With less than a week to go until Retail Technology Show 2026, the focus is now shifting to what visitors will want to prioritise once the doors open. Taking place at ExCeL London on 22 and 23 April, RTS says it will bring together more than 15,000 retail professionals, 450+ tech providers and a conference programme featuring more than 125 speakers across six tracks.
Alongside a new disco theme for 2026, the event will incorporate specialist zones, AI-led retail technology, keynote sessions and networking, giving visitors plenty to navigate beyond the main exhibition alone.
5 Things To See At Retail Technology Show 2026
1. 450+ tech providers and specialist zones across the show
Retail Technology Show 2026 will bring together 450+ tech providers, making the scale of the technology offer one of the event’s main draws. Across the two days, visitors will be able to explore retail technologies spanning AI, customer engagement, loyalty, supply chain and store operations, with AI, cyber resilience and start-up innovation all expected to feature across the show.
The wider show is also organised around dedicated feature areas that make it easier for visitors to navigate the breadth of technology on display. These include Start-up Superstars, the Innovation Trail & Awards, the French RetailTech Hub, the GS1 QR Innovators Tour and the new Cyber & Loss Prevention Zone. Together, these areas should help visitors focus more quickly on the technologies, themes and newer businesses most relevant to their priorities.
That combination of established providers, newer entrants and specialist zones should make the show particularly useful for visitors who want to compare solutions across multiple parts of the retail operation rather than focus on one category alone.
2. How AI is moving from hype to execution
AI will be a major theme across the show, but one of the more useful aspects of RTS 2026 is the way organisers are framing that conversation around application rather than hype. The event material points to AI use cases across store operations, workforce management, marketing and inventory optimisation, suggesting that much of the conversation will centre on how retailers move from experimentation to execution.
That gives this year’s event a more grounded feel. Rather than treating AI as a future-facing concept, the emphasis appears to be on how retailers can use it to improve day-to-day performance, support teams more effectively and make better operational decisions. For visitors trying to assess where AI is becoming commercially relevant rather than simply attention-grabbing, this is likely to be one of the more practical strands running across the show.
3. A conference programme with a strong headline appeal
The RTS conference programme remains one of the event’s biggest attractions, with more than 125 speakers due to take part across the two days. The line-up spans leadership, loyalty, supply chain, sustainability and wider retail strategy, with sessions designed to reflect both long-term structural shifts and the more immediate challenges facing operators.
Recent event information also points to a broad mix of speakers and businesses across the programme, including M&S, Sephora UK, TALA, Frasers Group, Morrisons, Currys and Aroma Zone. That should give the conference a balance between established retail leadership, founder-led brands and businesses operating in high-growth categories.
Among the headline names, Archie Norman, Sarah Boyd, Grace Beverley and Touker Suleyman are likely to attract particular interest. Together, they point to a line-up designed to combine board-level retail leadership with insights from businesses shaped by brand, community and entrepreneurship.
Archie Norman’s appearance is also likely to draw particular attention. RTS has positioned his session as an exclusive, and the discussion is expected to explore customer trust, brand authority, technology and resilience in the context of a changing retail environment.
“I am looking forward to being part of RTS at a time when beauty retail is so culturally influential,” Boyd commented. “Technology is a critical enabler of personalisation, community building and deeper product discovery, [which] we are bringing that to life at Sephora UK.”
Sarah Boyd, Managing Director, Sephora UK
“Building and rebuilding businesses has taught me that success rarely comes without risk, but the right risks create long-term value,” commented Suleyman. “Retail is an industry that rewards those who back themselves, learn fast and stay close to both the detail and the customer.”
Touker Suleyman, Owner and Chairman, Hawes & Curtis; Dragons’ Den investor and serial retail entrepreneur
“I’ll share how retailers can truly embrace the social and influencer opportunity and lessons learnt from moving from ecommerce success to opening stores,” commented Beverley. “I’ll also discuss how [to] capitalise on the importance of personalisation, and the big tech changes we’re likely to see in retail going forward.”
Grace Beverley, Founder, TALA
4. A sharper focus on cyber resilience and loss prevention
One of the more distinct additions to RTS 2026 is the new Cyber & Loss Prevention Zone. RTS describes this area as a place to discover technology aimed at helping retailers tackle fraud, crime and evolving security threats, giving the show a more explicit operational resilience strand.
That emphasis also reflects wider concern around rising cyber risk in retail. At a point when cyber security, organised retail crime and store safety remain pressing issues for many operators, the inclusion of a dedicated zone gives the event a stronger operational edge than a standard technology exhibition.
For visitors whose priorities sit around safety, resilience and risk management, this may prove one of the more useful areas to spend time in, particularly as it brings those concerns into the main structure of the event rather than treating them as a side conversation.
5. Networking, store tours and the wider event experience
RTS is not only built around stands and conference sessions. The wider programme also includes Retail’s BIG Party on day one, London Store Tours, workshops and roundtables, executive lunches and the Future of Retail LIVE Lounge, alongside other curated content running around the main exhibition and conference agenda.
That broader mix is part of what gives the event its appeal for senior retail visitors who want to combine sourcing, learning and networking in a single visit. The Future of Retail LIVE Lounge, launched by WeComm, is intended to act as a “conference within a conference”, bringing together workshops, insight sessions and guided technology tours across both days. Meanwhile, the London Store Tour programme on 21 April adds a physical retail dimension ahead of the main event, focusing on stores where technology, brand storytelling and immersive design intersect.
There is also the RTS Innovation Awards, which spotlight standout solutions from across the show floor and will be presented during Retail’s BIG Party on day one. Together, those extra formats help extend the event beyond a standard expo model and give visitors more ways to engage with the ideas and businesses shaping the sector.
“We can’t wait to bring the retail community together for what promises to be another unmissable event,” said Matt Bradley, Founder & Event Director at RTS. “From jam-packed innovation on the show floor to sector-shaping discussions on-stage and networking formats that help retailers making the connections that matter, the countdown to RTS 2026 is well and truly on.”
Matt Bradley, Founder & Event Director, Retail Technology Show
Retail Technology Show 2026 takes place at ExCeL London on 22 and 23 April.
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