Forrester Research, in partnership with the National Retail Federation, just released their annual report highlighting 50 retail technology companies to watch.
atronous made the list.
What makes this recognition different: The NRF Innovation Advisory Committee evaluates companies on four criteria that matter more than hype.
- Problem relevance.
- Significance of the challenge.
- Proven product-market fit.
- Readiness to scale.
In other words, they are looking for solutions that solve real problems retailers face today, not vaporware.
The report highlights three strategic pillars shaping retail in 2026: AI agents harmonizing fragmented data, physical space analytics bringing digital intelligence to stores, and supply chain innovations delivering operational agility.
Product data intelligence sits at the intersection of all three. When your catalog is clean, validated, and structured for machines, everything downstream works better: search, recommendations, marketplace compliance, and the emerging world of AI-enabled commerce.