Rithum launched its 2026 Commerce Readiness Index at the Rithum LIVE summit in New York City. Based on a survey of 200 U.S. and U.K. retail and brand executives, the report examines readiness for 2026, from AI adoption and tariff mitigation to fragmented workflows.
"Commerce leaders know the turbulence of this year isn't slowing down, and many factors — like tariffs and inflation — remain out of their control," said Suzin Wold, CMO at Rithum. "What they can control is how quickly and effectively they adapt. Our report offers a roadmap to help retail and brand executives do that."
The report identifies five challenges for 2026 based on survey responses:
- Nearly 75% of commerce leaders said decisions are often made on outdated, inconsistent or incomplete data.
- Around half of commerce leaders still depend on spreadsheets and manual workflows.
- Nearly three in four leaders said AI is evolving faster than they can adopt it.
- With 91% of retail executives saying pricing is heavily influenced by government policy, and 92% of brands citing product complexity as a cost-control barrier, executives face trade-offs on pricing, assortment and promotions.
- Over 90% of commerce leaders shifted their marketing mix in the past year. Retailers identified the biggest revenue leaks before checkout — broken links, outdated product content and irrelevant ads — while brands lose revenue after the sale through returns, fulfillment gaps and customer service issues.
The full report is available for download on the Rithum website.
