Invitation Only
Executive Think Tank | HFS Research
Reimagining Commerce in the Age of AI
What retailers and brands need to rebuild when an AI agent does the shopping
Date: Monday, January 11, 2027Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM ETVenue: Cognizant AI Studio, Hudson Yards
Hosted by HFS Research in collaboration with Cognizant
The Conversation
When an AI agent does the shopping, does your brand still make the shortlist?
Customers are starting to tell AI agents what they need, and the agent compares prices, reads the reviews and completes the purchase, often without your website, your app or your paid placement ever coming into view.
HFS Research and Cognizant surveys of more than 200 senior commerce and retail media leaders show how fast this is moving, yet only about a third have a credible plan to keep a direct relationship with the customer once an agent sits in the middle.
Taking place alongside NRF 2027, this invitation-only Think Tank brings senior retail and brand leaders together for an afternoon of facilitated peer discussion, with no vendor presentations or sales pitches, held under the Chatham House Rule.
Key Discussion Themes
What we will explore
Who captures the value
Where margin and customer data settle across the agent platform, the retailer and the brand, and which assets give you leverage.
Retail media, repriced
What a retail media network sells when an agent does the browsing, and which outcomes advertisers will pay for.
Rewiring operations behind the shelf
The data, inventory, identity and payment foundations needed before an agent can buy from you at scale.
When agents shop for the customer
Earning and keeping a place on the agent's shortlist, and what loyalty looks like when the agent places the repeat order.
What You Will Leave With
What you will take back to your team
New benchmarks
A first look at HFS Research and Cognizant benchmarks on agentic commerce readiness and retail media.
Where to invest first
A clearer view of priorities across retail media, operations and customer relationships.
Peer perspectives
What has worked in practice with partners and commercial terms, plus an early copy of the HFS synthesis from the session.
Featured Participants
Who you will hear from
HFS Research
Ashish Chaturvedi
Executive Research Leader, Think Tank Lead
HFS Research
Dana Daher
Executive Research Leader, Support Moderator
HFS Research
Steve Dunkerley
HFS OneCouncil Leader
HFS Research
Agenda
The afternoon
2:00 PM
Arrival and Welcome
Introductions with fellow retail and brand leaders.
2:15 PM
Opening Perspective
A first look at the HFS Research and Cognizant agentic commerce benchmarks.
2:45 PM
Think Tank Discussion, Part One
Value capture and the future of retail media.
3:45 PM
Break
4:00 PM
Think Tank Discussion, Part Two
Operations behind the shelf and customer loyalty when agents shop.
4:45 PM
Closing Reflections
Key takeaways before close at 5:00 PM.
Indicative agenda, subject to change.
Who Attends
Senior retail and brand leaders
Digital and commerce leaders
Chief Digital, Commerce and Marketing Officers at retailers, brands and consumer goods companies.
Data, AI and technology leaders
Chief Data, AI and Technology Officers building the foundations for agentic commerce.
Retail media and operations leaders
Heads of retail media, supply chain and operations.
Attendance is by invitation and subject to approval. Seats are limited to encourage open discussion among peers.
Venue
Cognizant AI Studio, 55 Hudson Yards
550 W 34th Street, New York, NY 10001
Cognizant's state-of-the-art AI Studio at Hudson Yards, a five-minute walk from the Javits Center and NRF 2027.

Related Events.

Accelerating AI Safely in Financial Services

CXO

Accelerating AI Safely in Financial Services

Nov 03 2026|North America
Event details Register Now
Elite CIO/CISO Dallas

CIO/CISO

Elite CIO/CISO Dallas

Nov 04 2026|North America
Event details Register Now
Elite Insurance Executive Gathering

CXO

Elite Insurance Executive Gathering

Nov 05 2026|North America
Event details Register Now
Elite Virtual Gathering

CIO/CISO

Elite Virtual Gathering

Nov 10 2026|North America
Event details Register Now
The Trust Collapse

CIO/CISO

The Trust Collapse

Nov 12 2026|North America
Event details Register Now
HFS Research Summit: How to AI

CXO

HFS Research Summit: How to AI

Nov 17 2026|UK
Event details Register Now
Agentic Commerce: The Next Frontier | Chicago

CIO

Agentic Commerce: The Next Frontier | Chicago

Nov 17 2026|North America
Event details Register Now
Agentic Commerce: The Next Frontier | NYC

