RAI’s Connected Commerce Conclave 2026 Explores AI, Omnichannel Retail and the Next Phase of Connected Commerce

Set up in Bengaluru, one of India’s key retail and technology centres, the conclave brought together retail leaders, D2C founders, technology providers, investors, and policymakers to exchange ideas and share perspectives on the future of connected commerce in India, further strengthening the city’s role in driving retail innovation.

Speaking about the conclave, Kumar Rajagopalan, Executive Director and CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said, “Connected commerce isn’t a technology story. It’s a customer story. The technology is just what makes it possible for retailers and their service partners to show up — consistently, intelligently, and at the right moment — whether the customer is on their phone, in a store, or somewhere in between. CCC 2026 brought together the people doing exactly that: the operators at the front and the builders behind the scenes, all working toward the same outcome: A customer who gets what they need, before they have to ask twice.”

Key highlights of RAI’s CCC included a fireside chat with Visa, roundtables on Changing Dynamics for HR in a Digital World, Discovery to Delivery: Creating Seamless Connected Customer Journeys, and Discovery to Delivery: Creating Seamless Connected Customer Journeys. The summit also hosted engaging panel discussions on topics such as The New Customer Journey, Data, Decisions, and the AI Shift and Supply Chain Advantage, The Trust Layer – Why Human + Digital Beats Digital Alone, Category Creators: How Brands Build Markets Instead of Just Market Share; among other sessions.

The conclave featured an esteemed lineup of industry leaders and experts, including Abhishek Bansal, Co-Founder & CEO, Shadowfax; Ajith Mohan Karimpana, Founder & CEO, Furlenco; Ashim Ashok Patil, MD & CEO, i-TEK RFID; Bhupendra Khannal, Co-Founder, Dogsee Chew; Deepak Jain, CEO, Amante; Himmath Jain, Co-Founder, AS-IT-IS Nutrition; Jagdish Mitra, CEO & Founder, Humanize; Karan Mehta, CEO, Easybuy – Landmark; Kiruba Devi, COO, Zivame; Kunal Mehta, CIO, Arvind Fashions; Lavish Soni, CBO, House of Rare; Manohar Chatlani, MD, Soch Apparels Pvt. Ltd.;Minu Margaret, Founder & CEO, Blissclub; Nandakumar L, Co-Founder, The Yellow Dwelling; Naveen Pishe, CEO, PN Rao Fine Suits; Sumit Jasoria, Co-Founder & CEO, NEWME; Surbhi Bhatia, Founder, The Mom Store; and Zoheib Jilani, Co-Founder, WomanLikeU, among others.

Ramaswami Lakshman, Director of Emerging Markets FBA, Amazon, expressed, “India’s retail landscape is at an inflection point, with physical and digital commerce coming together to create a $3.5 trillion connected commerce opportunity. Consumers no longer think in terms of online or offline — they simply seek relevant, convenient and seamless experiences. At Amazon, we are committed to enabling this shift by bringing together the technology, fulfilment infrastructure, customer reach and intelligence businesses need to build, scale and grow. Our long-term commitment to India reflects the potential we see in this opportunity. Following Andy Jassy’s recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amazon announced plans to invest $48 billion in India by 2030, reinforcing our commitment to supporting businesses and the wider retail community. Having digitised more than 12 million small businesses, we aim to help them grow from local to global markets and participate in the connected commerce opportunity. For this opportunity to reach its full potential, growth must be sustainable and businesses must be able to participate with ease. Simplifying taxation and compliance, alongside addressing barriers such as access to capital and digital skills, will be critical for connected commerce to not only transform how India shops but expand who gets to participate in India’s growth story.”

Manohar Chatlani, MD, Soch Apparels Pvt. Ltd., said, “The customer we’re serving today has already made up her mind before she walks into a store. She’s researched, compared, and decided. Our job is no longer to sell — it’s to confirm a decision she’s already made, and make that confirmation feel worth it. I’m looking forward to a conversation at CCC that goes beyond the buzzwords and gets into what connected commerce actually demands from a retail organisation operationally, culturally, and structurally.”

Subhash Chandra L, MD, Sangeetha Mobiles Pvt. Ltd. & Chairman, Bengaluru Chapter, RAI, added, “When the customer moves, you move. Right now, the customer is moving faster than most retail businesses can follow. CCC matters because it creates the space for honest conversations about what that actually means for our businesses — not the polished version, but the real one.”

Sumit Ghosh, Senior Director – Retail, Large Formats, Online Marketplace & Omnichannel, Fossil India, commented, “Connected commerce is the work you do behind the scenes so the experience in front of the customer looks effortless. That gap — between operational complexity and customer simplicity — is where most retail businesses are struggling right now. CCC is the right room to have that conversation, because everyone in it is living the same problem from a different angle. That’s where the useful ideas come from.”

With insightful discussions and participation from leading voices across the retail ecosystem, the inaugural edition of RAI’s Connected Commerce Conclave (CCC) 2026 highlighted Bengaluru’s position as India’s retail and commerce technology hub. Home to the country’s highest concentration of D2C brands, a strong retail technology ecosystem, and trend-setting consumers, the city provided the ideal setting for the conclave. As retail continues to evolve, CCC will remain an important platform for industry collaboration and knowledge sharing.

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