Retail TouchPoints

Retail TouchPoints is asking whether consumers are prepared for agentic commerce from Muse AI, where AI agents handle shopping tasks on behalf of customers. The piece explores how retailers might adopt this technology and whether shopper trust and readiness can keep pace with rapidly advancing AI shopping tools.

Retail TouchPoints argues that data alone cannot improve store performance, pointing to a gap in front-line coaching. The piece contends that while retailers collect extensive performance metrics, they often fail to translate them into meaningful, day-to-day coaching for store associates, leaving potential improvements untapped. It is part of an ongoing industry debate about balancing analytics with human management skills in retail operations.

Retail TouchPoints examines how retailers face new risks as order fulfillment shifts from stores and warehouses directly into customers' homes. The piece highlights the operational, liability and security challenges that come with last-mile delivery inside residences, and urges retailers to build risk-management strategies for this next stage of e-commerce logistics.

Retail TouchPoints has published its Store Operations and Experience Guide to Holiday 2026, offering retailers guidance on running stores during the upcoming holiday season. The guide covers store operations and customer experience planning. As with its previous seasonal guides, it is aimed at retail executives preparing staffing, merchandising and in-store experience strategies well ahead of the holiday shopping period.