With just under a week to go until the 2026 Retail Technology Show (RTS), we round up five things you won’t want to miss at the event, which connects retail’s changemakers with tech innovators.

Taking place on 22 & 23 April 2026 at London’s ExCeL, RTS will welcome over 15,000 senior retail professionals to retail’s flagship event, combining unmissable innovation and insight with unrivalled networking opportunities.

With its new 2026 disco theme, RTS will bring together retail’s movers and shakers, the industry’s sharpest minds and the hottest solutions redefining the sector, helping retailers harness disruption to fuel growth and power long-term performance.

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1. Innovation showcase: the hot tech transforming retail

RTS is gearing up to deliver its biggest ever innovation showcase in 2026, featuring a hotbed of disruptive innovation from over 450+ tech providers.

The buzzing expo floor will highlight the solutions powering every part of retail – from agentic AI and retail media to supply chain evolution and next-gen customer engagement and loyalty.

As well as the Start Up Superstars zone, highlighting new tech from the start-up community, RTS 2026 will also feature a new dedicated Cyber & Loss Prevention Zone. This will include cutting-edge innovation from leading suppliers, including First Response, Navarra Systems and Sensormatic, which help retailers navigate cyber risk, improve store safety and prevent loss and crime.

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2. The next wave of AI innovation

AI will remain a central theme running across the RTS’ 2026 exhibition halls, but with a focus on AI maturity that helps retailers turn hype into execution as business and consumer adoption rapidly increases. 

A wealth of practical AI innovation, spanning store operations, workforce management, marketing and inventory optimisation, will be on display. 

Connected store technology Vusion will spotlight its vision for the connected shelf, while invent.ai will unveil new multi-agentic capabilities for inventory optimisation, and smart comms solutions, including x-hoppers, will demonstrate how AI can transform employee and customer experiences while driving operational efficiencies.

SAI Group will also showcase new use-case for AI that turns passive store surveillance systems into operational store intelligence platforms through Visual Language Models, transcending Loss Prevention and powering store operations.

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3. Hard hitting headliners – from Sephora to TALA

RTS’ conference programme will once again provide a platform for retail’s brightest minds to discuss the hottest topics and issues shaping the sector.  125+ industry luminaries – from retail leaders and brand trailblazers to thought leaders, analysts and influencers – will take to the stage across the two days.  

Six tracks – from leadership to loyalty and supply chain to sustainability – will offer wide ranging insight from retail powerhouses, including Fraser Group, Aroma Zone, Morrisons and Currys.

Topping the all-star line-up include the RTS 2026 headline speakers, including M&S’ Archie Norman, Sephora UK’s Sarah Boyd, TALA Founder Grace Beverely, Dragon’s Den star Touker Suleyman and the BRC’s Helen Dickinson.

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4. M&S’ Archie Norman returns in an RTS exclusive

Back by popular demand, M&S Chairman, Archie Norman, will return as a headline speaker at the Retail Technology Show for a consecutive year, following a standing-room-only session in 2025. 

The session will explore how customer trust, brand authority and tech innovation is shaping the business and how M&S has continued to demonstrate resilience amid operational disruption, including its 2025 cyberattack, and challenging external trading conditions.

RTS is the only stage – either in-person or online – that Norman has committed to speaking on in 2026, giving RTS visitors an exclusive inside-track on his wealth of experience and insight.

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5. Unrivalled networking at RTS

Known as the event where retailers make connections that matter, RTS’ trademark networking opportunities are back for 2026.

These will include Retail’s BIG Party, sponsored by PMC, on Day 1, as well as a host of satellite events, including Sitoo’s networking breakfast, and executive lunches and roundtable sessions from Worldline and Zebra.

New for 2026, WeComm will launch its Future of Retail LIVE Lounge at RTS, giving senior retail leaders exclusive access to the innovations shaping the industry via its “conference within a conference” as part of the show.  Running across both days, the programme will feature interactive workshops, expert insight sessions, and tech tours led by IGD’s Toby Pickard.

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“We can’t wait to bring the retail community together for what promises to be another unmissable event,” said Matt Bradley, Founder & Event Director at RTS.  “From jam-packed innovation on the show floor to sector-shaping discussions on-stage and networking formats that help retailers making the connections that matter, the countdown to RTS 2026 is well and truly on.”

To register to attend RTS 2026: https://www.retailtechnologyshow.com.