Canadian Retailers take Centre Stage
Toronto, June 2-3
RCC Store 2026
Retail Council of Canada STORE Conference explores cutting-edge insights on retail’s most pressing challenges.
Agentic commerce is rapidly emerging as one of the most consequential shifts in retail.
AI assistants and autonomous agents discover, evaluate products and services, and even execute purchases autonomously on behalf of customers.
For Retailers, this means customer journeys are required to be shaped for AI- led intentions rather than traditional browsing, creating new requirements for how retailers show up, get chosen and build trust.
IBM will bring learnings and actionable insights to Retailers on:
- How to stay visible, credible and chosen as AI becomes an active participant in shopping.
- Concrete steps to Win in AI-driven commerce through trusted data, transparent practices and consistent experiences that influence both people and agents.
- Redesigning workflows, building the right skills and realigning culture to unlock productivity at scale and convert AI investment into measurable ROI.
Agenda
Tuesday, June 2, 11:30am-12:15pm EST
Retail’s next productivity leap won’t come from working harder—it will come from redesigning work. Join IBM and Staples Canada to explore how to redesign workflows, build the right skills, and realign culture to unlock productivity at scale and convert AI investment into measurable ROI.
Speaker: Mark Innes, Associate Partner Retail and CPG, Consulting, IBM
Tuesday, June 2, 12:45pm – 1:05pm EST
Consumers are adopting AI faster than brands—resetting expectations for speed, relevance, and value. Retailers are rethinking how they engage, as traditional models struggle to keep pace with AI-enabled customers. At the same time, AI is evolving from assistant to agents. Shoppers are increasingly comfortable with systems that act on their behalf, forcing a shift to orchestrated, end-to-end agentic commerce. In this new landscape, trust becomes the critical growth driver for both human and algorithm. Winning in AI-driven commerce depends on trusted data, transparent practices, and consistent experiences that influence both people and agents.
Speaker: Jane Cheung, Global Research Leader for Consumer Industries, Institute for Business Value (IBV), IBM
