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NRF 2023: What to Expect from This Year’s Retail Expo

This year’s conference promises industry insights, innovations, and retail solutions.

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Lily is a Senior Editor at BizTech Magazine. She follows tech trends, thought leadership and data analytics.

For retailers, NRF 2023: Retail’s Big Show is the most anticipated conference of the year. With three days of robust programming, this year’s National Retail Federation gathering brings together retail experts and brands from across the country for educational sessions, roundtables, and product demos. The event will take place Jan. 15-17 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

IT leaders will evaluate key industry trends and examine how businesses can set themselves up for future success. Speakers will also discuss the challenges retailers have faced over the past year and how leveraging new technologies can yield powerful results.

Here’s what attendees can expect from this year’s NRF event.

NRF Promises Future Innovation & Insights

NRF 2023 will include more than 50 curated keynote and featured sessions led by industry experts, as well as more than 100 exhibitor sessions, where solution providers will share case studies and product demos. Partner perspective sessions will offer valuable insights into future retail trends. A consumer product showcase, an Innovation Lab and a Startup Zone will showcase new technology solutions.

WATCH: Check out the highlights from NRF 2023.

Many of the sessions will focus on discoveries, trends and insights. Topics include customer relationship management and brand loyalty, customer experience, digital marketing, leadership, data and analytics, supply chain and operations, sustainability and corporate social responsibility, and the labor market.

Experts also will share lessons learned from omnichannel experiences and discuss why customers returning to in-store shopping offers retailers an opportunity to boost sales.

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New Technology Solutions Prevent Loss and Boost Sales

One core topic will be the new technology that’s helping retailers protect against loss prevention. Retailers are using solutions like radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and enhanced video surveillance (EVS) cameras. These use artificial intelligence (AI), heat maps and image patterns to predict whether a customer is going to shoplift.

Labor Market and Supply Chain Issues

The conference will also examine the socioeconomic and political factors that disrupt supply chains in the retail industry. The pandemic, climate change, the Russia-Ukraine war, inflation and changing government policies have all impacted the supply chain. Retailers will reveal their strategies for managing inventory and budgets under these conditions.

EXPLORE: The hottest retail tech trends of 2023.

Immersive In-Store Experiences with AI, ML, VR, AR and Robotics

According to McKinsey, retailers that invest in technology have higher sales revenue and stronger customer engagement. A 2023 Digital Commerce 360 report notes that nearly 40 percent of online retailers say they will spend 10 to 15 percent more on technology this year in order to stay competitive.

The conference will look at how AI and machine learning are making networks more secure, while augmented and virtual reality and robotics are creating immersive in-store experiences.

LEARN: Three ways that AI video reduces retail theft.

Reviving the Culture of Retail

The most successful retailers use a combination of these technologies to ensure their brands drive customer engagement across channels. This is a reimagined business model intended to revive the culture of retail. The pre-pandemic culture of retail is now a memory.

Retailers must now look to the future and create in-store experiences that meet customers’ changing expectations and satisfy preferences for speed, education, engagement and immediacy.

Keep this page bookmarked for articles from the event, and follow us on Twitter at @BizTechMagazine and the official conference Twitter feed, @NRFnews.