{"id":98,"date":"2026-02-19T10:03:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T15:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/?p=98"},"modified":"2026-02-19T10:03:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T15:03:50","slug":"nrf-2026-recap-the-next-now-is-agentic-conversational-and-back-to-being-human","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/2026\/02\/19\/nrf-2026-recap-the-next-now-is-agentic-conversational-and-back-to-being-human\/","title":{"rendered":"NRF 2026 Recap: The Next Now Is Agentic, Conversational, and Back to Being Human"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nrf-header.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101\" style=\"width:539px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nrf-header.png 1024w, https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nrf-header-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nrf-header-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nrf-header-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When:<\/strong> Jan. 11-13, 2026<br><strong>Where:<\/strong> Jacob K. Javits Convention Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NRF 2026 made something feel very real: retail is moving from &#8220;AI as a feature&#8221; to AI as infrastructure &#8211; embedded into discovery, decisioning, checkout, and support. NRF framed the show as &#8220;The Next Now,&#8221; and the floor backed it up with practical demos of agentic commerce and connected experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Agentic and conversational commerce is the new front door<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The old journey was: click &#8211; browse &#8211; abandon &#8211; maybe come back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bakstage.AI journey is: <strong>instant, immersive, agentic engagement<\/strong> the moment a shopper shows intent &#8211; via voice or chat &#8211; with the ability to recommend, guide, and move the journey forward in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in the worst case (when someone drops), we pull them back into the agentic funnel with smart follow-ups and re-engagement. When intent is high or complexity spikes, we can escalate instantly to a <strong>real human<\/strong> for a <strong>1:1 live video<\/strong> conversation to build trust and close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A strong signal: Lowe&#8217;s is operationalizing Voice AI at scale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Right after NRF, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retailbrew.com\/stories\/2026\/02\/04\/lowe-s-tests-ai-voice-agents-to-handle-customer-calls-across-all-stores?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.retailbrew.com\/stories\/2026\/02\/04\/lowe-s-tests-ai-voice-agents-to-handle-customer-calls-across-all-stores?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Retail Brew<\/a> reported that Lowe&#8217;s has been testing AI voice agents to handle customer calls across stores &#8211; taking repetitive questions off associates&#8217; plates so teams can focus on face-to-face customer interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is an important industry signal: Voice AI is no longer a &#8220;nice demo&#8221; &#8211; it&#8217;s becoming a frontline layer for service and conversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The protocol moment: Shopify + Google and Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most meaningful announcements around NRF was the <a href=\"https:\/\/shopify.engineering\/ucp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Universal Commerce Protocol<\/a> (UCP) &#8211; a push toward standardizing how AI agents interact with merchants across the buying journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is the simple take:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>UCP is positioned as an open protocol \/ standard<\/strong> for agentic commerce, built so agents, merchants, and payments providers can communicate consistently and securely.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The goal is to reduce one-off integrations by providing shared primitives for agent-driven flows (from discovery to purchase, and even post-purchase support).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is being discussed alongside major commerce ecosystems and retailers (for example, partnerships mentioned with Walmart, Sam&#8217;s Club, Target, Wayfair, and Etsy in coverage around NRF).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why this matters:<\/strong> it is a clear sign that the industry is moving from chatbots that &#8220;recommend&#8221; to agents that can reliably execute commerce journeys &#8211; with interoperability starting to look like a real priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What we are shipping that maps directly to this shift<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1) Agentic product recommendations inside the conversation (voice and text)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We just released a more agentic, in-conversation recommendation experience across both voice and chat. Instead of static &#8220;product cards,&#8221; the assistant can run a natural conversation, understand intent, and recommend relevant products in a way that feels more immersive and experiential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This also unlocks something retailers deeply care about: <strong>real-time upsell and cross-sell<\/strong> &#8211; because natural language gives you context you simply do not get from a typical browse session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2) Introducing a new concept: Rosie Shopping Assistant for physical retail<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We have also been building Rosie as a &#8220;shopping assistant&#8221; concept that brings agentic AI into physical retail locations &#8211; not just websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rosie is designed to transform in-store surfaces into interactive conversations for things like <strong>wayfinding, product discovery, and brand engagement<\/strong>, and to connect those interactions to measurable outcomes with closed-loop attribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If agentic commerce is the new front door, Rosie extends that front door into the store &#8211; helping bridge digital intent and in-person conversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NRF signals that reinforced our direction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A few ideas from NRF week recaps tracked closely with what we are seeing in the market:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Brand Experience Lab summarized a key takeaway as &#8220;execution + experience,&#8221; calling out that data is becoming foundational, and that the store matters when it is designed to be worth the trip.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>RETHINK Retail highlighted how its NRF week AI in Retail programming centered on real-world AI innovation and agentic commerce.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Put together, the message is consistent: retail is not trying to remove humans &#8211; it is trying to use agentic systems to make every experience faster, more helpful, and more personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">People and partnerships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"532\" src=\"https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-1024x532.