January made it clear that retail’s future is arriving faster than many expected. As AI-powered commerce moves from experimentation to monetization, retailers are simultaneously confronting leadership upheaval, cost pressures, and store-level resets that are forcing hard decisions across the industry.
As agentic commerce continues to move from concept to execution, the cost of participation is becoming clearer. Shopify merchants will now pay a 4% fee on purchases completed using OpenAI-powered tools, underscoring both the growing commercial value of AI-driven shopping experiences and the emerging toll structure around them. That dynamic is playing out across the retail landscape, with PVH announcing a partnership with OpenAI aimed at accelerating data-driven growth across its portfolio.
AI’s dominance was unmistakable at the most recent NRF show in New York, where nearly every major conversation—from merchandising to supply chain to customer engagement—touched on artificial intelligence in some form. Yet even as retailers invest aggressively in technology, many continue to grapple with uneven fundamentals. JC Penney, for example, reported declines at both the top and bottom line in the third quarter, though management characterized the results as “not terrible,” a phrase that captured the tempered expectations facing much of the sector.
Cost discipline and organizational reshaping remain equally prominent. Amazon announced plans to cut another 16,000 corporate jobs, a move CEO Andy Jassy framed as an effort to reinvigorate the workforce rather than simply reduce expenses. At the department-store level, pressure has been more acute. Saks Fifth Avenue failed to make a 100M interest payment and CEO Marc Metrick resigned with Executive Chairman Richard Baker stepping in on an interim basis. This was followed quickly by the company filing for Chapter 11 protection. Baker was then re oved from his role and Geoffroy van Raemdonck has taken the helm. The ne CEO’s first move was to rebuild the company’s leadership team, signaling a reset rather than a retreat.
Meanwhile, Macy’s continues to recalibrate its physical footprint, announcing plans to close 14 stores in 2026 as part of its broader turnaround strategy. Taken together, the developments highlight a retail industry straddling two realities: an accelerating push toward AI-enabled growth and personalization, and a simultaneous reckoning with legacy cost structures, leadership stability, and store-level performance. The winners, increasingly, will be those able to balance both.