NextNow is heading to Shoptalk Fall 2026, running Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 at Music City Center in Nashville, to report on the business decisions shaping retail’s 2027 plans.
The three-day event brings together retailers, consumer brands, technology companies, investors and industry operators for a mix of executive conversations, working sessions and one-to-one meetings. Organizers expect more than 3,500 leaders, more than 150 senior speakers and more than 20,000 prearranged meetings. This will be the first Shoptalk Fall staged in Nashville.
Shoptalk describes the 2026 program as “Retail Unplugged,” a discussion-led format built around candid exchanges about the industry’s most consequential challenges. The official schedule includes keynotes, workshops, town halls, ask-me-anything sessions, tabletalks and networking across all three days.
Why Shoptalk Fall matters now
The timing makes the gathering especially relevant for senior business leaders. By late September, many companies are moving from experimentation to annual planning: assigning budgets, choosing vendors, setting growth targets and deciding which technologies can withstand real operating pressure.
Artificial intelligence will be central to those decisions, but the most useful questions are no longer about novelty. Retailers and brands are asking where AI can improve forecasting, merchandising, service, marketing efficiency and employee productivity without creating new governance, data or customer-trust problems.
Commerce leaders are also facing a more fragmented path to purchase. Search, social platforms, marketplaces, retail media networks and generative AI interfaces increasingly influence product discovery before a shopper reaches a brand’s site or store. That shift changes how companies allocate media, measure demand and design the customer journey.
What NextNow will be watching
NextNow’s coverage will focus on what executives are prepared to fund and operationalize, not simply what vendors are prepared to demonstrate. We will be listening for evidence that AI programs are moving into repeatable workflows, with clear owners, performance measures and safeguards.
We will also track how retailers are approaching unified commerce, loyalty and customer experience as the line between marketing and operations continues to blur. A better recommendation engine, faster fulfillment promise or more useful service agent can all influence conversion and retention. Each also depends on data quality and cross-functional execution.
Retail media will be another priority. Brands are demanding clearer measurement and more credible comparisons across networks, while retailers are working to make their first-party data and media inventory more valuable. The strategic issue is whether those programs can produce durable business results rather than another layer of disconnected spending.
The event is also adding a B2B Exchange on Sept. 28, the day before the main conference begins. According to the organizer’s program overview, that new forum will bring together suppliers, distributors, manufacturers and technology providers to address how business-to-business commerce is changing.
Reporting from the field
From Nashville, NextNow will look beyond stage-ready talking points to the practical tensions behind them: which projects are gaining budget, which metrics are surviving scrutiny, where organizations remain stuck and what leaders are doing differently as they prepare for 2027.
Our “From the Field” reports will connect those conversations to the decisions facing marketers, founders, operators and executive teams. The goal is to identify the shifts that are commercially meaningful now—and separate them from ideas that are still waiting for proof.
Shoptalk Fall takes place Sept. 29 through Oct. 1, 2026, at Music City Center in Nashville. More information is available on the event’s official site.