I was sitting in the opening session of NRF’s Big Show this week — a fireside chat with Bob Eddy, Chairman and CEO of BJ’s Wholesale Club and Ed Stack, executive chairman of DICK'S Sporting Goods. I posted a spritely post on LinkedIn citing some management lesson from Ed, and promptly left the keynote stage to catch up on some “real work” in the hallway.

In doing so, I inadvertently skipped the history-making session that happened immediately after, in the very same room: when Google chief Sundar Pichai announced the introduction of the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard for "agentic commerce" designed to facilitate seamless, AI-powered shopping experiences across various platforms.

That's when the palpitating anxiety of being left behind really hit.

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It’s hard getting back into the swing of the new year. I don’t know what’s worse — a slow and drudgerous start, or one which is dominated by the anxiety of being left behind.

While I was ostensibly on-site at the center of the retail universe for a few days, taking in all the announcements and case studies about new technology and how retailers are adapting to it, I still feel woefully, inescapably behind.

Surely it can’t just be me.

And thank goodness, it’s not. Even the people who are actually in charge of technology at these retail companies can’t see the future. Here’s some comments from various stages at NRF:

“We don't look at it like we have to know exactly how this is going to take off for us. We look at it [agentic commerce] like it's the next evolution of search.”

Angie Brown, chief information officer at Home Depot

“For us it's still experimenting and testing and learning… It's probably not going to be one thing where we suddenly we're going to completely disrupt how shopping is done online.”

Fiona Tan, chief technology officer at Wayfair.

“Not many of us really understand exactly where it (AI) s going to take us, but we know that's going to change the world…”

Ed Stack, executive chairman of DICK'S Sporting Goods.

And the management consultants furiously whipping up forecasts and models for them? They can't see it either.

Which is why 2026 is the year we leave brash confidence behind.

The retailers who are getting buzz right now aren't the ones with five-year plans and confident predictions. They're the ones experimenting, zigging while others are zagging.

Take Costco's retail media chief, who made the surprising move of revealing the retailer's entire ad-tech stack (read more in my column for The Drum) last Saturday.

If the first two weeks of 2026 are anything to go by, retailers, consumer brands, and the ecosystem that supports them will need to be adaptable this year. Strong opinions, loosely held. Partnerships and technology that are flexible and composable. An explicit expectation for partners to collaborate rather than draw battle lines. Define the destination but stay flexible on how you get there.

As Mike Edmonds, PayPal's VP of Agentic Commerce, put it: "Waiting and seeing I think is a really tricky position to take."

The only thing certain this year more than any other is that change will be constant. Buckle up.

IN OTHER NEWS
WHAT I’VE WRITTEN RECENTLY

LINKEDIN LIVE

I’m Kicking off 2026 with a 🔥 LinkedIn LIVE with a lively discussion on how big brands and small brands MUST approach retail media differently.

I'm joined by a retail media practitioner who's walked both sides of the aisle - both brand-side (Hershey, Kenvue, Stanley Black & Decker) and now head of retail media at the agency Salt XC, Jordan Witmer.

The truth is, national brands and challenger brands have major strengths and weaknesses around budgets, culture, and incentives. Their retail media strategy should lean into those strengths.

We'll be answering questions LIVE -- join us!





PERSONAL UPDATE
MY FAVORITE NOVELS OF 2025

Last year I dedicated my evenings to properly unwinding by reading before bed. It’s now my most cherished time with my family as we all snuggle up and get lost in our books (or comic books in the case of my 8-year-old). For me, it’s essential that it is a novel rather than non-fiction, in order to switch my brain off.

I want to share my favorite novels from last year, and would really love to hear yours so I can re-stock my Kindle for 2026!

  • Lion by Sonya Walger: An autobiographical novel that explores the complex, loving, yet often-distant relationship between a daughter and her charismatic, rogue-like father.
  • I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynnis MacNicol: A transformative memoir about a woman in her 40s who moves to Paris for a summer to rediscover pleasure and herself after the isolation of the pandemic.
  • A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst: The harrowing true story of a couple who must fight for survival in a rubber raft after a whale sinks their boat in the Pacific Ocean.
  • Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten: A spirited memoir tracing the Barefoot Contessa’s journey from a difficult childhood and a government job to becoming a beloved culinary icon.
  • Conversations Across America by Kari Loya: A heartwarming account of a father and son’s 4,600-mile cross-country bike trip taken shortly after the father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
  • The Bear by Andrew Krivak: A fabled story of the last two humans on Earth—a father and daughter—living in harmony with a world reclaimed by nature.
  • The Woman from Uruguay by Pedro Mairal: A bittersweet novella following an Argentinian writer’s day trip to Montevideo, which serves as a catalyst for a midlife crisis and reflections on his marriage.
  • The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen: A sprawling family saga that follows the lives of an elderly Midwestern couple and their three adult children as they converge for one last Christmas.
  • Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor: Set on a remote Welsh island in 1938, a young woman’s life is forever changed when a dead whale washes ashore and outsiders arrive to study the community.
  • Consent: A Memoir by Jill Ciment: A nuanced re-examination of the author’s decades-long relationship with her much older husband, begun when she was a teenager and he was her teacher.
  • Gone to the Woods by Gary Paulsen: The "Hatchet" author’s own story of surviving a neglectful childhood through resilience, nature, and the life-changing power of books.

Until tomorrow,
Kiri