NARI convenes operators, equipment and technology providers, finance solutions, brands, location networks, researchers, associations, and institutions to examine practical modernization challenges and shape shared industry priorities.
NARI events are working sessions, not product showcases. They are designed to test emerging ideas against operating experience, identify shared barriers, and turn discussion into research, programs, and practical industry action.
Our first event series contributes directly to the inaugural State of Autonomous Retail report and culminates in a public online conference in October 2026.
Four focused online working sessions. Each roundtable is a 90-minute research session built around a short pre-read and a defined set of questions. Participation is curated.
What separates a productive autonomous-retail operation from an attractive deployment that fails to generate sustainable returns?
The session will examine location quality, route density, labor, service, working capital, equipment, technology, and operator capability — and identify which operating models appear most resilient as the sector modernizes.
Participation by invitation or approved request.
Operators face a growing number of equipment, software, payments, telemetry, financing, and service offers — but more choice does not necessarily produce better modernization.
This session will explore where providers are solving real operating problems, where adoption continues to fail, which integration barriers matter most, and what shared infrastructure could make modernization easier without locking operators into closed systems.
Participation by invitation or approved request.
AI will not affect every autonomous-retail category in the same way.
The session will examine how AI assistants, health and price filters, ingredient data, personal preferences, and automated product discovery may change customer choice — and what this means for brands, assortments, locations, loyalty, and margins.
Participation by invitation or approved request.
The quality of the location often matters more than the sophistication of the machine — yet access to strong sites remains fragmented, relationship-driven, and difficult to scale.
This session will examine what makes locations perform, how operators identify and retain productive sites, how property owners evaluate autonomous retail, and whether shared location infrastructure can improve access for independent operators.
Participation by invitation or approved request.
Thursday, October 22, 2026 · Online · Time to be announced · Public Operator and Provider Conference
NARI’s first public conference will bring emerging findings from the roundtable series and the State of Autonomous Retail research to the wider sector.
Registration coming soon.
NARI welcomes experienced operators, providers, researchers, associations, and institutional partners interested in contributing operating evidence, joining a roundtable, speaking at the conference, or supporting a future event.
We will review requests according to each event’s purpose and capacity.
Event support and sponsorship do not determine NARI’s research findings, participant conclusions, or provider-review decisions. Material commercial relationships are disclosed.