I am grateful for the opportunity to spend four days last week attending the NRF Big Show in New York, the largest retail / tech conference and trade show in the world.
While this was predominantly a big business focussed event, there was plenty offered that was independent and small business relevant. I’ll share more detail of that in the businesses in which I serve over the next few weeks. Here are some overall comments abut this terrific event.
The NRF Big Show 2025, organised by the National Retail Federation, attracted around 40,000 attendees and featured around 450 speakers across 200 sessions. The trade show hosted around 1,000 companies. It was a conference and trade show about tech in retail, for retailers.
This year’s theme, “Game Changer,” highlighted the pressing challenges and transformations within retail and urgent need for innovation and adaptability in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) was the hot topic in presentations and on vendor stands. Only a few companies on the trade show flow did not include AI in their key pitch. From the small and niche to the large, AI was the headline. Those without it felt out of date.
The question for Aussie newsagents has to be: how are you using AI to your advantage today? There are plenty of opportunities already, opportunities that are proven and that you can trust.
AI driven inventory management was an often-covered topic. I sat in sessions on several different businesses (Dicks Sporting Goods, GAP clothing, Freedom Furniture (Australia), Men’s Warehouse, Academy Sports & Outdoors and more.
They covered how AI tools helped them cut inventory management labour costs, improve stock turn, make beneficial dynamic pricing decisions, have less out of stocks and increase sales by giving in-store associates easy access to information.
I had a retailer badge for the show and engaged often through a retailer lens. Here are retailer specific takeaways from my notes:
- Change is faster than ever.
- Retail staff need easier access to decision support tools.
- Most shops don’t need a back office.
- We should be able to cut inventory by 25% and achieve double-digit sales growth.
- What you can sell should not be restricted by your type of business.
- More suppliers are going direct.
This conference and trade show is unlike anything you’d see in Australia. The sheer size brought to the floor businesses and discussions we’ll not see or hear here for a long time. This is where I found opportunity for myself and those I serve.
On AI in running a newsagency business: it’s here, available now and has been for a couple of years. If you’re not using it, you’re falling behind, you’re less competitive.
Now, to round out this brief note, here are a few of the 200 photos I took: