Five Retail & Supply Chain Trends Reshaping Australian Commerce in 2026 According To Manhattan Associates

AI’s ‘slow climb,’ unified commerce acceleration, and mobile-first POS set to redefine the local retail landscape

Manhattan Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH) has revealed its top predictions for Australia’s retail and supply chain sectors in 2026, signalling a year where AI advances, real-time fulfilment expectations, and the evolution of unified commerce will fundamentally reshape how retailers operate.

While AI continues to dominate headlines, Manhattan’s forecast points to a more measured, practical adoption curve in Australia. With consumer expectations rising and competition intensifying across channels, from stores to marketplaces to social commerce, retailers will increasingly require real-time visibility, intelligent decision-making and modern POS capabilities to stay competitive.

1. AI’s ‘Slow Climb’ Will Define the Year

Despite intense global enthusiasm, 2026 will mark a shift from AI experimentation to AI enablement. Australian retailers will realise that meaningful value from AI depends on strong data foundations, clean inventory files and modernised legacy systems.

AI will increasingly be deployed in practical areas such as labour-intensive process automation, faster project deployment and incident-management capabilities that support machine-driven self-healing environments.

2. Real-Time Fulfilment & Intelligent Order Promising Become Non-Negotiable

As Australian consumers spread their purchases across more channels and expect consistent speed and reliability, retailers will need to commit to orders in real time no matter where they originate. Intelligent sourcing, dynamic order allocation and continuous reallocation will move from back-office optimisation to frontline necessity. For many organisations, this will expose the limitations of traditional Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and accelerate investment in unified commerce platforms capable of handling real-time decisions at scale.

“Retailers across Australia are reaching a tipping point where they simply cannot meet customer expectations with legacy systems,”

said Raghav Sibal, Vice President, APAC, Manhattan Associates.

“The ability to make intelligent decisions in the moment, where orders are placed, changed or fulfilled, will shape competitive advantage in 2026.”

3. Unified Commerce Uptake Accelerates as Hyper-Personalisation Goes Mainstream

The “ubiquitous consumer” now expects retailers to recognise them, anticipate needs and offer flexible fulfilment options at every step. In 2026, unified commerce will shift from strategic aspiration to operational requirement as retailers look to consolidate OMS, POS and inventory systems into a single, real-time ecosystem.

This will enable consistent experiences across stores and digital channels, forming the foundation for hyper-personalisation without adding pressure to already stretched supply chains.

4. Mobile-First POS Platforms Replace Legacy Registers

By the end of 2026, Australian retailers will fast-track the retirement of traditional registers. Mobile-first POS platforms, functioning as omnichannel hubs rather than payment terminals, will give store associates full visibility of inventory, fulfilment options, customer history, loyalty status and open carts.

This shift will unlock faster service, reduce friction at checkout and support advanced fulfilment paths such as ship-from-store, pick-up-later, and same-day delivery.

5. Social & Conversational Commerce Force Retailers to Rethink Digital Discovery

With TikTok Shop continuing to expand globally and more major retailers investing in conversational commerce, 2026 will see a step change in how Australians discover and shop for products online.

Traditional keyword search will begin to give ground to AI-driven, dialogue-based shopping journeys. As visual and social search accelerate, retailers will need to optimise product data, imagery and content to ensure their brands appear in AI-generated recommendations and live-commerce environments.

“2026 will be a pivotal year for retail and supply chains in Australia,”

Sibal said.

“The retailers who succeed will be those that modernise their technology foundations, embrace real-time intelligence, and build unified systems capable of serving customers seamlessly across every channel.”

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ABOUT MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES

Manhattan Associates is a global technology leader in supply chain and omnichannel commerce. We unite information across the enterprise, converging front-end sales with back-end supply chain execution. Our software, platform technology and unmatched experience help drive both top-line growth and bottom-line profitability for our customers.

Manhattan Associates designs, builds, and delivers leading edge cloud and on-premises solutions so that across the store, through your network or from your fulfilment centre, you are ready to reap the rewards of the omnichannel marketplace.