Inside Digital & eCommerce 2026 in 10 Charts – Retailers
- Teresa Sperti
- Jun 3
- 5 min read
We have now delivered our 6th annual study in partnership with Six Degrees Executive titled Inside Digital & eCommerce 2026.
Rather than continuing to take a broad view across the industry, we decided to go deeper on two sectors that are really interwoven being retailers and brand manufacturing.
The latest report lands at one of the most disruptive times for both sectors. We're navigating a genuinely unusual convergence of pressures. Consumer confidence is sitting at levels not seen since the COVID lockdowns - well below the decade prior - and that's creating a real drag on discretionary spending and growth. We're also in the early stages of geopolitical shocks that haven't fully worked their way through the economy yet. And of course AI and agentic commerce are well and truly re-shaping shopping as we know it and is set to be the most disruptive trend of the decade.
We’ve rounded up the top 10 charts that provide an insight into the state of the market for retailers based on our study findings.
Diversification to create defensive moats and meet changing shopper expectations
Nearly one in three Australian retailers now have an owned marketplace. As competition intensifies, many are turning to owned marketplaces to expand existing depth of range, diversify into new categories, and grow reach in a capital-light way. Country Road and Kmart among those launching offerings in recent times in ways that are complementary to their core offering. through both open and closed marketplace partnerships but also opportunities for like-minded or complementary retailers to collaborate.
Loyalty is high of the priority list to meet modern day customer needs
The role of loyalty has been elevated – now featuring prominently in the strategic agenda, driven in part by retailers' growing investment and focus on retail media. As first-party data becomes central to targeting and monetisation through retail media, loyalty programs are shifting from a retention mechanic to a strategic asset.
Retailare acutely aware that their shopper bases are changing, driven by the generational shift in the workforce – as well as the rise of AI. Nearly four in five retail leaders believe their programs are no longer fit for purose to meet the modern shoppers needs and more than one in four believe their programs are not clear and compelling for shoppers.
Product content paramount to deliver omni-channel experience - but too many are falling short
Product content has always been the poor cousin to customer data – but that is changing. The rise of AI and the increasingly importance on delivering blended digital and physical experiences has heightened the importance of product data.
More than half of all retail leaders however believe they may not have the right product content to support their omni-channel experience. This also creates risk for AI product content is the cornerstone to driving AI visibility.
Agentic commerce and AI believed to have a sizable impact on shopping behaviour
Agentic commerce and AI are the most disruptive trend we have seen in decades and it will re-wire how shoppers buy. The pace of adoption and acceleration of technology innovation means that any retailer sitting and waiting, risks sizeable revenue declines over time, as digital increasingly shapes in-store purchasing decisions. More than four in five retail leaders perceived AI and agentic commerce as having a moderate to significant impact on how shoppers buy. Belief in how significant the change will be will determine the size and pace of investment by retailers.
Retailers racing to uplift their experience strategy via AI and agentic commerce
As leaders grapple with the scale of change ahead, retailers are adapting and innovating. The number one priority area for investment is product content. Retailers are increasingly leaning on AI to generate it - but this comes with risks around the accuracy of AI-generated content published on a brand's behalf. Misleading claims could land both the retailer and the brand in hot water. Re-imagining how products are found through onsite search is also a key use case retailers are investing in to compete with global retailers and marketplaces.
Revenues are flowing from retail media but networks playing catch up on capability
Retail media networks are springing up everywhere and the study captured data from 15 networks. Eight of the 15 place themselves in the early or emerging stages of development - the market is still finding its feet. In-store media activation is the most mature part of retailer networks, as retailers pile into digital screens to monetise physical store space. Measurement and attribution, as well as off-site media activation, remain the least developed parts of networks across the market - and brands are feeling it. 73.2% cite difficulty quantifying return, uplift and value from their retail media spend, driven in part by immature measurement and reporting capability across networks.
Retailer risk as Amazon rises as the biggest competitive threat in retail media
Amazon ran its first product ads in 2006, giving it two decades to build what is arguably the most successful retail media network in the world. Locally, brands are taking note - more are turning to Amazon to extend reach and drive distribution, and Amazon Advertising is growing rapidly. Last year 33% of brands used Amazon Ads. This year that has risen to 52.8%. Amazon Ads' recent ASIC filing shows Amazon banked $392m in ad revenue - and their dominance is growing fast. Retailers don't have long to close the gap on capability, particularly in reporting.
The Big 5 Retail Media Networks
Tenure matters in retail media. The top 5 retail media networks in Australia are not there by accident. They reach more brands and have been at it longer - tenure and scale compound. Amazon Ads already sits in 3rd place, and we expect it will topple the top two within a 2–3 year period as its marketplace foothold deepens.
Loyalty platform investment looming large for many
With so much talk and focus on loyalty, there is little wonder than loyalty marTech is high on the investment priority list – alongside of CDPs and marketing automation and engagement platforms. While some of the largest retailers in the country have dedicated loyalty platforms in place, many mid to larger tier organisations continue to rely on work around solutions within their existing technology stack. These are now creating constraints as retailers look to deliver more advanced, personalised and flexible loyalty experiences.
Personalisation still a pipe dream for many
And coming in at number 10 is the perennial challenge of personalisation. Ambition is high but capability remains hard to build, driven by system integration issues, siloed ways of working and difficulty scaling hyper-personalisation. 96% of retailers admit to having partially or fully fragmented martech ecosystems — making it hard to access and activate the data needed to deliver personalisation at scale. To close the gap, retailers are prioritising stronger foundational technology to better support personalisation (52.2%) and leveraging AI to scale and enhance 1:1 personalisation (54.5%) over the next 12 – 18 months.
About the report
The Inside Digital & eCommerce 2026 Report is produced by Arktic Fox and Six Degrees Executive and draws on insights from more than 100 Australian marketing, digital, eCommerce and retail media leaders across retail and brand manufacturer organisations.
The study was conducted between February and April 2026 through two tailored 41-question surveys designed specifically for retailers and brand manufacturers.
The report explores the evolving priorities, capabilities and challenges shaping AI, omnichannel, loyalty, retail media, eCommerce, marTech and digital shelf strategy across the Australian market.
