Editorial
The Gist
- NRF Big Show captures retail magic. The 2025 NRF Big Show stood out as a transformative experience, blending retail insights with innovative AI solutions.
- AI driving real-world innovation. From Nvidia's digital twins to Shopic's AI-powered shopping carts, cutting-edge technologies are reshaping retail.
- Experience remains key to retail success. NRF highlights how creating meaningful connections and customer-centric experiences remains the heart of retail strategy.
There are some things in life that just go together. Christmas and Santa. Halloween and candy. Peanut Butter and jelly, and of course, National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show and January.
That’s right, the yearly polar pilgrimage that we all travel to in New York City. Retail's biggest event, with the largest brands, the brightest minds and of course, the yearly struggle of trying to find a seat to eat your lunch.
This year like many in the past, I made that same voyage to NRF’s Big Show in the Big Apple – and I’m here to tell you: this year felt different.
Table of Contents
- NRF Excitement Begins (in Airport Terminal)
- The Experience Roots of Retail
- Top Session I Heard at NRF: Nvidia on Real-World AI
- Top Conversation I Had: Future of Digital Commerce
- Top Innovations I Saw: AI-Powered Shopping Innovations
- Top Experience I Had: Retail at its Best at NRF
- Core Questions About the NRF Big Show 2024
NRF Excitement Begins (in Airport Terminal)
Standing in the terminal waiting for my connecting flight, I overheard some folks talking about marketing engagement and surveys. No doubt, they were headed to the same show I was. Long before late nights out with partying with partners, or grabbing drinks with decision makers, the buzz and electricity of what was to come was palatable.
Not only from attendees, but from the press. I (what I thought at least) would have been one of the first people into the Press Room Sunday morning. Boy, was I wrong: the room was filled with media and fellow word slingers alike, all chatting and running on caffeine before the retail festivities began.
I go to a lot of these type of events. (Like the 2024 NRF Big Show). So when I say this year felt different, please don’t take that lightly. There was a feeling, a buzz and hope of what could be and what will be. Inspiration rung true for retailers alike, but even more than that, NRF did exactly what retailers should be doing.
They made the event an experience.
Related Article: NRF Big Show Recap: How Brands Can Find Their Own Magic in 2024
The Experience Roots of Retail
Retails roots always have and always will be about creating experiences that allow customers to feel something, to believe in something – to be the best version of themselves through the wonders of retail therapy, and the satisfaction of a successful shopping trip.
NRF delivered here. Believe it or not, the show has actually been around since 1911, when the first retailers got together to discuss trends, successes, failures and share lessons learned for the better good of helping each other out.
That same mindset holds true today. And the folks at NRF do a fantastic job of inspiring us, the attendees, with exceptional speakers, fascinating case studies and, of course, the best-in-class exhibitors driving innovation and change in the space.
I feel it’s my civic duty to try to put into words what I experienced this week in New York City – and in doing so, I’m taking a bit of a risk.
Why? Because risks are important for growth. Ask any retailer: they will tell you there’s no way in hell they got to where they are out today without risks.
If you’ve read any of my articles as a CMSWire Contributor, you know I’m big on “Here are the top things retailers can do in 2025.” I like that format. It works. It’s done well in the past, and it blends well with my storytelling tendencies that I like to delicately (or sometimes, quite abrasively) weave into my pieces.
However, instead, this time around I’m deciding to focus on a more pragmatic, categorical "Tops" reporting approach.
Top session I heard. Top conversation I had. Top innovation I saw. Top experience that I, well, experienced.
Let’s dive in.
Top Session I Heard at NRF: Nvidia on Real-World AI
Azita Martin, VP and General Manager, Retailer & CPG at Nvidia
You wanna talk AI? Okay, let’s talk AI. Azita, by far, offered up the most tangible, practical and real world examples of AI being leveraged that I’ve yet to see at a show like this. As my editor, Dom Nicastro or, as Ice-T dubbed him, “Big Homie,” would say – “Ah yes, Nvidia, the Google of the AI world." (Yes, he actually texted me that when I couldn’t hold back my excitement around Azita and her session).
