NEW YORK CITY — At this year’s NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show, held Jan. 12-14 at the Javits Center in New York City, AI was on everyone’s mind. More than any other technology, AI is shaping the retail customer experience every day, whether it’s via retail web sites, or customer service calls, or the brick-and-mortar stores themselves.
Retail’s Big Show, an annual event focused on retail technology organized by the National Retail Federation, retail’s largest trade association, took home Trade Show Executive’s Rock Star Award for its 2023 edition for its impressive growth and enhanced experiences — and 2025 was another banner year, according to NRF Senior Vice President of Event Strategy Susan Newman.
“For more than a century, Retail’s Big Show has maintained its status as the retail industry’s flagship event,” she said. “NRF 2025 was no different and one of the largest shows to date, with 40,000 attendees, representing more than 6,200 brands, 105 countries and 1,000 exhibitors across 325,000 square feet of expo space.
“This year’s event featured 450 speakers over the course of three days, highlighting retail’s most pressing topics, including how artificial intelligence is driving innovation and how retailers are creating more meaningful customer experiences.”
The opening keynote with John Furner, President and CEO of Walmart U.S., and Azita Martin, Vice President and General Manager, Retail and CPG at NVIDIA, discussed recent AI advancements such as AI-powered digital assistants and supply chain technology. Among the other high-profile names, Brie Olson, CEO of Pacsun, spoke about how social media has changed how her company reaches its younger audience by livestreaming products drops and making customers its TikTok ambassadors.
Online, generative AI will continue to refine personalized shopping experiences. Other emerging tech developments, from customer service robots that will greet shoppers as they enter the store, to point-of-sale systems that will enable direct transactions with major banks, will transform the in-person experience.
A popular return feature was the Foodservice Innovation Zone, an interactive exploration of the technology that is transforming that sector. Since 2017, the NRF Innovation Lab has showcased the latest in retail tech through an immersive and interactive experience, and this year attendees also got to experience a walking tour of New York City’s most cutting-edge retail stores.
“We look forward to building on this momentum by welcoming familiar faces and new attendees to both Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific and Retail’s Big Show Europe later this year,” Newman said.
Reach Susan Newman at newmans@nrf.com
