As the Retail Technology Show (RTS), the sector’s flagship event that connects tech innovators with retail’s changemakers, opened its doors and prepares to welcome 15,000+ senior professionals to its two-day innovation extravaganza, we round up the best bits from all the action on Day 1.

Hot topics and industry debates light up the RTS stage

The BRC’s Chief Exec, Helen Dickinson, opened the show on the headline Supernova stage, joining Kate Hardcastle for a fireside chat which discussed how Government policy was helping – and hindering – the sector. 

Pointing to XX topic, she said, “add quote here.”  She also highlighted how XX and YY would become key battlegrounds in defining retail performance.

Sarah Boyd, UK MD of Sephora, joined the Spark Stage speaking to Consumer Champion, Martin Newman, about how the beauty zeitgeist’s community-first approach is driving hype and growth.  Off the back of rapid store expansion, with its recent opening in Cardiff and the brand on track to grow its store footprint to 20 UK locations this year, she said “the UK customer is highly engaged.”

She said that shoppers remain “curious and trend-aware”, prompting “a real shift towards experiences that go beyond transaction.”  She pointed to technology as “a critical enabler of personalisation” and said innovation lay at the heart of “community building, sharper curation and deeper product discovery.”

Dickinson and Boyd joined other retail leaders, including Dragon’s Den star, Touker Suleyman and Holland & Barrett’s Group CEO Anthony Houghton across the first day keynotes. 

Other standout sessions included a fireside chat with Ann Summers’ Technology & Supply Chain Director, Jeanette Copeland, who outlined how the retailer had moved from complexity to composability, having migrated its core integration layer to PMC’s Graphene platform, and Domino’s Chef Digital Officer, Nick Bamber, who discussed how it had deployed Apadmi’s mobile experiences to serve personalisation to millions of customers.

Bright tech shines on the RTS show floor

2026 is RTS’ biggest ever innovation showcase, hosting 450+ technology providers, each presenting new solutions and use-cases that help retailers redefine their operations and meet fast-evolving customer demands.  

There was no escaping the rise and rise of AI across the innovations on display – but rather than wall-to-wall AI ‘white noise’, the solutions presented a new level of AI maturity that moved the dial from hype and theory into practical execution and tangible ROI delivery.  

SAI Group (Stand T60), for example, showed how AI is redefining Loss Prevention, diversifying its use into wider active in-store intelligence.  Its Visual Language Model (VLM) blends computer vision with GenAI to turn traditionally ‘passive’ store surveillance systems into a platform for real-time intelligence, with live analysis from video feeds build contextual operational models. These can be used to surface meaningful signals, insight cues and timely staff alerts to drive estate-wide performance, as well as reducing shrink.

From shrink to stock, invent.ai (Stand J48) unveiled a new multi-agentic AI platform, which makes faster, more accurate merchandising and forecasting decisions, optimising inventory to meet demand.  As retailers face a growing number of complex decisions that traditional tools cannot manage, autonomous AI-decisioning can now improve product availability, reduce overstocks and respond dynamically to market shifts.

AI is also redefining in-store customer-colleague interactions, blending human connection with AI-powered intelligence.  x-hoppers (Stand K20) showcased live demos of its latest agentic AI features in its headsets that connect store teams to streamline operations and power customer experience (CX).  Innovation in AI communications means staff can now provide personalised and efficient service, enabled by AI and activated by voice.

“As you would expect, AI and agentic features strongly across the RTS 2026 show floor,” said Matt Bradley, Founder & Event Director at Retail Technology Show.  However, he said the tech on display this year was delivering “a new maturity that cuts beyond buzzwords and extends into practical execution that drives tangible business outcomes.”

What’s ahead for Day 2 at RTS?

As RTS continues into Day 2 tomorrow, there’s plenty of unmissable insight and innovation still to come.

Returning to the RTS stage, M&S Chairman Archie Norman is back for a second year as a headline speaker, following a standing-room-only session in 2025.  Opening Day 2 with his keynote on the Supernova Stage (10.10am), his session will explore how customer trust, brand authority and tech innovation is shaping M&S’ business, despite the crippling cyberattack it faced last year.

In the afternoon of Day 2, TALA founder Grace Beverley takes to the Supernova Stage at 2.35pm, offering behind-the-scenes insight into social success, how retailers can leverage social influencers, as well as strategies for clicks to bricks expansion.

Trailblazing innovation will continue to be showcased across the show floor for a second day.

A dedicated Loss Prevention & Cyber Zone, which includes cutting-edge innovation from leading suppliers, including First Response, Navarra Systems and Sensormatic, will help retailers navigate cyber risk, improve store safety and prevent loss and crime.  Meanwhile, the Start Up Superstars zone will highlight new and emerging tech from the high-octane start-up community.

To register for Day 2 of RTS, visit: Retail Technology Show.