Listen, AI historically has been around for a while. Dynamic personalization? AI. Intelligent onsite ecommerce search? AI. Live chat? AI.
All of these solutions have been around for years. So, what’s the difference? Well, as Azita explains, “AI will help make humans more human. It’s technology that can anticipate, adapt and predict.”
She went on to discuss some of the use cases Nvidia has built for the worlds largest brands:
L'Oréal: Revolutionizing Marketing Campaigns With AI-Driven Digital Twins
The cosmetic giant is leveraging Nvidia and AI to help their marketing and promotional teams build digital twin assets that gives these creative teams the ability to spin up marketing campaigns faster, test smarter and engage with customers in real time. The example she provided was around a lip gloss Instagram campaign that could be created in minutes, tested and put to market; all of which, would have taken days previously. Giving brands the ability to build content that their customers want fast provides fantastic ways to engage faster, but also keeps things fresh between brand and consumer.
Walmart: Transforming Inventory Forecasting With AI
The retail giant is taking forecasting to the next level through Nvidia powered solutions. Walmart is able to predict, forecast and build inventory levels faster through AI. Listen, here’s the thing: if you have a product for sale on your ecommerce site, and the inventory isn’t accurate, or you don’t have enough supply to meet seasonal demands of customers, you won’t have customers. Leveraging AI to build inventory just MAKES SENSE. Demand planning continues to be one of the most complex areas brands must face, and, according to Azita: Supply chain will benefit most from AI. Being able to create digital twins of a distribution center with different layouts, and different behavior tracking, brands will be able to pick, pack and ship products smarter and faster.
Lowe’s: Enhancing In-Store Experiences With Digital Twin Models
This is likely my favorite AI use case. The home improvement retailer has built 1,700 digital twin models of store layouts. Why? To track in store customer experiences, preference, buying patterns and preferences. All to optimize conversion.
Do the hammers belong on the top shelf or middle shelf? Does electrical tape need eight colors or 12? Nvidia and Lowe’s are leveraging customer buying behaviors within their digital twin models to determine the best possible product placements, or, as Azita describes, “Creating experiences that just flow for customers. That’s what creates happiness.”
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Touché, Azita.
Related Article: 3 Ways AI-Powered Predictive Analytics Are Transforming Ecommerce
Top Conversation I Had: Future of Digital Commerce
Brendan Witcher, VP, Principal Analyst, Forrester
Every time I have an opportunity to talk with Brendan, it’s always circled on the calendar. The guy just "gets" customers and the experiences they desire. I’ve known Brendan for a few years and recently saw him present at Shoptalk Fall in Chicago last year. In true Brendan fashion, he swooped into the event like James Bond, sprinting from the plane to the stage. And, of course, shared his top-secret insights on why while brands may “THINK” they know their customers, in reality, they don’t.
This time, Brendan and I playfully discussed the future of digital commerce, specifically around the idea of, well, why don’t big brands just have a generative AI search bar on their site to ask customers what they want and simply remove product categories, product pages and carts in general?
Provocative? You bet. Will it ever happen? Time will tell.
Who would ACTUALLY jump first into the deep end, upend their entire ecommerce website experience to just simply give customers a search bar?
The answer is, not many. It’s flies in the face of the experiences we are all used to from a shopping lens. We like to browse; we like to shop; we like to be surprised when we don’t know what we want.
But won’t AI fix that by asking us a prompt? Well, maybe. But as I talked about last year, consumers desire the unknown, and they desire adventurous shopping experiences. We like to browse, we like to window shop, we like to be surprised.
So, will the ecommerce of the future look like a blank white website with a generative AI search bar? Maybe. But it won’t happen all at once. Look for it to happen in certain product categories that help consumers get comfortable with the idea of shipping through generative AI experiences.
