NRF 2026: The technology shaping the next era of apparel, footwear & retail leadership
As apparel, footwear, and retail executives head into NRF 2026, the industry is shifting into a new phase where intelligent technology is not simply enhancing operations—it is redefining how products are conceived, sourced, planned, made, moved, and delivered. This year’s trends point to a sector moving rapidly from digitization to full-scale intelligence, powered by GenAI, unified data, automation, and real-time decision platforms. Executives navigating global sourcing complexity, rising compliance pressure, margin compression, and increasingly fluid consumer expectations are looking to technology that brings clarity, speed, and precision across the entire value chain.
GenAI now sits at the center of transformation across PLM, ERP, SCM, and financial systems, turning traditionally linear and manual processes into dynamic, predictive, and automated workflows. In PLM, GenAI is accelerating design concepting, material library expansion, cost modeling, and tech pack creation while enabling designers and product teams to iterate faster with data-backed insights. In ERP and merchandising systems, GenAI is shaping buying decisions, projecting demand with greater accuracy, identifying pricing opportunities, and optimizing assortments and replenishment. In global supply chain management, GenAI automates vendor collaboration, enhancing capacity and lead-time forecasting, and improving logistics orchestration—helping brands navigate disruptions with proactive, rather than reactive, strategies. Financial systems are experiencing similar gains through AI-driven scenario modeling, automated reconciliation, predictive cash flow insights, and real-time profitability analytics, empowering leaders with a clearer, more responsive financial lens.
The next evolution is agentic AI—AI that not only generates insights but can orchestrate actions across systems and workflows. In fashion and retail, this means moving from AI that recommends decisions to AI that can help execute them: triggering replenishment adjustments when demand shifts, recommending supplier alternatives when lead times slip, automating exception management in fulfillment, or proactively flagging margin risk before it hits the P&L. The breakthrough isn’t just automation—it’s governed autonomy, where AI operates within controlled rules, secure data, and accountable processes. This is where unified enterprise platforms become essential: agentic AI is only as strong as the operational and financial truth it can access, and the workflows that ensure every action is explainable, compliant, and profitable.
Automation also continues its expansion beyond the distribution center and into the retail floor. Robotics for receiving, cycle counting, and inventory moves, combined with digital shelves, computer vision, and automated replenishment, allow organizations to operate with greater accuracy and lower labor strain. Importantly, automation is now modular and scalable, allowing brands of all sizes to adopt technology without large-scale infrastructure overhauls—a critical shift for mid-market apparel and footwear companies looking to modernize quickly.
Foundational to all of this is the rise of unified data and process intelligence. Apparel and footwear leaders increasingly need a single digital backbone that connects design decisions to sourcing constraints, inventory positions to financial implications, and demand signals to supply availability. Process mining is emerging as a game-changing capability in this space. By providing X-ray-level visibility into how processes actually run across PLM, ERP, SCM, logistics, and finance systems, process mining reveals inefficiencies, delays, compliance risks, and rework loops that erode margin and slow time-to-market. Leaders are using it to eliminate bottlenecks, redesign workflows, and standardize best practices across global teams—turning operational complexity into measurable, manageable, and repeatable outcomes.
Meanwhile, the consumer experience continues to evolve toward more immersive and intelligent interactions. Virtual try-ons, mobile-led journeys, personalized product discovery, and digital enhancements inside physical stores are blurring the lines between offline and online. These tools not only reshape the purchasing journey but also help brands deliver fit accuracy, reduce returns, and improve conversion—critical KPIs for apparel and footwear manufacturers and retailers.
Finally, supply chain resilience and responsible retail remain top-of-mind as sourcing networks face regulatory scrutiny and sustainability expectations rise. End-to-end visibility, material and supplier traceability, predictive logistics, and circularity initiatives are becoming fundamental capabilities. GenAI and process intelligence are playing a key role here as well, enabling brands to model environmental impact, validate compliance, and embed sustainability into planning, sourcing, and production decisions.
NRF 2026 makes one reality clear: the next era of retail will be defined by intelligent orchestration across the entire enterprise. As GenAI evolves into agentic AI, retailers will need a unified digital foundation that connects product, demand, supply, fulfillment, and finance—so that every decision and action is grounded in trusted data, governed processes, and profitable outcomes. Infor™ helps apparel, footwear, and retail brands build that foundation, linking PLM, ERP, supply chain, WMS, financials, and AI-driven forecasting into a single intelligent ecosystem.
