when retailers embrace an "AI-First" platform, they see staggering outcomes:
- Using our Ignis AI Platform, we helped an oil & gas leader improve customer engagement and cross-sell opportunities. Read more.
- A state-of-the-art mobile app with predictive capabilities to improve in-store and online experience, while reducing churn rates for a British retailer. Read more.
- Implementing an AI-powered Marketing Mix Modeling framework, which supported a global retailer in full lifecycle marketing analysis, helping improve media optimization cycles by 5x and increasing advertising revenue by 240%. Read more.
From Data-Driven Loss Prevention to Resilient Digital Sales, we help you move beyond the buzzwords. Whether you are a Chief Digital Officer seeking enterprise-scale ROI or a store manager looking to eliminate business fatigue, our teams can bridge the gap between digital excellence with AI in the centre and the press for a phygital reality.
The shift to Agentic AI is a journey from asking what happened to watching your business optimize itself with the conscious and effective use of AI.
Are you ready to reinvent your retail story? Schedule a deep-dive session with our Agentic AI experts to discuss how these use cases apply to your business contexts.
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About the Author
Sunshine Burkett
Sunshine Burkett is the Executive Managing Director at Infogain. During her time as a leader at Thoughtworks and Globant, she led $100MM client relationships. She now focuses on sales and new business, using her experience with delivery, sales, and consulting to help customers find the perfect fit in an existing market, pilot new products, and create business value. Her experience also includes leading cross-collaboration to create strategies that drive revenue through solutioning, digital transformation, demand generation, and GTM offerings.
Vicky Thorpe
Vicky is a Vice President at Infogain with decades of experience advising clients across industries. She approaches every partnership with deep business insight, empathy, and a commitment to outcomes that matter. Drawing on the core principles of design thinking—desirability, viability, and feasibility—she helps clients clearly define the right problems to solve and the solutions that will create meaningful impact. Today, Vicky plays a pivotal role in strengthening client relationships and driving strategic growth initiatives. She brings together her background in sales, consulting, and go‑to‑market strategy to guide customers.
Jeronah "Jay" Hancock
Jay is an Associate Vice President with over 12 years of experience in B2B and enterprise solutions. She partners with IT leaders to align business strategy with technology execution, delivering scalable solutions that reduce risk, control costs, and accelerate outcomes. A trusted advisor in complex environments, she brings expertise in enterprise sales leadership, forecasting, CRM strategy, and team development to drive sustained growth and long-term client value.
