Retail is entering a new phase, one defined less by experimentation and more by execution.
Across Europe, retailers are navigating a more complex environment than at any point in recent years. Cost pressures remain high, consumer expectations continue to rise, and the pace of technological change is accelerating. At the same time, AI has moved firmly into the mainstream, shaping how customers discover products, how stores operate, and how decisions are made across the value chain.
What we are seeing now is a shift in focus. Retailers are no longer asking what AI could do. They are asking how to make it work, consistently and at scale, in their own environments.
Recent insights from Lenovo’s CIO Playbook, developed in collaboration with IDC, underline how quickly this shift is happening in Europe and the Middle East. 92% of retail organizations plan to increase their AI budgets in the next 12 months, and there is a 27% increase in the focus on Agentic AI.
Reflecting how closely AI is now tied to core commercial performance, IT leaders are making these investments driven by clear business priorities. Retailers are showing increasing alignment between their AI initiatives and measurable outcomes, including their revenue growth and operational efficiency goals.
Confidence in AI’s value is also high within the industry, where 94% of retailers expect a positive return on their AI initiatives, reinforcing the shift from experimentation to scale with measurable impact.
What’s emerging is not just a wave of innovation, but a redefinition of how retail operates. AI is being embedded into core processes – from personalization and merchandising to inventory and store operations – with speed and execution becoming critical differentiators.
The Store Is Being Reimagined, Not Replaced
The role of the store is evolving as part of this transformation. Physical retail required to be more connected, more responsive, and more intelligent. Associates are supported by real-time insights, customers expect personalized engagement as a default, and operations increasingly rely on data flowing seamlessly across systems. It’s no coincidence that improving customer experience now ranks as the number one focus for AI investmenti, because retailers today recognise that every interaction is an opportunity to differentiate.
Delivering that level of capability requires more than isolated solutions. It depends on a foundation that brings together infrastructure, devices, data, and services in a coordinated way.
Lenovo’s approach is built around this idea of Hybrid AI, combining edge, cloud, and on-premise capabilities to enable intelligence where it matters most. In collaboration with NVIDIA, the Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage helps retailers move beyond pilots and proofs of concept toward environments where AI is embedded into everyday operations.
A Connected Retail Ecosystem
One of the most important developments we are seeing is the move toward more connected retail ecosystems. Customers experience brands across multiple touchpoints, and they expect consistency as they move between them. At the same time, retailers are looking to connect systems, channels, and data in ways that improve both efficiency and engagement.
AI is playing a central role in enabling this. Whether it is supporting store teams, powering customer interactions, or helping optimize operations, the value comes from how these capabilities work together, not from individual features in isolation.
This is where integration becomes critical. Retailers need solutions that fit into their existing environments, scale across locations, and adapt as their needs evolve. That requires both the right technology foundation and the right partner ecosystem to support it.
Bringing the Store of the Future to Life
At Shoptalk Europe 2026, Lenovo and NVIDIA are demonstrating how this vision translates into real-world retail environments.
Our “Store of the Future” experience is designed to show how AI can be applied across the entire retail journey, from in-store engagement to backend operations. Visitors will be able to explore AI-powered retail agents, intelligent store services, and immersive product experiences that reflect how retail is already evolving today.
At the core of Lenovo’s presence will be a suite of live demonstrations showcasing tangible use cases, including:
- AI Retail Agents powered by Lenovo’s xIQ Agent Platform – featuring a Retail Customer Support Assistant that utilizes insights from multiple systems to help service teams resolve customer issues faster, improve accuracy, and deliver consistent, high-quality support across in-store and digital channels.
- Lenovo Retail Floor Assistant – a customer-facing in-store digital agent designed to guide shoppers, recommend products, and enhance engagement through interactive, AI-powered retail experiences. Delivered through an interactive physical kiosk, the solution combines conversational AI and digital avatar technologies to create personalized and immersive shopping journeys.
- Smart Store Services – enabling connected, data-driven retail environments by linking store systems, monitoring operations in real time, and delivering AI-driven insights to improve efficiency and decision-making.
- Digital shelves and immersive video experiences – enabling connected, data-driven retail environments through AI-driven monitoring and insights that improve operational efficiency and decision-making. The solution also helps reduce downtime and support costs through predictive maintenance, self-service tools, online support, and repair dispatch.
- Next-generation retail platforms – including Lenovo’s latest innovations in AI-driven analytics and automation, enabling retailers to analyze data, automate workflows, and manage operations across distributed store environments.
These demonstrations go beyond concept, showcasing capabilities that are already being deployed in retail environments today. They illustrate how AI can enhance service through actionable insights, create more dynamic and engaging store experiences, and open new opportunities for retailers to connect with customers in meaningful ways.
Partnering for the Next Phase of Retail
As the industry continues to evolve, the ability to move from strategy to execution will define success. Retailers are looking for partners who understand both the technology and the operational realities of their business. That includes everything from infrastructure and deployment to governance, scalability, and long-term support.
Lenovo’s role is to help bridge that gap, combining devices, infrastructure, and services to support retailers at every stage of their AI journey. Working closely with NVIDIA and our broader partner ecosystem, we are focused on helping customers translate innovation into practical, scalable solutions that deliver real impact.
Shoptalk Europe provides an opportunity to explore these ideas in more detail and to see how they are being applied today. More importantly, it is a chance to engage in the conversations that will shape the next phase of retail.
Because that future is already taking shape, and the focus now is on how to bring it to life.
Lenovo will be located at Booth G20, where attendees can experience guided tours of the “Store of the Future” and engage directly with Lenovo experts. In addition, attendees will be able to explore solutions and demonstrations presented alongside Lenovo by Admira, Unitree, ElevenLabs, Prestop, Grid Dynamics, Reply, Ultron AI, and Humanscale.
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