At the Retail Technology Show (RTS) 2026, Retail Systems asked chief executives to summarise their on-stage discussions for those who were unable to attend, and to name the technology they felt would shape their industry the most in the year to come.

Listen to the whole conversation here, or read on for curated insights.



Archie Norman, chairman, M&S: “You can’t opt out anymore”

Retail is hundreds of years old, Norman says, and many things have not changed a lot over that time. “We employ 40,000 colleagues who serve customers and put product on shelves,” he tells Retail Systems. “You would think that retail was the last of the industries to be impacted by AI and technology, but now it’s everywhere.”

“Every retail leader needs to be a technology leader. You can’t opt out anymore.”

The growth of RTS itself reflects that, Norman says. “Ten years ago, I don’t think this show existed. If it did, it was probably in a space 10 per cent of what it is today. Now, it’s huge.”

For M&S itself, Norman sees three technologies evolving over the coming year. The first is personalisation. “We want to talk to each of our customers as an individual, not as a segment. If you’re not interested in women’s clothing, we should never send you an email about it.

“If you’ve got children who are going back to school, we should be able to talk to you about school uniforms. If you return something because it didn’t fit, we should say, ‘can we give you something that does?’ The objective is not about sales or promotions; it’s about making shopping easier.”

The relaunch of M&S’s loyalty scheme Sparks, and the AI technology underpinning it, are a vital part of this, Norman adds.

The second technology Norman expects will evolve his business is knowledge-based AI. “When executives come in on Monday morning, they’re no longer looking at pages and pages of reports; they’re asking Copilot to summarise the performance.”

Technology is also impacting security at the company, driven by a rise in shoplifting since the pandemic. M&S has already added intelligent checkouts and a camera network that operates between stores to monitor and identify repeat offenders. “It’s not intrusive,” Norman added.

Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive, Retail Trust: “Respect to our retail staff should be non-negotiable”

Brook-Carter’s talk focused on the dangers retail workers have faced in recent years. “Today, I’ve been speaking about the rising levels of abuse, violence and anti-social behaviour that are facing store colleagues in particular; but it’s going on in our distribution networks as well,” he says.

He wants to see the industry get behind the charity’s Let’s Respect Retail campaign, which he believes will send a message to the government, police forces and the public that “respect and kindness towards our retail staff should be a non-negotiable on our High Streets”.

Research from the British Retail Consortium suggests that incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers were the second highest on record in 2024/25, down from record numbers the year before.

For technology, Brook-Carter echoes Archie Norman, telling Retail Systems that he expects the “leaps forward” in video, security and facial recognition technologies will not only do more to keep retail workers safe, but also lead to greater numbers of prosecutions, starting to “turn the tide on the violence that is associated, of course, with shoplifting.”

Maria Hollins, chief executive, Ann Summers: “Great leadership is really empowering your teams”

In order to lead, you have to listen, Hollins says. Getting “insights from people on the frontline and putting that insight into action” is the key to success as an executive.

Ann Summers is a medium-sized chain with 69 stores but it punches above its weight in terms of name recognition according to the company’s chief exec. In her talk, Collins said the brand relies on its company culture to attract staff, despite pay not being industry-leading.

The lingerie and adult toy company has above-average numbers of employees that identify as LGBT+, and has dedicated forums for minority groups that guide the company’s policies.

AI is the technology that Hollins is most excited about. “We’ve got a really good focus on automation and experimenting with AI,” she says, especially where it can automate “mundane tasks” to allow employees more time to focus on the human aspects of the business.

Kate Hardcastle, independent consumer expert: “We have seen a shift towards honesty”

Hardcastle has chaired the main stage of RTS for three years, and in 2026, she has found leaders more forthcoming than they were previously. “We have seen a shift towards honesty in a lot of the conversations,” she says.

“We know that the opposite of digital opportunities and the speed they can bring is the human touch, which requires leaders to stand up and be counted as an honest voice. People are saying agentic on repeat, but they’re also saying authentic on repeat, and the two don’t always meet in the middle.”

Another change this year has been an acknowledgement by executives that technology is going to keep changing and evolving, Hardcastle tells Retail Systems. In previous years, “you would have a buzzword of the show and that was the thing that was going to save us. First it was Bitcoin, then it was AI when it first came out in its modern form a few years ago.

Now, there has been a realisation that leaders have to “lean into the human qualities they can bring.”

This does not mean that technology is any less important in the sector, however. When it comes to issues of worker abuse and shoplifting, “we have heard firsthand from leaders saying technology is going to be the solution to some of the challenging, upsetting elements of retail,” Hardcastle says.

At the same time, many executives are excited by the enhancements artificial intelligence can bring to their businesses, from cutting distribution waste to enhancing personalisation.

However, Hardcastle adds, there is a caveat: “we must never lean so far into the data that we forget the consumer is emotional. You’ve got to be aware that even though the data looks 100 per cent accurate, an overlay of emotional intelligence will really help.”

Nigel Oddy, chief executive, American Golf: “Without your customer, you won’t have a business”

Oddy is a retail veteran, having previously served as chief executive of House of Fraser, New Look and The Range. Now heading up International Leisure Group (ILG), the parent company of American Golf, Oddy still believes that the customer is key.

“You should always be treating your customer as a VIP,” he says. “Understand who your customer is, and make sure your colleagues in store are well-educated on what they’re delivering.”

Under Oddy’s leadership, ILG has explicitly focused on expanding the audience for golf, targeting women, young people and those who felt excluded from the sport in the past.

The sport is modernising technologically, too. As more electronics are employed in clubs, balls and driving ranges, American Golf stores are responding by incorporating technology into its stores, particularly in the form of launch monitors, which “help us to make sure you have the right clubs for your game,” Oddy tells Retail Systems.

Conclusion: Marrying innovation with the human touch

Across the conversations at RTS 2026, one message came through consistently: technology is no longer a separate retail strategy, but part of every retail decision. From AI-powered personalisation and automation to security systems designed to protect staff and reduce theft, leaders are increasingly focused on how technology can solve practical business challenges rather than simply generate excitement. At the same time, executives repeatedly stressed that retail remains a fundamentally human industry, where trust, service and emotional connection still matter.

As the sector continues to experiment with AI and emerging tools, the retailers likely to stand out over the next year will be those that combine technological innovation with a clear understanding of their customers and colleagues.

---