AI IN RETAILTECH

The second edition of the e4m RetailEX Conference brought together senior retail industry leaders, marketers, and innovators to explore the future of retail under the theme “Retail Reimagined: AI-Driven Media, Authentic Marketing, and the Gen Z Consumer.” Discussions focused on how brands and retailers can build Gen Z trust, leverage data responsibly, create culturally resonant experiences, and drive measurable business impact in an increasingly competitive landscape.

At the e4m RetailEX 2026 conference, Criteo’s India Country Head, Medhavi Singh, launched the New Commerce Playbook. The core message: the modern shopper journey is non-linear and fragmented across quick commerce, marketplaces, and social feeds, making unified commerce intelligence essential to connect early engagement directly to sales outcomes.

Key takeaways from the session include:

Massive Growth in Retail Media: The Indian retail media market is booming, scaling from roughly $2.8 billion to an anticipated $8 billion by 2030, where it will account for nearly 46% of the digital advertising market.

The Non-Linear Shopper: Consumers now flow freely across quick commerce apps, marketplaces, and social media. This requires brands to move away from isolated, channel-first thinking toward a unified, full-funnel approach.

Operational Intelligence as the New Shift: AI adoption is driving the industry from reactive marketing to predictive, autonomous decision-making. Brands are using real-time insights to optimize inventory, personalize customer experiences, and map purchase propensity.

Transactional Data Advantage: Unlike traditional search or social media, retail media captures the exact purchase propensity of consumers. Brands are leveraging first-party data generated by quick delivery apps to get closer to performance-driven marketing.

At the e4m RetailEX 2026 fireside chat, Indriya CEO Sandeep Kohli noted a industry shift where jewellery is evolving from a financial asset into an expression of personal identity, driven by consumer demand for emotional resonance, design superiority, and rapid innovation. New brands are leveraging this shift through agile strategies, such as Indriya’s 40-45 day inventory refresh cycle, which blends traditional craftsmanship with contemporary, fast-paced aesthetics

Success in modern retail requires blending physical, experiential, and transparent, tech-enabled experiences to build consumer trust, as demonstrated by interactive campaigns. The future of the market will be defined by authenticity, artisan welfare, and sustainable practices, including robust gold recycling ecosystems, rather than scale or legacy alone.