Trust is the core infrastructure of an agentic retail economy.
Throughout NRF 2026, Forter partnered with AWS, PwC, and Salesforce, across executive roundtables, live demos, and private leadership gatherings, from the AWS booth to conversations hosted at iconic retail landmarks like Café Louis Vuitton and the Ralph Lauren Polo Bar.
The importance of trust surfaced again and again.
Speed vs. Risk
Speed has become the defining expectation of commerce. Checkout, delivery, and refunds are now expected to be instant. That convenience, however, has put real pressure on margins, operations, and trust.
At Forter’s #AWSTechTalk, retailers discussed how fraud and abuse are scaling alongside the rise of faster commerce. Small, coordinated groups are now using AI to mimic legitimate customer behavior at scale, from AI-generated damage photos to coordinated item-not-received claims and refund abuse.
During this talk, a prominent retail analyst shared that their item-not-received claims had grown to represent roughly 1% of total sales volume, with internal rules providing only temporary relief as attackers adapted.
The retailer trusted Forter to make a shift.
The New Trust Equation
One of the clearest takeaways from NRF was how quickly AI shopping agents have moved beyond experimentation to influence real retail outcomes.
At Forter’s panel with AWS and PwC, General Counsel and SVP of Corporate Strategy at Forter Scott Buell, Worldwide Retail and Consumer Goods BD at AWS Rajashree Rane, and Managing Director of the AWS Alliance at PwC Andrew Linn discussed the decision now facing retailers — whether to restrict agent-driven interactions out of caution or design trust systems that can support them safely.
Many commerce systems were built for direct, human interactions. Agents optimize for certainty, speed, and value, avoiding friction and inconsistency. When agents sit between the customer and the retailer, many of the behavioral cues traditionally used to assess intent disappear, concentrating risk in high-impact moments such as checkout, promotions, returns, and loyalty redemptions.
The challenge now is whether retailers are equipped to support agentic commerce and confidently understand who is behind each interaction.
The Pressure on Loyalty
As commerce becomes more automated, loyalty has become both a growth driver and a growing target for fraud and abuse.
During Forter’s loyalty roundtable with Salesforce and Google Wallet, leaders highlighted how fraud and abuse erode loyalty value in ways that often appear legitimate.
- 5 to 10% of total loyalty program value is lost to fraud and abuse
- 12% of new accounts are fake or duplicated
- 10% of in-account activity is fraudulent
As AI shopping agents increasingly influence where demand flows, loyalty plays an even bigger role. Agents route transactions toward programs that are predictable, clearly valued, and consistently recognized. Programs that are not agent-friendly, overly rigid, or unsafe quietly lose share.
The key question is, where to invest?
Retailers need to invest in trust layers that sit above existing loyalty and commerce systems, enabling them to recognize trusted behavior and protect value in real time.
Building for What Comes Next
In an era where AI is reshaping how people and agents shop, NRF 2026 reinforced the growing importance of trust across retail.
Forter works alongside partners like AWS, PwC, and Salesforce to align identity, infrastructure, and customer experience so retailers can move faster with greater confidence.
As retail continues to evolve, Forter remains committed to collaborating with our partners to help retailers stay ahead of emerging risk, support new forms of commerce, and deliver seamless experiences for their customers.
We’re excited to continue building the future of trusted commerce together.