Top Innovations I Saw: AI-Powered Shopping Innovations
Shopic's story: this is for all of my grocery and in-store retailers with shopping carts. New York-based Shopic has built an AI digital display interface that sits on top of a real world shopping cart, giving customers access to promotions and recommendations in real time based upon what is put in their basket.
HOW COOL IS THAT?!
Even more than that, customers can pay directly within their shopping cart and digital display, helping to reduce wait times and, of course, helping to improve the customer experience.
Imagine all of the possibilities here. You’re making dinner for a loved one and now you have a personalized shopping assistant, directly within your physical shopping cart, helping you curate the perfect meal for that perfect person.
Curated For You (CFY), based in Austin, Texas, says it best: “Life shouldn't be about shopping. Shopping should be about life.”
Indeed it should.
As CFY says, “Our technology starts by motivations based on social-scientific measurement & theory. We leverage machine vision and natural language processing to accurately predict consumer perceptions at scale.”
Essentially, it’s a crystal ball for marketers and branding employees to curate the perfect set of product sets based upon consumer behavior, past behavior and preference.
On the biggest opportunities brands have is the ability to understand their customers at their core, what makes them tick, what makes them buy, what causes them not to buy.
CFY is blending together the world of psychology, creative and conversion to cultivate experiences that connect.
Top Experience I Had: Retail at its Best at NRF
One of my favorite things about the NRF Big Show is that it perfectly mimics the world of retail.
How? Simple.
NRF brings together 40,000 people in one location. Not only that, it offers up something that all of us are familiar with.
Walking the show floor. That’s right: the perfect retail experience.
NRF is essentially the modern-day shopping mall for brands to experience, find and discover new partners, vendors and technology that will help them grow.
The symbolism here cannot be overlooked.
So yes, my favorite experience of NRF was simply walking the trade show floor, talking to technology companies, learning what they are working on and how their goals, while rooted in revenue, all still tie together to a common thread: bettering the customer experience.
If you’ve read my previous work, you likely know that I’m a big CX guy. I profoundly believe that brands possess the ability to make the world better through products and experiences. And the NRF Big Show delivers on that duality of experience; it’s where retailers come to learn about new solutions that will give them the ability to connect more closely with their customers.
Just like consumers come to brands to learn about new products that allow them to be the best versions of themselves.
As the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz once, so eloquently, put it, “I shall take the heart. For brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world."
A happy customer is a loyal customer. Appeal to the heart of your customers, appeal to their emotions, their intricacies, their individualism ... because the yellow brick road to retail success doesn’t lie in conversion, it lies in connection.
Core Questions About the NRF Big Show 2024
Editor's note: These questions highlight key takeaways and future implications of the NRF Big Show for retailers and marketers.
What are the big takeaways at NRF Big Show 2025?
NRF Big Show 2025 emphasized the convergence of AI, customer experience and operational innovation in retail. Key insights included:
- AI as a retail game-changer. From Nvidia's digital twin solutions to Shopic's AI-powered shopping carts, AI is enabling retailers to enhance efficiency, improve inventory forecasting and personalize customer interactions.
- Customer connections remain essential. Retailers must prioritize emotional connections and individualized experiences to foster loyalty and drive growth in a competitive landscape.
- The future of retail is experiential. NRF underscored that creating memorable, engaging experiences—both in-store and online—is the cornerstone of retail success.
How is AI transforming the retail landscape?
From Nvidia's use of digital twins to Shopic's AI-powered shopping carts, the NRF Big Show showcased how AI is enabling retailers to predict trends, optimize inventory, and enhance customer experiences in real time.
What lessons can retailers learn about creating meaningful customer connections?
The NRF Big Show emphasized that successful retail is rooted in fostering emotional connections. Brands must appeal to customers’ individual needs and aspirations to drive loyalty and long-term growth.
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