Business
Manhattan Associates’ 2026 Unified Commerce Benchmark Reveals the High Price of Standing Still in Retail
Leaders achieve up to 2X revenue growth, but only 7% of retailers are true unified commerce leaders ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Manhattan Associates Inc.
About this update from Manhattan Associates, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nLeaders achieve up to 2X revenue growth, but only 7% of retailers are true unified commerce leaders\n\n\n ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nManhattan Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH), today announced the findings of its 2026 Global Unified Commerce Benchmark for Specialty Retail, the industry’s most comprehensive assessment of how well retailers connect digital and physical experiences to drive growth, profitability and loyalty. Conducted by Incisiv, a leading retail research firm, the Benchmark is based on real-world purchases and returns. It analyzes more than 400 specialty retailers across EMEA, LATAM and North America on 330 capabilities spanning four key experience areas: Shopping, Checkout, Fulfillment, and Service.\n\n\nThe 2026 Benchmark reveals that while the industry has made steady progress in unified commerce maturity since 2023 when it was first launched, only 7% of retailers have achieved true unified commerce leadership while 33% are still stuck in the Basic category. Leaders are translating connected, data‑driven yet customer-centric experiences into nearly 2X higher growth rates than their basic peers.\n\n\nThe Benchmark highlights a new competitive reality in specialty retail, where scale, assortment and brand presence alone no longer guarantee growth. Key insights include:\n\n\n\nAI is reshaping commerce: AI in retail is projected to unlock more than $500 billion in value globally by 2030, shifting the focus from simple task automation to intelligent systems that anticipate demand, personalize in real time and resolve friction before customers encounter it. AI shopping assistants, predictive fulfillment, in‑store personalization and intelligent cross‑channel support with context‑aware escalation are defining the new frontier.\n\n\n\nConsumer journeys are fragmented: More than 66% of consumers now use two or more channels before completing a purchase, moving fluidly between marketplaces, social platforms, messaging apps and retailers’ own sites and stores.\n\n\n\nExecution economics are under pressure: Global logistics and fulfillment costs have risen by over 20% in the last three years, as customers expect faster delivery, flexible fulfillment and seamless service as standard.\n\n\n\nInventory intelligence: Real‑time visibility and dynamic allocation drive significantly higher inventory turns – 50% in NOAM, 45% in E...