Who Buys Retail Tech in 2026? How B2B Companies Can Reach the Retail Decision-Makers Driving AI, Retail Media, and Omnichannel Budgets
Retail technology spending in 2026 is no longer owned by one department. A single purchase, whether it is a demand forecasting engine, a retail media platform or a unified commerce stack, now passes through several hands before a contract is signed. For B2B vendors, the real challenge is not finding retailers. It is knowing which people inside those retailers actually shape and approve the budget. This guide breaks down who buys retail tech today, what each group cares about, and how to build outreach that reaches the right people. Why Retail Buying Committees Have Changed Retail used to be a straightforward chain: merchandising decided what to sell, IT decided what systems to run, and operations kept stores working. That separation has blurred. Customers move between apps, stores, marketplaces and social channels, and every one of those touchpoints now depends on shared data and shared technology. As a result, purchases that look like “IT projects” are often co-sponsored by comm...