CXO

Agentic Commerce: The Next Frontier | NYC

Nov 19 2026|North America
Event details Register Now
ConsumerNext: Accelerating Agentic AI & Enterprise AI

CIO/CISO

ConsumerNext: Accelerating Agentic AI & Enterprise AI

Nov 19 2026|UK
Event details Register Now
Shared Lessons on Winning with AI

CXO

Shared Lessons on Winning with AI

Nov 24 2026|UK
Event details Register Now
The Compliance Clock

CIO/CISO

The Compliance Clock

Nov 25 2026|UK
Event details Register Now
Software Delivery in the Age of AI Agents

CIO/CISO

Software Delivery in the Age of AI Agents

Nov 25 2026|UK
Event details Register Now
The AI Change Crisis | London

CXO

The AI Change Crisis | London

Nov 26 2026|UK
Event details Register Now
Defending at Machine Speed

CIO/CISO

Defending at Machine Speed

Dec 01 2026|Virtual
Event details Register Now
Elite Virtual Gathering

CIO/CISO

Elite Virtual Gathering

Dec 01 2026|North America
Event details Register Now
Elite CIO/CISO Boston

CIO/CISO

Elite CIO/CISO Boston

Dec 02 2026|North America
Event details Register Now
The AI Change Crisis | NYC

CXO

The AI Change Crisis | NYC

Dec 02 2026|North America
Event details Register Now
Who's in Charge When AI Runs Your Business?

CXO

Who's in Charge When AI Runs Your Business?

Dec 08 2026|UK
Event details Register Now
Reimagining Commerce in the Age of AI

CXO

Reimagining Commerce in the Age of AI

Jan 11 2027|North America
Event details Register Now
Elite CIO/CISO NYC

CIO/CISO

Elite CIO/CISO NYC

Feb 18 2027|North America
Event details Register Now
Elite CIO/CISO Summit NYC

CIO/CISO

Elite CIO/CISO Summit NYC

May 26 2027|North America
Event details Register Now
Elite CIO/CISO Summit London

CIO/CISO

Elite CIO/CISO Summit London

Sep 15 2027|UK
Event details Register Now

"These guys put on some fantastic events. Highly recommend."

Rick Perez
VP of Partnerships at BeyondTrust

"Thank you to Elite B2B Events for bringing together such a high caliber group."

Sheryl Oleksa
SVP Business Development at TEKLEIGH

"Special thanks to the dream team behind the scenes that made this event possible, Elite B2B Events."

Katie Zobrist
Associate Marketing Manager at Infosys

"Elite did a great job pulling together an event that allowed the participants to have open dialogue about current topics while also managing the vendor participation. Great event. Thanks again Elite!"

Tim FitzGerald
Head of ODRC at TIAA

"The recent CIO Event was planned and organized very well. Topics for presentations were very well aligned with the latest IT trend. Speakers and Panel's were excellent too. The whole event was planned and executed extremely well"

Trupti Parikh
CIO - EPAM Systems

"A huge thank you to all the incredible individuals we met and the Elite B2B team for making this event an unforgettable and enriching experience. We're excited about the future gatherings and the new opportunities they will present. Elite B2B Events creates phenomenal events."

Nathan Henry
VP Digital Strategy & Design at ProfitOptics

"Premier event for Tech professionals and very valuable vendors"

Jerzy Janczak
Global Director of PMO - Signify

"I thoroughly enjoyed attending the Elite CIO Gathering at The Amazonico. The event was insightful, with discussions around Observability maturity, Cybersecurity and Threat intelligence. It was a great opportunity to meet and engage with other IT leaders and participants. I would be very interested in participating in future events like this. Thanks again for organizing such a wonderful event."

Prashant Murthy
Executive Director : Tech – Emerging Markets | EMEA IT at Estee Lauder Companies

"Laura is a great professional with excellent event planning and coordination skills. She was wonderful in coordinating the CIO Event and made it extremely easy to attend. She went out of her way in ensuring we all got value from the conference. Networking and Brainstorming was amazing in the session and we also had fun!"

Vik Manchanda
CIO at AIG Life

"I just attended the CIO Forum in NYC that Laura helped to organize and manage. The event was well constructed and very well orchestrated. Laura clearly demonstrated her organizational and project management skills in making the event a success"

Marc Librizzi
MD at UnitedHealth Group

Our site uses cookies to give you the best experience. Find out how to manage your cookies or click accept and continue using our site.