AI, shopper experience and brand: the 2026 retail media trends

Between the democratization of AI, the transformation of consumer uses and the reconfiguration of the French market, retail media is entering a pivotal period. Three structuring trends are expected to shape the landscape in 2026: the transition from AI to concrete use cases, the refocus on user experience as a strategic lever, and the reintroduction of emotion and storytelling to strengthen the link between brands and consumers.

AI: moving from euphoria to value creation

In 2025, AI dominated discussions at major retail events, to the point of becoming a necessary step in order to exist. But behind this enthusiasm, the risk of a bubble is emerging: most innovations are based on technologies that are accessible to all, without real differentiation. Also, the valuation of certain companies seems difficult to understand. As a result, the challenge today is no longer to display AI, but to demonstrate the concrete usefulness of each use case.

While AI can act as a powerful assistant, capable of condensing massive volumes of information, informing decision-making and accelerating analyses, its adoption must go beyond theoretical discourse. The sector must be rooted in operational, controlled uses that create value for consumers and brands alike. As investments normalize and technology costs soar, only solutions that have a tangible impact will be needed.

Refocusing retail media on the consumer

After years of inflation of sponsored formats, retail media is reaching a point of saturation. Consumers are showing a need for renewal, and retailers are now faced with the trade-off between advertising pressure and the quality of the journey. Innovation can no longer be limited to optimizing inventories: it must restore a fluid, intelligible and truly useful experience, where each activation provides tangible value for the shopper. Players capable of placing the user experience at the heart of their strategy, by reconciling relevance and performance, will be the ones who will shape the market sustainably and create a solid link between brands and consumers.

Towards a mature retail media that creates value

With the focus on price, the industry has gradually blurred the core of consumer attachment, namely emotion, projection, and brand stories. The proliferation of tools designed to make the journey more “comfortable,” including AI agents generating shopping lists, makes the connection between consumer and brand even more transactional. The future of retail media will depend on the ability of retailers and brands to reintroduce meaning, imagination and experience into their activations. Even simple mechanisms, such as sweepstakes, demonstrate that it is possible to generate pleasure, enthusiasm, and projection. Emotion is not a simple addition, it conditions loyalty, nourishes brand image and restores a human dimension to consumption. It is by combining performance, utility and emotion that retail media will be able to sustainably change its value proposition.

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