Article
NRF 2026 retail pulse check
From the show floor: Retailers are doubling down on data, loyalty, fraud, and AI
After a chilly few days in New York at NRF 2026, retailers are heading home with more clarity, and a sharper set of questions.
Between packed schedules, standing-room-only sessions, and dozens of conversations on the show floor, one thing stood out: this wasn’t a show about chasing the next shiny innovation.
It was about pressure-testing foundations.
Retail leaders are navigating tighter margins, higher customer expectations, and systems that have grown more fragmented over time. At NRF, the focus was on what helps teams operate with confidence now, while staying ready for what comes next.
Across conversations with retailers, partners, and our teams on the ground, four priorities consistently surfaced: data, loyalty, fraud, and AI. Not as standalone initiatives, but as connected levers shaping how retailers grow, protect revenue, and adapt to change.
Here’s our pulse check from the ground.
1) Data: Seeing the full picture across channels
Retailers aren’t short on data. What they’re missing is clarity.
Teams spoke consistently about the challenge of stitching together insights across ecommerce, apps, stores, and emerging touchpoints. Without a unified view, decision-making slows, experimentation becomes risky, and frontline teams lack the context they need in the moment.
At NRF, the focus wasn’t on collecting more signals. It was on making existing data usable, real-time, and accessible across the business.
Matt DePascale, Team Lead Sales – Retail, Adyen, said retailers still struggle when data lives across disconnected systems. “If you’re running on fragmented infrastructure, you’re still seeing fragmented data. Bringing everything onto a single stack is what allows retailers to actually use those insights to make better decisions and make AI work for them.”
For many retailers, payments data is becoming a critical part of that picture. Transaction data offers a consistent signal across channels, markets, and customer journeys—when it lives in one place.
Why it matters now:
Disconnected data creates blind spots. Unified insights help retailers move faster, optimize performance, and make confident decisions, even as customer behavior keeps shifting.
What we’re seeing retailers lean into:
A single view of transactions across online and in-store
Faster reconciliation and reporting
Real-time performance insights that teams can act on, not just review later
2) Loyalty: Reducing friction to keep customers coming back
Loyalty is no longer just a program. It’s a behavior retailers are trying to reinforce at every interaction.
At NRF, teams talked less about points and perks, and more about removing friction from how customers join, return, and engage across channels. Enrollment, recognition, and redemption all need to work seamlessly wherever the customer shows up.
Gary Yang, President, North America and SVP Global Account Management and Partnerships, Adyen, noted that loyalty success is still tied to core business priorities: “Retailers still care about the fundamentals: growing revenue, improving the customer experience, and reducing cost. Loyalty only works when it’s connected to how customers actually pay and interact with the brand.”
The challenge is execution. When loyalty systems are bolted onto fragmented payments or POS infrastructure, sign-ups slow down, staff struggle to support them, and customers drop off.
Why it matters now:
As shoppers become more selective, loyalty isn’t driven by incentives alone. It’s driven by ease; how quickly customers can pay, identify themselves, and move on.
What we’re seeing retailers prioritize:
Loyalty enrollment at checkout without added steps
Consistent recognition across online and in-store
Payment experiences that support repeat purchasing without re-entry or friction
3) Fraud: Protecting revenue without blocking good customers
Fraud conversations were everywhere at NRF, and for good reason.
As retailers adopt new channels, payment methods, and AI-driven experiences, fraud tactics are evolving just as fast. Teams spoke candidly about the tension between keeping fraud out and letting legitimate customers through.
Priyanka Agrawal, Vertical Strategy – Retail, Adyen, said retailers are focused on balancing protection and performance: “Retailers want to handle fraud intelligently, not blocking good shoppers just to keep bad actors out. The focus is on protecting revenue without creating friction at checkout.”
Retailers aren’t looking for heavier rules. They’re looking for smarter decisions; ones that adapt in real time and improve over time without manual tuning.
Why it matters now:
False declines cost revenue and trust. Missed fraud costs margins. Retailers want systems that can do both: protect the business and preserve the customer experience.
What we’re seeing retailers focus on:
Risk decisions powered by live transaction data
Reducing manual reviews and operational overhead
Using AI to adapt to new fraud patterns as they emerge
4) AI: moving from experimentation to execution
At NRF it looked like everything was suddenly ‘AI-powered’. But, the more interesting conversions were focused on where it’s actually making a difference.
Retailers are moving past pilots and proofs of concept. The question now is where AI can deliver measurable impact today, without adding complexity or risk.
In payments, that impact shows up in places like authorization rates, fraud detection, reconciliation, and routing decisions. These are areas where speed and accuracy directly affect revenue and cost.
“When we apply AI to transaction routing and optimization, we’re seeing up to a 6% uplift in conversion. That’s a real business outcome, not just experimentation.” said Roelant Prins, Chief Commercial Officer, Adyen.
Why it matters now:
Retailers don’t want AI for AI’s sake. They want outcomes: higher conversion, lower fraud, and fewer manual decisions.
What we’re seeing retailers expect:
AI that’s embedded, not bolted on
Clear proof of performance, not black-box promises
Systems trained on real-world data at scale
What this means post-NRF 2026
As conversations from NRF continue beyond the show floor, one thing is clear: retailers aren’t evaluating payments in isolation anymore. They’re looking at how core systems support the business day to day, and how well they’ll hold up as things change.
Across data, loyalty, fraud, and AI, the common thread we heard was confidence. Confidence in performance. Confidence in decision-making. And confidence that the foundation underneath the business won’t become a blocker when priorities shift.
Priyanka Agrawal summed up the tone at NRF 2026, “Retailers are shifting from chasing hypergrowth to building resilience. They’re looking for systems that can adapt, so no matter what gets thrown at them next year or beyond, they’re ready.”
That’s why so many NRF discussions came back to simplification; reducing fragmentation, consolidating platforms, and choosing partners that can deliver consistently now, without limiting what’s possible next.
As retailers move into post-NRF conversations, the questions sound like this:
Where does this actually reduce complexity across our business?
How does this improve performance today, not just promise future value?
What proof do you have that this works at scale, across channels and peak moments?
How does this help us adapt as customer behavior, regulation, and risk keep changing?
NRF 2026 reinforced that payment decisions are no longer background infrastructure choices. They’re strategic ones. The retailers best positioned for the year ahead will be the ones continuing these conversations with a clear focus on outcomes, and building on foundations designed to support both stability and change.
Did you stop by our booth at NRF?
Continue the conversation with our payments experts and talk through what these priorities mean for your business in 2026.