Retail leaders, c-suite powerhouses and challenger brands are set to join the all-star speaker line up at Retail Technology Show (RTS), the leading event connecting retail’s changemakers with tech innovators.

With its new 2026 disco theme, RTS is gearing up to deliver its biggest-ever innovation showcase on 22 & 23 April 2026 (London’s ExCeL). Welcoming over 16,000 senior retail professionals, RTS will bring together retail’s movers and shakers alongside the hottest tech, helping retailers fuel growth and power long-term performance.

All-star speaker programme

RTS’ all-star conference programme will once again take centre stage, providing the platform for insight from 125+ of retail’s brightest minds, brand trailblazers, industry luminaries and thought leaders across the hottest, sector-shaping topics.

Having already announced TALA’s Co-Founder and serial entrepreneur, Grace Beverely, as its first headliner, RTS has confirmed a raft of new speakers across its four conference tracks: Retail Media, AI & Data; Loyalty, Customer Experience & Personalisation; Leadership, Cybersecurity & Economy; and Sustainability, Supply Chain & Innovation.

Retail policy reform, retail media & CX advancements

Kicking off Day 1 at 09.40am on the Supanova Stage, the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Chief Exec, Helen Dickinson OBE, will join Customer Whisperer, Kate Hardcastle MBE, to discuss key policy shifts impacting the sector. Debating whether recent Government reform is helping or hindering retail innovation, she will explore strategies for navigating these new challenges and opportunities.

Moving from policy reforms to new revenue streams, Frasers Group’s Chief Customer Officer, David Clark, takes to the stage at 09.40am on the Spark Stage to explore the Retail Media Network (RMN) opportunity.

Drawing on real-world examples from Frasers’ RMN, ELEVATE, he’ll share data-led strategies for monetising 1st party data and unlocking omnichannel personalisation, engagement and CX. Insight into experience-led retail continues on the Spark Stage at 11am on Day 1, with Mark Blundell, Harrods’ Chief Retail Officer, exploring how the leading luxury retailer curates customer experience and loyalty in a fireside chat.

The AI opportunity and evolving cyber risk

As AI adoption relentlessly accelerates, challenger beauty brand, Aroma Zone’s Vice President Data & AI, Amine Mekouar, joins Nikki Baird, Atpos Retail’s VP of Strategy & Product at 3.15pm on the Supanova Stage for a panel discussion on the agentic shift, and what this means for brands, business efficiency and customer engagement. 

Currys’ Ryan den Rooijen, MD of AI & Monetisation, will also focus on AI, outlining core strategies for successful deployments that deliver for customers, colleagues and the bottom lineat1.15pm (Headline Stage) on Day1.

Diving into Day 2, the Co-operative Group’s Chief Digital & Information Officer, Rob Elsey, will deliver a candid keynote on cyber risk and resilience on the Supanova Stage at 10.10am. Opening up about how the retailer responded to the cyberattack which impacted its business last year, he’ll outline critical strategies for cyber resilience in 2026 and beyond.  Elsey is followed by a conversation with Anthony Houghton, Group CEO of health and beauty retailer, Holland & Barratt, at11.30am.

Insight underpins innovation

“Insight underpins innovation, so we’re bringing together an all-star line-up of the sector’s sharpest minds to help retailers unpick the most pressing challenges, the hottest debates and the critical topics that will redefine the next wave of retail evolution,” said Matt Bradley, Founder & Event Director at RTS.  

“That includes not shying away from taboo topics, enabling a platform for the bold discussions needed to help retailers navigate change, mitigate risk and build greater resilience,” Bradley added.

From retail’s burning topics to the hottest tech, away from the conference programme RTS will showcase a hotbed of innovation on its expo floor.

With 450+ tech providers – from disruptive start-ups to enterprise innovation – and solutions powering every part of retail, RTS offers retailers a one-stop shop of the technologies they’ll need to support their digital transformation.

To register to attend RTS 2026, visit: www.retailtechnologyshow.com.