How can AI go from being an interesting experiment to something that delivers real business value?
That question was the focus of the Agentic Retail Summit 2026 held in Auckland last week. Brought to us by NORA and RX Group, it was a great opportunity to listen to industry leaders who offered a practical and realistic view of where AI is heading in retail, along with insights into how retailers can move beyond pilot schemes and start delivering real outcomes.
Moving from experimentation to ROI
Juanita Neville-Te Rito, CEO of RX Group, opened the summit by cutting through the hype surrounding AI. Sharing that around 88% of New Zealand retailers are stuck in the pilot phase of AI adoption, she explained that, while many businesses are experimenting, far fewer are successfully scaling AI across their organisations.
The difficulty of making the move from experimentation to operational AI was also addressed by Simon Conroy and Adam Holt, founders of thecolab.ai. Their research found that 84% of businesses sit in what they called “the messy middle”. In other words, they are experimenting with AI but struggling to scale it into meaningful results. Only a small percentage reported genuinely transformational outcomes. One finding that stood out was that while most organisations plan to increase AI investment, only 15% reported seeing clear and measurable ROI so far.
Simon’s advice was practical: businesses don’t need hundreds of AI projects. They need one successful use case that can be measured, trusted and scaled.
When data meets governance: getting the foundations right
Ankit Gupta, Chief Data & AI Officer at The Warehouse Group, opened with a statement that immediately caught everyone’s attention and also directly addressed the issue of ROI shortfall.
“AI doesn’t create chaos. AI exposes the chaos that already exists.“
Ankit Gupta, Chief Data & AI Officer at The Warehouse Group
According to Ankit, AI technology itself is not the issue. The problem is often poor preparation. If a business has strong processes, trusted data and clear ways of working, AI can accelerate success. But if data is messy, processes are inconsistent and teams work in silos, AI will simply make those problems more visible.
For Ankit, trusted data is the real competitive advantage. With AI models becoming available to everyone, the data quality is what will set businesses apart, not the AI tools themselves. AI already knows industry best practices. What it does not know is your customers, products, inventory, pricing strategies and business decisions. That organisational knowledge is where your real edge lies.
Solid data goes hand in hand with strong governance and consistent processes. Perhaps the strongest takeaway from Ankit’s session was that retailers need to stop measuring success by the number of AI pilots they run and start looking at how AI supports teams to be more effective. In fact, if an AI solution is not helping to build efficiency and ROI, businesses should question whether it should be prioritised at all.
Getting the most from AI investment also means bringing your people along with you so they can see how it benefits them. Adopting new technology is the easy part. Changing how people work, trust and adopt AI is the real challenge.
Emphasising the human touch
Integrating automation and efficiency with human connection has the potential to deliver for your customers as well as for your staff. Juanita’s perspective here was particularly refreshing.
She argued that the best retailers are using AI to remove repetitive tasks, giving team members more time to serve customers and create meaningful experiences. She shared examples from leading global retailers who are using AI behind the scenes to improve inventory management, customer service and productivity, while keeping humans at the centre of the customer experience.
Key takeaways
“The technology isn’t the gap anymore. It’s the education within organisations.“
Adam Holt, Co-Founder & Clause Ambassador NZ, thecolab.ai
The common message from speakers was that successful AI adoption starts with strong business foundations.
Juanita reminded us to focus on people and business outcomes. Ankit reinforced the importance of data, governance and operational discipline. Simon and Adam showed that success comes from turning ideas into practical, measurable solutions.
The retailers that will win with AI won’t necessarily have the most tools. They will be the ones that:
- Build trusted data foundations
- Create clear governance
- Focus on measurable business outcomes
- Bring their people on the journey
- Use AI to improve both customer and employee experiences
The summit reinforced a simple truth that AI is the enabler. The real opportunity lies in combining great technology with strong retail leadership.
Want help to prepare for the future of retail?
If you’re looking for help to prepare for the data-intensive, speed-focused future that will shape customer interactions, get in touch or email sales@triquestra.com. We’d love to help you develop the solutions you need now and guide you to where you’re headed next.
Infinity unified commerce is powered by Triquestra, an Auckland-based retail software company.
