Retail experts from eMarketer and beyond sit down to debate a high-stakes question: When a customer uses ChatGPT in your store to make a decision, who really owns the relationship?
Key Takeaways
In this dynamic panel discussion from the “What’s In Store for Retail Media Networks” event at NRF 2026, Kiri Masters, Sarah Marzano, and Collin Colburn dive into the friction and opportunity of AI-enabled shopping. With 40% of Millennials and Gen Z already using AI chat assistants while physically standing in store aisles, the panel explores how retailers can reclaim these “lost signals” and keep consumers within their own digital ecosystems.
The session highlights a widening strategic divide in the industry: while Amazon moves to block third-party agents through litigation, retailers like Walmart and Target are taking the opposite approach. The experts discuss why “zigging while Amazon zags” is a critical necessity for brick-and-mortar players. By embracing “agentic” tools and curated assortments, retailers can leverage their physical stores as a strategic differentiator that reduces “decision stress” in a way an endless digital shelf never can.
From a heated debate over the academic definitions of “agentic commerce” to practical advice for retail CEOs, this panel provides a masterclass in playing both offense and defense in an AI-driven market. For anyone looking to understand how to turn the “smartphone in the aisle” from a threat into a conversion engine, this discussion is essential viewing.
“Retailers should have zigged when Amazon was zagging a long time ago. The store is your strategic differentiator because it reduces customer decision stress at the point of purchase.” — Collin Colburn
Speakers:
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Kiri Masters – E-commerce Author and Founder (Moderator)
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Sarah Marzano – Principal Analyst, eMarketer
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Collin Colburn – Vice President, Commerce & Retail Media at IAB