Amit Agarwal

Love this direction: Moving from generic AI to verified, personalized outcomes is the real shift. Network data + Verifiable Intent gives us cryptographic intent proof: clear authorization, constraints, and accountability. Insight Tokens translate consented signals into real time personalization without exposing raw data. The result isn’t just a better UX, it’s smarter operations: higher authorization rates, cleaner disputes, better fraud and loyalty decisions, and systems that scale with agent autonomy. That’s what production ready Agentic Commerce looks like. Secure. Intelligent. Personalized. #AgenticCommerce #Personalization #TrustByDesign

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Target has a new CEO. Can the magic return? TLDR: Target lost its spark. Customers are speaking loudly about what is broken. The path forward is not in corporate strategy decks, it is in the aisles of the stores. My feed today is full of people debating if Target can turn it around. The most powerful voices are not analysts, but customers. I have loved Target for years, but I shop there less often now. The experience has slipped. It can be rebuilt, and here is how: 1. Listen inside the stores Talk to customers and employees. The answers are already in the aisles. 2. Fix checkout frustrations Either be fast with self-checkout or be personal with staff. Do not do both halfway. 3. Stock the shelves Parents cannot afford wasted trips when every dollar counts. Empty shelves cost loyalty (BTS this year). 4. Make the store feel good again Clutter and messy racks kill discovery. A clean store builds brand love. 5. Extend the digital shelf Stock essentials in store, offer the rest online with an easy scan-to-order option. 6. Personalize rewards Use history to surprise customers with products they will love. 7. Seamless app experience One app. One account. One place for shopping, rewards, and credit. 8. Bring back discovery Target used to be the place you left with $50 of joy you did not plan to buy. Customers want that back. Shoppers today are strapped. They need value, ease, and joy from every trip. Deliver those basics, and the magic returns. Question: What do you think Target’s new CEO should fix first to win back customers?

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Interesting insights on the future of retail from Bain & Company: https://lnkd.in/gJtbm5BF These potential outcomes include a commoditization of core capabilities by automation, an erosion of shopper loyalty by AI agents, and a redefinition of value. Thoughts?

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Back in Atlanta for an energizing few days at the Total RetailTech Conference! I had the privilege of joining a powerhouse panel "Building High-Impact Teams Through Modern Organizational Design" alongside: Karen Etzkorn CIO, QVC Group Sneha Narahalli, VP, Head of Product & UX, Sephora Jefferson Haddox, CTO, Omni Retail Enterprises Together, we explored how evolving organizational design can unlock performance, foster innovation, and drive cross-functional alignment. One of the most compelling takeaways came from Sneha’s insights into SEPHORA’s “pod” structure—dedicated, cross-functional teams that own the full product lifecycle. This model has driven clarity, accountability, and innovation. At Patagonia, we’ve adopted a similar approach, though we’ve faced challenges when pods are stretched across multiple initiatives. It was a valuable reminder that focus and resource alignment are critical to success. Karen shared her experience building a hybrid centralized/decentralized model across QVC’s global, multi-brand portfolio. Her perspective on balancing storytelling, content, and commerce—especially with the added complexity of live broadcasting—was incredibly relevant to the work we do at Patagonia. Karen also shared that building effectiveness through major change requires time and true connection between teams. Which was a topic Jeff empathized in his discussion about building a strong team centered around trust and genuine connection, especially in fast-paced, high-growth environments. His people-first approach resonated deeply with me, as I’ve seen firsthand how strong culture fuels agility, innovation heathly team dynamics. I shared how my team & I continually refining our processes and team structures to stay nimble in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. There’s no one-size-fits-all framework—what worked previously may not work in the near future. The key is to stay curious, adaptable, and aligned to customer needs. A big thank you to Dr. Janet Sherlock, Founder & CEO of Org.Works, with her wealth of Retail experience for moderating with such thought-provoking questions, and to Total Retail and Women in Retail Leadership Circle for creating a space for meaningful dialogue and connection. If you haven’t attended this event, I highly recommend it. The conversations were intimate, insightful, and incredibly relevant for today’s retail leaders. Total Retail #highimpacteams #Digitalleadership #Patagonia #Agileteam #centersofexcellence

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📣 Amazon retiring Rufus and integrating AI shopping directly into Alexa is a much bigger deal than it seems. This is Amazon signaling that ecommerce is shifting from search-based shopping to AI-guided shopping. Consumers will increasingly ask Amazon what to buy instead of scrolling through search results themselves. That means AI will play a bigger role in which brands get surfaced, recommended, and purchased. For brands, this raises the bar: • Better PDP content • Stronger reviews • Clearer differentiation • Richer product data • Stronger brand authority Winning on Amazon is no longer just about ranking on page one. It is about becoming the brand the AI trusts to recommend. The shift toward agentic commerce is happening fast, and the brands that adapt early will have a major advantage. https://lnkd.in/gDWdPHY2

