AI is at the forefront of most retailers’ strategies for the year ahead, as rapid advances unlock new opportunities but also bring some questions and challenges. It’s no surprise, then, that AI dominated the conversation at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York City, held January 11–13. The industry’s largest global event drew more than 40,000 attendees — many of them focused squarely on one question: how to...

With 2026 quickly approaching, we at the Customer Strategist Journal are reflecting on the past year.  Every month, we showed up in CX leaders’ inboxes with insights, real-world stories, and expert perspectives. Throughout the year, that added up to 17 thought leadership articles and a lot of great conversations. Thanks for reading, sharing, and engaging.  We asked AI to help surface the trends and strategies we kept coming back to this...