Dubai’s Growing Role in the Global Digital Commerce Ecosystem

WORLDEF Dubai 2026 concluded after three days of high-level discussions on digital commerce, artificial intelligence, cross-border trade, and emerging commerce technologies.

Hosted at Dubai CommerCity and held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the summit gathered more than 18,000 visitors from over 80 countries. Decision makers, founders, investors, and technology leaders came together to discuss how digital commerce is evolving in a rapidly transforming global economy.

The scale of participation reflected one clear reality:

Dubai is becoming a central platform for shaping the future of digital commerce.

Across the Future Commerce, Investment, Master Class, and Case Study stages, discussions moved beyond experimentation. The focus was on operational execution, AI integration, infrastructure maturity, and scalable omnichannel commerce.

During the panel Connected Retail: Blurring the Lines Between Online and Offline, Inveon’s Managing Partner Moris Kastro joined to discuss what truly enables omnichannel retail performance.

One key insight stood out:

The biggest hidden bottleneck in scaling omnichannel commerce is not the number of channels.
It is system alignment.

Many retailers operate across web, mobile app, marketplace, and physical stores. However, these channels often rely on disconnected data structures, separate loyalty systems, and inconsistent inventory logic.

When systems do not operate on the same data model and decision framework, customer experience becomes fragmented.

The Role of Agentic AI in Commerce Operations

Artificial intelligence has been widely adopted in marketing and content generation. But in commerce operations, the next evolution is different.

Agentic AI is not about generating messages.
It is about coordinating decisions.

When embedded into operations, AI can:

• Optimize merchandising in real time

• Adjust pricing and campaign triggers

• Route fulfillment based on inventory proximity

• Support customer service with contextual intelligence

The key is integration.

AI that sits outside core systems adds complexity.
AI embedded into commerce workflows improves performance.

AI-Powered Chatbots as Digital Sales Advisors

Chatbots are becoming more advanced, but their impact depends entirely on connectivity.

A chatbot that only answers FAQs provides support.

A chatbot connected to:

• Real-time inventory

• Customer history

• Loyalty status

• Fulfillment options

acts as a digital sales advisor.

This changes the customer journey. Recommendations become accurate. Stock visibility becomes reliable. Loyalty benefits apply automatically.

In this model, AI directly influences omnichannel performance.

Retail in 2026 will not be defined by how many platforms a brand operates on, but by how well its systems work together. Success will depend on how smoothly data flows across channels, how quickly operational decisions are made, how consistently customer experiences are delivered, and how intelligently AI supports day-to-day commerce workflows. Omnichannel is no longer about presence. It is about coherence. Retailers that treat infrastructure and agentic AI as core strategic assets rather than add-ons will reduce friction, improve conversion, and strengthen lifetime value. The question is no longer whether to invest in omnichannel, but whether your systems are truly designed to scale it.