Retail inventory planning is entering a new phase. Rising demand volatility, shorter product lifecycles and the complexity of unified commerce are exposing the limits of traditional planning approaches. Many retailers still rely on disconnected processes, manual workflows and static rules, making it difficult to respond quickly to changing conditions.

Based on Gartner’s 2026 Market Guides for Forecasting, Allocation & Replenishment, this white paper highlights four key changes reshaping how retailers plan, allocate and replenish inventory. As AI continues to transform retail decision-making, forecasting, allocation and replenishment are shifting from periodic planning activities to a continuous, connected system of decisions.

What you’ll learn in this guide:

• The shift from static rules to AI-driven decision-making models that continuously incorporate real-time and external signals
• How forecasting, allocation and replenishment are moving from siloed processes to unified decision-making across channels
• How AI is evolving from generating insights to executing routine decisions through agent-based systems with human oversight
• What it means to move from batch planning cycles to continuous, margin-aware decision-making in a fast-changing environment

Evolve toward more adaptive, coordinated and execution-focused inventory decisions with AI.