Retail Week Digital Transformation Summit 2026
ABOUT
Amidst rapidly changing customer expectations and an ever-fiercer race for market share, today’s retailers need to be digitally prepared.
That means possessing a robust strategy that drives efficiency, innovation and agility. However, achieving this isn’t as simple as integrating a new online tool or having a digital shopfront.
So, what does it take to move beyond basic digitisation to achieve real transformation?
Enter Retail Week’s Digital Transformation Summit 2026.
An evolution of our annual Digital Summit, this event will go further than mere tech adoption to explore the business models, new thinking, and solutions to invest in for sustained growth in the long term.
When? June 25, 2026, 8.30am to 12.30pm
Where? MYO St Paul's, New Change, London
Join us to unlock your business’s true digital potential through content-packed sessions, insightful discussions, and unparalleled networking opportunities.
We will uncover:
The CX evolution including hyperpersonalisation and zero-click shopping
How to seize the biggest opportunities in AI – and avoid technology-first thinking
What frictionless store experiences must look like in this age of connected retail
How businesses are upping their retail media game – and how to follow suit
Why it’s all change at the check-out – and what that means for digital payments
The smartest digital investments to generate measurable RO
GET YOUR TICKET
Buy your ticket for the Digital Transformation Summit here. Tickets are limited, and attendance is strictly reserved for those in senior roles working internally at retailers and retail brands. We welcome senior managers, heads of, directors, c-suite and executives working for a retailer.
Digital Transformation Summit 2026: The agenda
The 2026 shopper is impatient and disloyal; they demand instant, personalised and convenient interactions, and they will abandon baskets and buy from other retailers and brands if their needs aren’t met.
Retailers’ digital CX strategies, therefore, must raise the bar to give these shoppers what they want, when they want it. So, what does ‘good’ look like?
This opening fireside will discuss:
- The role of hyperpersonalisation – and lessons from retailers on the techniques to getting it right
- The rise of zero-click shopping, powered by agentic commerce – and how to get started as we enter this next frontier of digital commerce
- Getting smarter about customer loyalty – shifting from the merely transactional
AI is becoming embedded into every step of the digital shopping process – front and back-end. With everyone wanting a seat at the table, there’s a risk of rushing to adopt AI, regardless of whether it solves a specific problem and has a purpose. Now is the time to move past hype-based adoption.
Retail’s digital and tech leaders must take – and many are already taking – a more strategic approach; navigating where and when to deploy AI to best effect, and how to scale it within budgets to boost the bottom line.
At a time when everyone wants AI, this unmissable session will explore how to actually use it. We’ll cover ground including:
- Identifying the most high-value and realistic initiatives, instead of trying to implement AI everywhere at once
- The next phase of AI – consumer-facing discovery and the shift from AI-assisted to AI-driven purchasing with agentic AI
- How to navigate implementation costs to roll out AI at scale
- Overcoming the talent gap to get staff on board with AI implementation
Stores are on the rebound. After playing second fiddle to ecommerce over the pandemic, retailers have been enjoying consumers’ new-found love for physical shopping.
But in an age of omnichannel retailing, how do retailers really leverage the power of bricks and mortar? What role does tech play? How important is connectivity when it comes to removing friction and allowing for seamless shopping between channels?
Join us as we answer these questions and discuss:
- How digital technologies lie at the heart of the modern store
- What tech retailers are investing in to support their store networks – and how these investments form part of long-term strategy
- How to empower store associates with technology to help them sell better and create memorable experiences
Several UK retailers have recently accelerated their transformation into media businesses with Retail Media Networks (RMNs).
And it’s no surprise. RMNs are opening additional revenue streams, allowing retailers to use their customer data to boost profits. In fact, in the last year alone, RMNs have generated revenues of £101.5bn.
In this session, we’re joined by a leading retailer who has successfully taken a piece of the RMNs pie to find out how they did it, who they have partnered with to make it happen, and what results they’ve seen so far.
Join us as we glean first-hand insights on:
- How to build a retail media business with a step-by-step walkthrough
- Advice on moving RMNs strategy beyond the basics
- Tips and tricks to build lasting loyalty by incorporating RMNs into a wider omnichannel strategy
Convenience, flexibility, trust – that’s the name of the game when it comes to what shoppers want from digital payments.
Achieving this means building and maintaining a payments infrastructure that supports existing tech and enables the adoption of emerging tech. This ranges from accepting digital wallets as standard, offering digital checkouts in-store, to deploying AI-powered fraud prevention.
In this panel, we’re going to lift the lid on:
- The key digital payments investment areas for 2026 and beyond
- Which retailers are making digital payments pay · Future payment innovations to be aware of – and those likely to be a flash in the pan
- What’s needed to keep digital payments secure and compliant amid increasing threats
Retail leaders are constantly presented with endless shopping lists of potential digital investment opportunities.
Winning strategies are a delicate balance between reaching for the immediate low-hanging fruit, while keeping one eye on what is on the horizon, not to mention working with what’s in the budget.
What then, are the smartest investments to generate measurable ROI and support long-term growth?
In this closing session, we’ll discuss:
- Adopting a digital-first mindset
- Key digital investments that overcome the hype
- How to maximise strategic partnerships to accelerate growth
- How to garner colleague, stakeholder and board support for tech investment and changes
Get involved
Want to help retailers and brands with their digital strategy?
The Digital Transformation Summit 2026 provides exclusive speaking opportunities, targeted lead generation, and brand awareness among a captive audience. Share your insights with retailers and position yourself as a thought leader in the tech and digital space.
Contact Retail Week’s commercial team to find out more.
Alternatively, if you are a retailer or brand with a great story to tell and digital insights to share, and would like to speak at the Summit, contact Retail Week’s Head of Commercial Content Megan Dunsby .
Interested in sponsoring?
Interested in sponsoring Digital Transformation Summit 2026? Talk to the team