How AI Agents Are Changing Retail Stores (Retail Industry Trends 2026)

About this episode

Catherine Erdly explores how agentic AI is transforming the retail landscape and customer product discovery.

Right now, as you read this, an AI chatbot is running a real retail store in San Francisco — managing the product selection, deciding what to stock, and curating a customer experience. It sounds like science fiction. It is already open for business. And it is just one signal of how fast the rules of retail discovery are changing. (Our sponsor Faire are offering 50% off and free shipping on first orders until July 31st. Simply add the code "Resilient50" at checkout) Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club , Catherine Erdly . And in this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan , I'm exploring one of the biggest shifts I've seen in how customers discover products: agentic AI. This is AI that doesn't just respond to questions — it researches, compares, recommends, and in some cases, actually completes the purchase. For independent retailers and product businesses with an online presence, this changes the rules. The question is no longer just how do you rank on Google — it's how do you become the answer when an AI agent is asked to find the best product for a specific need. I dig into what agentic AI actually means, how people are already using it to shop, and…

People in this episode

Host: Catherine Erdly

Topics covered

• AI in retail
• agentic AI
• customer experience
• product discovery
• retail trends
• independent retailers

Keywords

• AI chatbot
• retail store
• product selection
• customer experience
• online presence
• Google ranking
• shopping behavior

Sponsors

Faire

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Resilient Retail Club, Klaviyo, Andon Market, OECD

Places: San Francisco

More episodes of The Resilient Retail Game Plan - retail insights, retail trends and best practices

• The 4-Step Sales Strategy Every Independent Retailer Needs · July 16, 2026 · 18 min
• Drowning in Data? The Only 3 Retail Numbers That Matter · July 9, 2026 · 21 min
• Independent Retailer Trends 2026: Plan Christmas Now · July 2, 2026 · 23 min
• Retail Planning 2026: Why a Mid-Year Check-In Beats Starting Over in January · June 25, 2026 · 25 min
• How retailers can build demand on TikTok · June 11, 2026 · 23 min
• Retail Trends 2026: How Independent Retailers Should Use Generative AI · June 4, 2026 · 21 min