POI 2026 Consumer Goods State of the Industry Report

Exciting news! The POI 2026 Consumer Goods State of the Industry Report has been released. We’re sharing our recap and the most impactful insights, and we highly recommend downloading the full report here:
https://poinstitute.com/state-of-the-industry/

The 2026 findings reveal a widening maturity gap between organizations that operate in silos with fragmented data and reactive execution, and build integrated, AI-enabled, closed-loop enterprise ecosystems.

3 structural realities emerge:

• Data exists, but is not unified.

• Retail execution remains largely transactional.

• AI adoption is accelerating but unevenly embedded.

The organizations that connect these three pillars are scaling intelligence, speed, and profitability simultaneously.

1. Data Foundation: From Data Availability to Decision Velocity

The Current Maturity Gap. Despite years of digital investment, data fragmentation persists:

*50% report gaps in proper data cleansing, harmonization, and staging (page 15)

*70% have data, but business units still make siloed decisions (page 18)

*Only 30% connect promotion decisions to demand and supply planning (page 18)

*75% still plan TPMx, RGM, and IBP in disconnected cycles (page 16)

*60% cite cross-functional misalignment as a primary barrier to growth (page 16)

The report highlights that disconnected planning creates decision latency and organizational risk (page 18).

Critical Insight: Having data is no longer differentiating. Operating from a shared, connected data truth is.

Strategic Direction: POI emphasizes building a Connected Data & Insights Foundation (page 11), enabling:

• Cross-enterprise integration (retail, digital, media)

• Holistic Enterprise Planning™

• AI-enabled workflows and governance (page 12)

Planning maturity increases when TPMx, RGM, and IBP operate from a shared truth (page 18).

Data integration is now a prerequisite for both AI and execution excellence.

2. Retail Execution: From Transactional Compliance to Analytical Precision

Retail execution remains one of the least transformed domains.

Key 2026 Benchmarks:

• 75% are held back from exceptional retail execution due to insufficient offline capabilities (page 15)

• 53% report execution limitations because data and insights are not fully leveraged (page 15)

• 40% struggle to move retail execution from transactional to analytical (page 15)

• 41% plan to deploy post-event analysis tools (page 15)

The report makes clear that execution is still largely compliance-driven rather than intelligence-driven.

3. AI & Intelligent Automation: From Experimentation to Embedded Intelligence

AI is transitioning from pilot use cases to structural capability.

2026 priorities include:

• AI-enabled workflows, decisioning, and governance

• Data-driven insights as a competitive advantage

• Intelligence-led innovation

AI Adoption & Automation Signals from the 2026 overview insights (page 15):

• 29% will deploy AI-enabled scenario capabilities

• 29% will embark on automatic pricing capabilities

• 51% will invest in new TPMx systems

• 53% are held back from exceptional retail execution due to data not being fully leveraged