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Retail Dive Trendline on How artificial intelligence is shaping retail
In early 2026, retailers such as Etsy, Target, and Walmart have partnered with Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and OpenAI's ChatGPT to bring products onto external AI platforms. However, this trend raises concerns about data ownership and retailer disintermediation. Experts note that AI agent commerce could reshape retail, much like the internet did in its time.
Retail Dive Trendline on The state of loss prevention in retail
Although organized retail crime continues to attract the attention of policymakers and industry organizations, loss prevention experts point out that the impact of external theft on inventory shrinkage is exaggerated, while the true cause of nearly two-thirds of shrinkage — inefficiencies in store operations — has not received sufficient attention. Research by Coresight Research shows that sales losses caused by in-store inefficiencies average 5.5%, and eliminating these inefficiencies could save U.S. retailers up to $162.7 billion.
Retail Dive Trendline on The state of retail operations
After piloting in about 2,300 US stores, Walmart announced it will expand digital shelf labels to all stores. The system supports real-time price updates, inventory alerts, and rapid picking for online orders, while promising not to collect customer data.
Retail Dive Trendline on The state of holiday shopping and the consumer
In 2026, US consumers continued last year's contradictory behavior: highly cautious about spending, yet still willing to consume. Despite confidence indices falling to a decade low, December retail sales grew over 4% year-over-year. Experts note that K-shaped economic analysis is too broad, as consumer behavior diverges by geography, expectations, and lifestyle. This article explores the trend of consumers' overall budgeting, the impact of micro-events on regional retail, and the challenges retailers face.
