5 Predictions for Telecom Retail in 2026 (And How We’re Tackling Them at SummitX)

Last year at SummitX, we saw your enthusiasm for innovation. From hanging out with us at the Product Showcase to taking in the Industry Address to voting for your favorite Hackathon Pitches, your energy made it clear. You weren’t looking for incremental change. You were ready for something bigger.

That energy carried from the breathtaking mountain views at the JW Camelback resort all the way to the surprise drone show at our Western Speakeasy party. Those moments reminded us how powerful innovation can be when it brings people together.

This year, Reimagine Everything captures how far we’ve come together. We combined client feedback with our wireless retail expertise to reshape our vision of what telecom retail can be. The result is our next-gen platform, designed to bring innovative ideas into one seamless experience, deliver value right out of the box, and make every interaction more straightforward and more powerful.

Telecom retail is evolving quickly, and 2026 will accelerate that transformation. Here are five predictions for the year ahead and how SummitX will bring them to life.

AI Will Move From Hype to Everyday Help

In 2026, you’ll see AI show up where it matters most. AI will take the busy work off your plate, surface insights that actually make sense, and help your staff personalize the customer journey without adding complexity.

In The Data: Turning Information into Innovation, iQmetrix’s own product and tech experts Waleed Ayoub and Ben Parkinson will show how AI and data combine to enable intelligent automation. And in From Prompts to Profit: Practical AI for Wireless Retail, Waleed will lead a hands-on workshop to demonstrate how generative AI can drive real impact for your teams, complete with live demos and practical prompting techniques you can put to work right away.

We’re eager to show how we are tackling this by building AI directly into our core platform, not as an add-on, but as an everyday helper that makes your operations smarter, faster, and more human.

Stores Aren’t Dying, They’re Evolving

Despite years of ​“retail apocalypse” headlines, your stores remain the heart of telecom retail. What’s changing is their purpose. In 2026 and beyond, your stores will be more than transactional spaces — they’ll be experience hubs where problems are solved, relationships are built, and loyalty is earned.

You’ll see this at SummitX in Ken Hughes’ keynote on The Modern Consumer, where he’ll unpack why evolving customer behaviors demand a reimagined in-store journey. The Industry Address will spotlight our Store of the Future vision, while From Tech Support to Brand Love (Luisa Diaz and Stefan Wiesen, SensorMedia) will show how retailers are turning service visits into brand-building opportunities.

We’re tackling this with solutions like iQ Storefront, our device-agnostic POS, and iQ Hub, the operational engine that powers it. Together, they help you evolve your stores into flexible, intelligent spaces designed for the future.

Friction at Checkout Will Become a Thing of the Past

When it comes to payments, customers expect transactions to be as instant and effortless as flipping a light switch. By 2026, friction at checkout will no longer be tolerated. Retailers who offer embedded, effortless payments will win trust, speed, and loyalty.

You’ll see this at SummitX in Inside iQ Pay, where Jessica Hamer and Dwain Willis (with The Cellular Connection) will share how payments are transforming the in-store experience. This real-world case study shows what’s possible when payments are built to simplify, not complicate.

We’re tackling this through iQ Pay, our embedded financial services solution that reduces costs, unlocks new revenue, and makes every payment experience seamless for you and your customers.

Data Will Stop Being Overwhelming and Start Driving Action

Most retailers are drowning in data but starving for insights. In 2026, that will change. With AI making it easier than ever, data will help you move from reactive to predictive, and from guesswork to confident decisions.

You’ll see this at SummitX in Data, But Make it Make Sense (Missy Brown and Courtney Miller, both from iQmetrix), where we’ll walk you through best practices for reporting, analysis, and workflows that stick. The Data: Turning Information into Innovation will showcase how new strategies can turn raw information into outcomes. And The World Right Now session will frame why smarter insights are mission-critical in an unpredictable economy.

We’re tackling this by centralizing reporting, analytics, and intelligence within our platform so you can turn numbers into know-how and take action with confidence.

Retail’s Biggest Advantage Will Still Be Its People

Technology will continue to evolve, but the people staffing your stores will always be your differentiation. In 2026, empowered staff will be the difference between an average store visit and a lasting brand connection. Training, leadership, and culture will matter more than ever.

You’ll see this at SummitX in Colin O’Brady’s keynote on Going Beyond, which will explore resilience and peak performance. In Energize Your People (Daniel Mendonca, Halight), you’ll learn how to turn frontline training into a revenue engine. And in the Leadership Hot Seat panel, moderated by Megan Howse (SVP Marketing, iQmetrix), you’ll get unfiltered insights from some of the boldest leaders in telecom.

You’ll also experience this firsthand in our Product Showcase and Store of the Future, where you can connect directly with our team, see how solutions are built to empower employees, and explore innovations shaping the next generation of retail.

We’re tackling this by designing tools that reduce friction for your teams and free them to focus on what they do best: connecting with customers. Our solutions are built to support your people, not burden them.

Are You Ready to Reimagine Everything Together?

The future of telecom retail isn’t just about technology. It’s about how innovation, data, payments, and people come together in-store to create seamless, uplifting experiences. At SummitX, you’ll see these five predictions in action and get a first look at how iQmetrix is helping you prepare for 2026 and beyond.

You told us you wanted more than incremental change, and together, we’ve reimagined everything. Now it’s time to experience what’s next. See you in Carlsbad!