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Big consumer brands are increasingly integrating retail media into their core strategies and banking on its ability to unify brand and commerce, even while measurement questions around true incremental impact remain unresolved. But here’s the tension: ✅ Investment is accelerating ✅ Retail networks are scaling ❓ Incrementality remains unclear ❓ Creative quality remains inconsistent In my experience, retail media creative is often the weakest link. It's templated, transactional, and disconnected from broader brand and content strategy. If retail media is becoming a core growth engine, then parallel evolution is required: - Content must become retailer-specific and algorithm-aware - SKU-level assets must be instrumented and continuously optimized - Measurement must move beyond ROAS to creative-level intelligence Otherwise, retail media becomes expensive paid shelf space. Curious how others are thinking about the creative + data side of retail media’s rise.

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Walmart’s FY2026 Annual Report shows how digital innovation is powering retail growth. The company posted 5.4% profit growth and $150.4 billion in e-commerce sales, proving that scale and technology together can deliver strong results. 📈 Revenue growth: Total revenues rose $32.2 billion, up 4.7% year over year. 🛒 Digital momentum: Global e-commerce grew 24%, driving Walmart’s omnichannel strength. 💳 Membership gains: Membership fee revenue surged 15.5%, reinforcing loyalty and recurring value. 🌍 Segment expansion: Walmart U.S. net sales up $20.6 billion (4.4%) Walmart International net sales up $8.5 billion (7%) Sam’s Club U.S. net sales up $2.8 billion (3.1%) 🤖 AI-driven transformation: Investments in workforce, automation, and faster delivery speed are reshaping customer experience. 👥 Global scale: Serving 280 million customers weekly across 10,900 stores and e-commerce sites in 19 countries. Walmart’s disciplined approach to AI, digital growth, and membership expansion is strengthening its business model and positioning it as a leader in retail transformation. #RetailTrends #Ecommerce #Omnichannel #Walmart

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Steal this Playbook! Kamanasish Kundu clearly outlines his playbook to deliver 50% growth in digital commerce. His pillars are mobile optimization (contributed half of the growth), personalization (1/3 of growth) and experiential commerce (the remaining growth). This is a must read!

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Kroger and Instacart are expanding their longstanding partnership to further integrate AI-powered experiences across Kroger’s digital platforms — a move designed to enhance both customer convenience and brand engagement opportunities. #GroceryRetail #OmnichannelRetail #RetailTech

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At today's discussion on RetailWire, we delved into the balance between retail operations and information technology at national retail conferences. The conversation highlighted the dichotomy between the allure of new technological advancements like AI and the fundamental principles of successful retail operations. While tech innovations garner attention, the core of effective retail lies in simple yet crucial practices such as maintaining clean store environments, strategic merchandise planning, and efficient replenishment processes. The debate arises: should major retail conferences integrate all facets of the industry or remain segmented by business functions? And where do finance professionals fit into this equation? The prospect of offering a diverse range of topics to attendees, who invest significantly in attending these events, raises questions about the traditional structure of these conferences. How would sponsors, the lifeblood of such gatherings, respond to a more varied audience encompassing various business functions? Reflecting on the evolution of retail conferences, from the unified NRF Show to the current emphasis on technology at NRF's "Big Show," the industry has witnessed a shift towards specialized events catering to distinct interests. The history of these conferences, including the division into separate venues for different aspects of retail, underscores the ongoing transformation in the conference landscape. Engaging in this dialogue with fellow RetailWire Braintrust members was enlightening. What are your thoughts on this ongoing evolution in the realm of retail conferences

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📊 As leaders in retail, we all know how critical data is—not just for reporting, but for real-time decisions that drive customer experience, operational efficiency, and growth. This Forbes article by Balaji Balasubramanian at SAP really struck a chord: “Disconnected, siloed data is one of the biggest barriers to delivering seamless, profitable retail experiences.” Retail today is omnichannel by default. Customers expect to browse online, buy in-store, return anywhere—and they want it all to feel seamless. But behind the scenes? It’s often fragmented systems, blind spots in inventory, and missed engagement opportunities due to incomplete or inaccessible data. That’s why a unified, intelligent data foundation isn’t a tech initiative—it’s a business imperative. 🛠️ With the access to data in real time, we can: Improve inventory visibility and reduce costly stockouts Personalize marketing and engagement with real-time insights Enable predictive, AI-driven decision-making across the business If we’re not actively using our data to inform action—we’re falling behind. The future of retail is data-driven, AI-enabled, and customer-obsessed. And it starts with transforming how we connect, trust, and act on our data. #RetailLeadership #DataDrivenRetail #OmnichannelExperience #AIinRetail #CustomerCentricity #RetailStrategy #SAP #DigitalTransformation #RetailExcellence https://lnkd.in/evFRFUf4

