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NRF 2025: What To Expect at Retail’s Big Show This Year

Unified commerce, virtual humans, computer vision cameras and artificial intelligence will take center stage, experts say.

Lily Lopate

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

Retail’s Big Show is back, and it’s expected to draw 40,000 attendees and feature over 175 sessions, 1,000 exhibitors and 5,000 brands. It continues to be a central hub for industry professionals and thought leaders to get a look at the future of retail.

By now, retailers have done the work to “unify the data behind the scenes and help meet their customers where they are and where they want to be,” says Andy Szanger, director of strategic industries at CDW. The conversation about artificial intelligence is also getting more specific as retailers explore the solutions, test use cases and “really start to reap the benefits,” he says.

As retailers become more comfortable with emerging technology, they’re also getting more creative. “We’ve started to see people using iPad cameras with AI to count inventory and embrace digital shelf labels,” says Gina Cox, senior retail IT adviser at CDW. Retailers such as Walmart have started to mandate radio frequency identification (RFID) while others experiment with ambient Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

Unified commerce, virtual humans, computer vision cameras and AI-driven product discovery are a few of the core technologies that will be highlighted this year at NRF 2025.

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Experts Showcase Interactive Store Environments

Experts will take attendees on guided walking tours of New York City’s cutting-edge retail environments. Industry professionals will also get access to the NRF Innovators Showcase to preview new-to-market tech. Attendees can also access the expo, featuring presenters from more than 100 countries doing live demos of retail technology. A CDW session on innovating today for tomorrow’s retail will also feature real-life examples of how retailers are implementing AI, RFID and IoT to streamline store efficiencies. Plus, Flo Rida is set to take the stage Jan. 13 at Retail’s Big Concert, with an opening set by DJ Pauly D.

DIG DEEPER: These retail solutions and services from CDW can help your organization.

Unified Commerce Brings All Data Sets Together

Unified commerce has emerged as the next evolution after omnichannel retail, streamlining customer experiences by integrating all sales channels into a single, cohesive platform. With this approach, retailers can achieve greater personalization and see a far more robust customer profile.

“If you're not doing a unified approach, you have three personas. You might not even know they're the same person,” Szanger says. “With truly unified data, I can now see what you did online, what you did in-store, what you did in the mobile app.” The customization becomes much more precise.

Shopify is taking this a step further by “creating online marketplaces for small and midsize retailers so they can harness their data and understand their customers’ journeys across platforms,” he adds.

If you're not doing a unified approach, you have three personas. You might not even know they're the same person. With truly unified data, I can now see what you did online, what you did in-store, what you did in the mobile app.”

Andy Szanger Director of Strategic Industries, CDW

AI-Driven Product Tagging on Videos Boosts Online Shopping

AI-driven product discovery and advanced metatagging are also helping to deliver a smarter search experience as users shop online. “Retailers have found that product pages with videos rank higher in customer and SEO engagement,” Cox says.

“Say someone is looking for a Kate Spade handbag, which is sold by many retailers. The user does a Google search. If your site is selling a Kate Spade handbag and you have videos there, you get more points, so you come up higher in the SEO ranking list,” she says.

Virtual Humans Are Accelerating Customer Service

Busy restaurant chains such as Taco Bell and KFC are starting to use virtual humans to take orders, get information about customers and reduce wait times. These lifelike digital avatars are surreal; still, the effect is realistic. “It looks like I'm actually talking to someone, and I get to talk to them instead of pushing a button,” Cox says.

Virtual humans can interact with customers to answer typical questions: Do you have a reservation? How big is your party? Do you need a children’s menu or a high chair? Do you want to sit inside or outside?

Computer Vision Cameras Can Save Sales and Deter Theft

When retailers think about creating quality customer experiences, they also must “balance the loss of a sale and the theft of a product,” Szanger says. That’s why many stores are leveraging computer vision AI-enhanced cameras. These cameras can scan, identify threats and send alerts to employees when customers need help in-store or suspicious activities are detected.

With visual data analysis and behavior tracking, this technology can interpret human actions in-store and get retailers one step closer to predicting shoppers’ intentions.

Retail loss prevention teams are also using computer vision technology to scan footage, Cox adds. “With these videos, you can now go to a search bar and say, show me all of the clips where someone had a red backpack.” AI pulls the clips and identifies the time stamps, which “saves so much manpower,” she says. “It’s going to allow retailers to find the history and the discovery of what they need so much faster.”

UP NEXT: These are the benefits of enhanced video surveillance in retail.

To learn more about NRF 2025, visit our conference page. You can also follow us on the social platform X at @BizTechMagazine to see behind-the-scenes moments.

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