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As Best Salesforce Partners, we are happy to share our top forecasts for the retail sector this year based on prevailing trends. Let's see what the retail sector has in store this year.
Listed below are our top retail industry forecasts for 2026 as per Best Salesforce Partners:
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Use of AI. 2023 was all about chatter on the issue of generative artificial intelligence, its wow factor as well as increasing productivity. In 2026, retail companies will focus AI initiatives on improving the client experience. A major chunk of that energy will be on enhancing client service. This should not come as a surprise to us. Research by Best Salesforce Partners shows that service is rated the worst aspect of the shopping experience by most consumers. Over 30% of retailers have said that generating customised replies for service agents to deliver to clients is the top priority for AI. They will also use it to generate summaries of clients' service cases ( 1 in 4 retailers ) & fuel chatbots for self-service, which will result in cases being resolved faster & reduce case numbers. This allows them to deliver empathetic engagement & quick resolutions while ensuring a connected, consistent experience across different service channels, enhancing client delight & loyalty. As companies collate & clean their data and prepare channels for generative AI, it’s important to have client service agents throughout the process. This way their feedback and suggestions can be adopted, as training information, and they are in the know at all times.
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Messaging apps to the front. Messaging apps are an integral component of the shopping journey, especially among younger folks and in some countries like Brazil and India. One of the leading messaging apps is WhatsApp with millions of users globally. It is popular for both personal conversations and business dealings. It will be big this year. Wish to know why? This is because the different messaging apps are where audiences spend a lot of time, therefore inserting intuitive shopping experiences in them is a good strategy. It lets businesses deliver conversational, customised, and rich multimedia offers. It can provide support service and is a medium where your customers want you to be. It is economical to market goods/services at scale via these messaging tools. Codleo (among the Best Salesforce Partners) forecasts that retailers will use customisable message templates including brand & product videos, and images with interactive messages that enable audiences to study & buy goods in messaging apps. It's important to note that every channel is different say Best Salesforce Partners. Comprehend the “personality” of each app & review best practices. Modify your marketing strategy to meet the expectations of audiences.
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Customisation at scale. 2026 could be the year of smart retailers who invest in AI-driven customisation capabilities to offer riveting & relevant messages. This means leveraging email send times, predictive segmentation, and goods or service suggestions that resonate with the shoppers and compel them to purchase, etc. Select a marketing tactic to lead AI customisation and test, seeing how it and the results fit into the entire client experience. To make it a success, be client-first and select a function that fixes a niggle in the current client journey.
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