Every year, Canada’s retail community comes together at RCC’s STORE Conference, and this year’s event reflects the full weight of the moment facing the industry. From economic headwinds to technological transformation, the agenda brings together the sector’s leading voices to examine what’s changing, what it means, and what retailers need to do about it.
The Economic Reality
The conference opens with a conversation between CIBC Deputy Chief Economist Benjamin Tal and RCC CEO Kim Furlong. As Tal examines the macroeconomic landscape shaping Canadian retail in 2026 — consumer confidence, interest rates, labour dynamics, and global pressures — he and Furlong will connect those forces directly to retail performance.
AI and the Evolving Customer Journey
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how Canadians discover, research, and buy and RCCSTORE26 reflects that reality across multiple sessions.
- Technology and e-commerce executives from Groupe Dynamite (Dave Stephens, CTO) and Loblaws (Rohit Sriram, SVP, Ecommerce) discuss how AI is being integrated into the customer experience today.
- Google Canada’s Eric Morris shares how leading retailers are using AI to drive smarter discovery and deeper engagement.
- New research presented with Caddle and RCC puts Canadian consumer behaviour at the centre of the conversation, offering retailers actionable insight into how AI is already influencing purchase decisions.
The Future of Physical Retail
What brings a customer through the door — and keeps them coming back — remains one of retail’s most consequential questions.
- Michaels CEO David Boone and SVP, Stores for Canada Derek Schweitzer discuss how North America’s leading specialty arts & crafts retailer is evolving its store environment to inspire customers and deepen connection.
- Simons’ Chief Marketing and Digital Officer Frederick Lecoq and Holt Renfrew’s SVP of Product and Planning Carolyn Wright examine how legacy retail formats are being reimagined through elevated service, curated assortment, and the seamless integration of digital and physical channels.
Brand Building, Loyalty & Emotional Connection
In a fragmented, performance-driven environment, building lasting consumer relationships requires more than a campaign.
- Three of Canada’s top marketing executives — Canadian Tire’s Irene Daley, Miele’s Ekaterina Dobrokhotova, and Reitmans’ Isabella Bonin — come together to examine how leading brands balance short-term performance with long-term equity, and what it takes to earn lasting loyalty in a market where consumers have never had more choices.
- Staples Canada’s VP Marketing Debbie Lai joins author Jean-Pierre Lacroix to explore how emotional brand design drives loyalty at the moment of decision, before logic even enters the picture.
Canadian Retail, Front and Centre
STORE is built for Canada’s retail community. RCC advocacy updates, Quebec-specific programming and network, and on-the-ground perspectives and data anchor every conversation to the realities of running retail in this country. Whatever is happening in the economic or policy environment, this is the room where Canadian retailers work through it together.
RCCSTORE26 takes place June 2–3 in Toronto. This is not the year to sit it out.
Tickets are available now at storeconference.ca.
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