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Speaking today at eTail™ Boston (Aug 11–14, Sheraton Boston): AI Keynote Fireside Chat: Foundations for Agentic AI in Retail. Agentic AI isn’t hype. It’s production systems that reason and act across merchandising, supply chain, and CX. I’ll cover what works, what fails, and how to ship governed, real-world agents. Session details: https://lnkd.in/eQUaazWg #agenticai #ai #retail #eTail #boston

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The ROI conversation around AI is evolving quickly and it’s about time we moved beyond simple productivity metrics. At Lowe’s, we’re seeing firsthand that the real value of AI shows up in how confidently and quickly customers can make decisions, especially when those decisions are complex. Whether it’s planning a full kitchen renovation or choosing the right refrigerator among hundreds of options, customers don’t just want more information, they want clarity. That’s where Mylow is starting to make a meaningful difference. By helping customers navigate trade-offs, compare options, and get to the right answer faster, we’re reducing friction in the journey and giving people back something incredibly valuable: time. And in many cases, increasing confidence in the purchase along the way. Because the future of AI in retail isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about trust, guidance, and better outcomes for the customer. We’re still early, but the opportunity to fundamentally reshape how people shop for complex projects is very real. #ArtificialIntelligence #RetailInnovation #CustomerExperience #Ecommerce #DigitalTransformation #AIinRetail #CustomerCentricity #Innovation #FutureOfWork #RetailTech #MachineLearning #CX

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Walmart’s Q2 results are drawing mixed headlines, but they show acceleration across the areas that matter most to advertisers. Signals from this quarter: - Ad revenue +31% in the U.S., +46% globally (including Vizio) Walmart’s acquisition of VIZIO is now flowing into results, linking CTV with closed-loop attribution. Brands can plan top-of-funnel video and lower-funnel search in one ecosystem, measured directly against sales. This quarter, the numbers show advertisers clearly leaning in. - Same-day delivery volumes up ~50% Store-fulfilled delivery is up nearly 50%, and one-third of digital orders arrive within three hours. That fulfillment velocity creates new high-intent ad moments (shoppers checking their app for pickup readiness, adjusting baskets, planning quick replenishment orders). Lots of opportunity to align retail media with these moments and influence purchase decisions in real-time. - Global e-commerce +25% YoY E-commerce outside the U.S. grew +22%, while international advertising rose +15% (led by Flipkart). Walmart’s retail media flywheel is scaling internationally – and it's a chance for advertisers to test, learn, and replicate strategies across regions, with Walmart as a unifying partner. - Sam's Club e-commerce +26% Between Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Flipkart, Walmart has built a multi-faceted and international network that reaches diverse shopper segments. More places to activate retail media, more audiences to engage, and more opportunities to coordinate strategies across platforms. I think Q2 underscores the breadth of Walmart’s ecosystem and the pace at which it’s evolving. For advertisers, the challenge lies in tapping into that while staying agile to shopper and market dynamics.

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The Path to Purchase Institute delves into CVS Media Exchange (CMX)'s collaboration with Reddit, Inc. exploring why the RMN chose to partner with the platform. The partnership aims to assist brands in engaging with shoppers in a meaningful and contextually relevant manner. Parbinder Dhariwal Cyndi Loza check out the story at https://lnkd.in/ePmkZ-FN

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Walmart continues to show what retail adaptability looks like at scale. Their latest AI tools for associates don’t just make operations more efficient—they simplify, guide, and free up time for what matters most: the customer. By combining generative AI with AR and RFID, they’re showing how real-time intelligence can enhance decision-making from the shelf to the backroom. It’s a move that echoes the principles of The Agile Code—adaptability, experimentation, and team empowerment. 💡 What’s your “escape fire”? How are you redeploying time saved through technology? #TheAgileCode #RetailInnovation #AIinRetail #Walmart #AgilityInAction https://lnkd.in/eGQwTKsd

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Excellent review by Sue Chan and Matt Beale on the importance of retail lab automation and how W. Capra's lab is embracing it. A must read for all retailers and suppliers.

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