To learn how leading retailers are scaling innovation without increasing complexity, connect with Infor at NRF 2026 or schedule an executive briefing: Meet Infor at NRF 2026
GenAI now sits at the center of transformation across PLM, ERP, SCM, and financial systems, turning traditionally linear and manual processes into dynamic, predictive, and automated workflows. In PLM, GenAI is accelerating design concepting, material library expansion, cost modeling, and tech pack creation while enabling designers and product teams to iterate faster with data-backed insights. In ERP and merchandising systems, GenAI is shaping buying decisions, projecting demand with greater accuracy, identifying pricing opportunities, and optimizing assortments and replenishment. In global supply chain management, GenAI automates vendor collaboration, enhancing capacity and lead-time forecasting, and improving logistics orchestration—helping brands navigate disruptions with proactive, rather than reactive, strategies. Financial systems are experiencing similar gains through AI-driven scenario modeling, automated reconciliation, predictive cash flow insights, and real-time profitability analytics, empowering leaders with a clearer, more responsive financial lens.
The next evolution is agentic AI—AI that not only generates insights but can orchestrate actions across systems and workflows. In fashion and retail, this means moving from AI that recommends decisions to AI that can help execute them: triggering replenishment adjustments when demand shifts, recommending supplier alternatives when lead times slip, automating exception management in fulfillment, or proactively flagging margin risk before it hits the P&L. The breakthrough isn’t just automation—it’s governed autonomy, where AI operates within controlled rules, secure data, and accountable processes. This is where unified enterprise platforms become essential: agentic AI is only as strong as the operational and financial truth it can access, and the workflows that ensure every action is explainable, compliant, and profitable.
Automation also continues its expansion beyond the distribution center and into the retail floor. Robotics for receiving, cycle counting, and inventory moves, combined with digital shelves, computer vision, and automated replenishment, allow organizations to operate with greater accuracy and lower labor strain. Importantly, automation is now modular and scalable, allowing brands of all sizes to adopt technology without large-scale infrastructure overhauls—a critical shift for mid-market apparel and footwear companies looking to modernize quickly.
Foundational to all of this is the rise of unified data and process intelligence. Apparel and footwear leaders increasingly need a single digital backbone that connects design decisions to sourcing constraints, inventory positions to financial implications, and demand signals to supply availability. Process mining is emerging as a game-changing capability in this space. By providing X-ray-level visibility into how processes actually run across PLM, ERP, SCM, logistics, and finance systems, process mining reveals inefficiencies, delays, compliance risks, and rework loops that erode margin and slow time-to-market. Leaders are using it to eliminate bottlenecks, redesign workflows, and standardize best practices across global teams—turning operational complexity into measurable, manageable, and repeatable outcomes.
Meanwhile, the consumer experience continues to evolve toward more immersive and intelligent interactions. Virtual try-ons, mobile-led journeys, personalized product discovery, and digital enhancements inside physical stores are blurring the lines between offline and online. These tools not only reshape the purchasing journey but also help brands deliver fit accuracy, reduce returns, and improve conversion—critical KPIs for apparel and footwear manufacturers and retailers.
Finally, supply chain resilience and responsible retail remain top-of-mind as sourcing networks face regulatory scrutiny and sustainability expectations rise. End-to-end visibility, material and supplier traceability, predictive logistics, and circularity initiatives are becoming fundamental capabilities. GenAI and process intelligence are playing a key role here as well, enabling brands to model environmental impact, validate compliance, and embed sustainability into planning, sourcing, and production decisions.
NRF 2026 makes one reality clear: the next era of retail will be defined by intelligent orchestration across the entire enterprise. As GenAI evolves into agentic AI, retailers will need a unified digital foundation that connects product, demand, supply, fulfillment, and finance—so that every decision and action is grounded in trusted data, governed processes, and profitable outcomes. Infor™ helps apparel, footwear, and retail brands build that foundation, linking PLM, ERP, supply chain, WMS, financials, and AI-driven forecasting into a single intelligent ecosystem.
To learn how leading retailers are scaling innovation without increasing complexity, connect with Infor at NRF 2026 or schedule an executive briefing: Meet Infor at NRF 2026
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