ARLINGTON, Va. — Over 50 companies bringing AI-enabled products and services to health and wellness retail will exhibit at this year's NACDS Total Store Expo (TSE), the National Association of Chain Drug Stores announced today — a count that says as much about where the industry is headed as it does about the show itself.
It isn't only the established names showing up; it's newer companies deciding this is a market they need to be in — and for good reason. TSE draws domestic and international retailers representing over 160,000 stores across the drug, food, mass, specialty, natural, e-commerce and value channels. For a company trying to win over a major retailer, there's no faster way to reach the buyers who make that call.
"An influx of new AI exhibitors tells you where this industry is going," said NACDS President and CEO Steve Anderson. "Retailers have always adopted the tools that help them take better care of their customers, and right now that means AI — from the supply chain to the pharmacy counter. TSE is where the industry comes to find the tools that will work best for them.”
That range of AI uses in health and wellness retail will be apparent on the TSE show floor. Companies are using AI to improve pharmacy operations, tighten inventory and forecast demand, to personalize how stores reach shoppers, and to help patients stay on their medications. Across the industry, AI is becoming part of how these businesses run day to day — and this year’s slate of exhibitors makes that plain.
The 2026 NACDS Total Store Expo runs Aug. 15–17 at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston. For more information — or to exhibit — visit tse.nacds.org.
