At Shoptalk Europe in Barcelona, Miya Knights — Retail Technology publisher and author — cut straight through the AI hype with a blunt diagnosis: if you don't know your business and your customers, you're "stabbing in the dark" at which technology fits, and no AI tool fixes broken basics. Get the foundations right and the biggest early wins won't be the flashy customer-facing ones — they're in the back end (supply chain, operations, associate enablement) where AI quietly makes you faster, cheaper or smarter. Pick one, not all three.
And on agentic AI? The guardrails and playbooks aren't in place yet — and most retailers aren't ready for the handoff that's coming.
THE FUTURE OF SHOPPING — what retail leaders will take away:
- The one question to ask before investiong in AI (most retailers skip it)
- The "pick one, not all three" rule that separates real AI gains from vendor hype
- How to spot AI slop before it erodes customer trust
- The agentic AI handoff that's coming — and the guardrails needed before it lands
CHAPTERS
00:00 The One Question to Ask of Any Retail Tech
00:35 New Book Drop: "The Future of Shopping"
01:25 Diagnosis: It's Not Invention, It's Mastery
03:28 Agentic Commerce: Who Owns the Checkout?
05:31 Win the Answer Engine: Get the Basics Right
06:58 Needs, Missions & Journeys: The Framework
09:05 Why "Boring AI" Moves the Needle
11:05 Beating AI Slop & The EU Transparency Deadline
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Miya Knights has over 25 years of experience as a retail technology analyst, editor, author, and consultant. She owns and publishes Retail Technology magazine and has co-authored two bestselling books on Amazon and Omnichannel Retail. Miya also consults for and advises various technology companies and is a member of the Retail Influencer Network, Customer Strategy Network, and KPMG Retail Think Tank.
Miya regularly appears as a retail technology expert on news and current affairs television programmes, is quoted in the press, and moderates, chairs, or keynotes at various industry events. She also judges the European Retail Technology Awards by EHI, The Grocer Gold Awards, and the eCommerce Awards.
The Black British Business Awards recognised her as their 2021 Arts & Media Senior Leader, while RETHINK Retail has consistently acknowledged her as one of the top retail influencers each year. Miya holds a Master’s in English Literature and Language from the University of Oxford.
Her new book, The Future of Shopping: Using Digital, Data and AI to Win with Customers, will be published by Kogan Page on 3 September 2026 and is available for pre-order: https://www.koganpage.com/marketing-communications/the-future-of-shopping-9781398627925
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