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-102\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-1024x532.png 1024w, https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-300x156.png 300w, https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-768x399.png 768w, https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-1536x797.png 1536w, https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image.png 1772w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>NRF is always about the floor conversations as much as the stage content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shashank met senior IBM leaders including Sancia Matthyssen, Elaine Parr, and Aparna Sharma &#8211; timely conversations as enterprise retail leans into agentic systems and human-centered customer experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also represented our partners at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.360directaccess.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">360 Direct Access<\/a> on the NRF floor &#8211; proudly wearing their t-shirt that read, &#8220;Can your AI sign?&#8221; &#8211; a fun (and important) reminder that accessibility needs to be designed into the next generation of AI experiences, not bolted on later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shashank also met our partner <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/wayneabrownwalkergroup\/\">Wayne Brown<\/a> from The Walker Group<\/strong>, and we had a great discussion on the <strong>intersection of fintech and retail<\/strong> &#8211; and how the two are converging through agentic AI workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is the convergence we kept coming back to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Identity, authorization, and trust become the new \u201ccheckout UX\u201d<\/strong> &#8211; in an agentic world, the agent must know who the shopper is, what permissions it has, and how to safely transact.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Payments, offers, and loyalty become programmable in the conversation<\/strong> &#8211; instead of \u201capply coupon at checkout,\u201d agents can surface the best offer, route to the right payment method, and attach loyalty or financing options in real time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Risk, fraud, and compliance shift left<\/strong> &#8211; fintech-grade guardrails (verification, limits, anomaly detection, audit trails) move earlier into the journey so the agent can execute safely without breaking flow.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Personalization becomes outcome-driven<\/strong> &#8211; agents don\u2019t just recommend products, they can optimize for conversion, margin, lifetime value, and customer satisfaction &#8211; while still escalating to humans when needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is exactly why we believe agentic commerce will not be &#8220;retail AI&#8221; or &#8220;fintech AI&#8221; &#8211; it will be <strong>one continuous agentic process<\/strong> across discovery, decisioning, identity, payment, and post-purchase support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Advisor perspective: Michael Zakkour at NRF<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We also had the pleasure of catching up with our advisor Michael Zakkour, who captured the NRF theme perfectly in his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/nrf-big-show-2026-next-now-agentic-automated-surprise-michael-zakkour-pggce\/?trackingId=h0g%2Fj2BGbMnBUWulToSC4g%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LinkedIn post<\/a>: the &#8220;Next Now&#8221; is agentic and automated &#8211; and, unexpectedly to some, a return to being more human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That is the line we keep seeing too: the most powerful systems will be the ones that use AI to move faster and operate smarter &#8211; while still creating more authentic, human moments that build trust and close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bottom line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>NRF 2026 was a strong confirmation that commerce is being rewired for agents. Between Voice AI going mainstream at retailers like Lowe&#8217;s, and ecosystem moves like UCP trying to standardize agent-to-merchant commerce flows, the direction is clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The winners will be the brands that pair:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>agentic automation that executes,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>conversational experiences that feel natural,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and human escalation (including live video) that builds trust and closes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That is exactly the lane Bakstage.AI is leading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When: Jan. 11-13, 2026Where: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center NRF 2026 made something feel very real: retail is moving from &#8220;AI as a feature&#8221; to AI as infrastructure &#8211; embedded into discovery, decisioning, checkout, and support. NRF framed the show as &#8220;The Next Now,&#8221; and the floor backed it up with practical demos of agentic &#8230; <a title=\"NRF 2026 Recap: The Next Now Is Agentic, Conversational, and Back to Being Human\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/2026\/02\/19\/nrf-2026-recap-the-next-now-is-agentic-conversational-and-back-to-being-human\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about NRF 2026 Recap: The Next Now Is Agentic, Conversational, and Back to Being Human\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,53,14,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agentic-ai-real-world","category-events-and-conferences","category-opinions-trends","category-partner-stories-ecosystem"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NRF 2026 Recap: The Next Now Is Agentic, Conversational, and Back to Being Human - Blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bakstage.ai\/blog\/2026\/02\/19\/nrf-2026-recap-the-next-now-is-agentic-conversational-and-back-to-being-human\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NRF 2026 Recap: The Next Now Is Agentic, Conversational, and Back to Being Human - Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When: Jan. 11-13, 2026Where: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center NRF 2026 made something feel very real: retail is moving from &#8220;AI as a feature&#8221; to AI as infrastructure &#8211; embedded into discovery, decisioning, checkout, and support. NRF framed the show as &#8220;The Next Now,&#8221; and the floor backed it up with practical demos of agentic ... 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Javits Convention Center NRF 2026 made something feel very real: retail is moving from &#8220;AI as a feature&#8221; to AI as infrastructure &#8211; embedded into discovery, decisioning, checkout, and support. NRF framed the show as &#8220;The Next Now,&#8221; and the floor backed it up with practical demos of agentic ... 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