NRF Retail Big Show

The National Retail Federation Retail ‘Big Show’ kicked off in New York on Sunday 15th January. Paul Zahra, Australian Retailers Association CEO and QUT Professor Gary Mortimer, Chair of the Australian Retailers Association Consumer Research Committee were there to capture and share the latest retail insights. Over almost four days, Zahra and Mortimer attended thirty industry presentations and conducted fifty store visits.

Retail is a fast-moving, trend-powered industry that relies heavily on making smart predictions to drive the business. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) can improve the accuracy of these types of predictions by incorporating a wider range of signals and finding patterns that often humans can’t. But successfully adopting AI and ML can be quite challenging. In this final session for NRF’s Retail Big Show, Sachin Padwal – Director of Product Management and AI Solutions for Google discussed the Top 5 ways retailers around the globe are embracing AI to improve experiences for their employees and their shoppers.

At NRF’s Big Show 2023 we got the first look at the top consumer trends with the biggest implications for retailers and brands for 2023.

In this session, Michelle Evans – Global Lead of Retail and Digital Consumer Insights for Euromonitor International revealed the latest insights from Euromonitor’s annual ‘Global Consumer Trends Report’. She explained the behaviours and motivations that will drive shopping habits next year so retailers can meet new demands.

What does a world-class store experience look like today? Almost 75% of retail sales still happen in physical stores, but the role of stores has changed drastically. In this engaging panel discussion, led by Tulip’s CEO Ali Asaria and key leaders from prestige fashion retailers, Marco Benasedo from Boggi Milano, Brendon Gerisch from John Elliott and Rissa Jarratt from Jenni Kayne.

We closed out Day 2 of the NRF Retail Big Show last week with a conversation with Petco CEO, Ron Coughlin. Petco is a category-defining health and wellness company focused on improving the lives of pets and ‘pet parents’. Since our founding in 1965, they now operate more than 1,500 Petco stores across U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, including a growing network of more than 100 in-store veterinary hospitals, and offer a complete online resource for pet health and wellness.

NRF Retail Big Show wrapped Day 2 last week in conversation with Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO and Founder of Chobani and Founder of Tent Partnership for Refugees (TPR). Hamdi’s corporate social responsibly innovation ‘Tent Partnership for Refugees’ adopts a new approach to supporting refugees.

Retail is facing a renaissance. Consumer expectations are quickly evolving, so retailers need to be intentional about the experience they deliver to create meaningful differentiation. Today’s retailers must respond to the pressure to continually deliver memorable moments for consumers. In last week’s NRF ‘Big Show’ session, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions’ VP of Marketing & Communications, Fredrik Carlegren and Senior Vice President, Yevgeni Tsirulnik joined Kevin O’Riordan – Head of Physical Retail and Supply Chain Engineering for Wayfair to discuss how ‘brick & mortar’ stores are deploying technology with intention to bring great consumer experiences to life.

In a world of constant disruption, even being ‘very good’ is no longer good enough. There will always be another retailer doing it better. To stay relevant brands must become, and stay, truly remarkable.

Retailers today are challenged to satisfy shifting customer expectations while engaging and retaining employees. Working with Zebra Technology, Vera Bradley’s modern store experience lifts productivity, while engaging team members and meeting customer demands.