NRF 2025: 3 Key Takeaways From Retail’s Big Show

The retail industry once again came together this year for three action-packed days in a wintery New York. NRF: Retail’s Big Show has come to be known as the curtain raiser for the year for the sector, where retailers, tech vendors and general retail enthusiasts gather to get an early taste of what is to come over the next 12 months. 2025’s edition did not disappoint.

With a range of insightful speaker and panel sessions, thousands of exhibitors and one unforgettable performance from Flo Rida, Retail’s Big Show truly kicked off the year in style.

In our latest blog, we outline the three key takeaways to carry with us following the event…

Refocus Around AI

Artificial Intelligence dominated last year’s show at NRF 2024. Following the hype of 2023’s ChatGPT emergence, AI was all anyone could talk about at last year’s event. Yet many conversations lacked substance. The technology became a victim of its own popularity, with many brands planning to use AI, but perhaps pushing the button a little early on their communication about it. It was still very new, and everyone wanted to be the first to make a success of AI deployment in retail. However, in the months following last year’s show, it soon became clear that there is still a long way to go before AI really does take hold. 

This year’s event was different. The industry has learned more and many have relaxed their stance on AI. It was still a driving theme, but exhibitors and speakers were more understated in their approach. Brands such as NVIDIA demonstrated how they are using AI to help humans make better decisions, faster, and to operate more efficiently. However, on the whole, it is clear AI is coming. There is a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes for many organizations, and most importantly, brands now have a more realistic view of their use cases than they did last year.

RFID is Taking Retail By Storm

Conversely, one technology that has been around for decades, but has only recently started to grow in popularity, is RFID. The last few years have seen the technology – which has historically been viewed as an expensive deployment that struggled to deliver return on investment (ROI) – surge in demand. Why? The industry is starting to see its value outside of pure inventory management. That was one clear theme at NRF 2025. 

With such a heavy focus on customer experience within retail, RFID is allowing retailers to get creative with their use of the technology. Typically, initially deployed to provide a real-time view of inventory, RFID provides retailers with a significant amount of high-quality data around their stock. In turn, brands are now utilizing this capability to enhance experiences. RFID-powered self-checkout has become a popular area of interest, with our own demonstration of the technology at NRF 2025 driving audiences to the Teamwork Commerce booth. The technology has a huge amount of potential, and with more brands now RFID-tagging products, the technology is becoming easier to integrate, and its ROI capabilities are becoming clearer to see.

Find out more about how RFID can help retailers deliver ROI here.

The Right Payment Tech Benefits Both Customer and Retailer

Physical retail has proven over the last few years that it will never disappear. Its resurgence, particularly following COVID-19, has arrived through a strong push towards experiential retail, which focuses on ensuring customers feel valued in-store and receive high-quality experiences that can’t be replicated across any other sales channel.

 Exhibitors at NRF 2025 had this all on display, with solutions spanning across point of sale (POS), personalization and virtual displays, but it was the payment side of in-store experiences that stole the show at New York’s Javits Center. Of course, much focus remained on the hardware – from previously mentioned RFID-powered self-checkout to mobile solutions such as iPhone POS helping retailers to reduce in-store queuing and ensure seamless in-store experiences. 

However, financial technology provider, Adyen, took this one step further – proving that the right platform will pay dividends in both customer experience and retail efficiency. Hosting a panel with customers GUESS, Estee Lauder and Patagonia, each brand detailed their journey in finding the right solution to creating fast, reliable checkout, while ensuring business performance with Adyen – putting customers first without compromising on speed or reliability.

What’s Ahead in 2025?

If there is one takeaway to carry away from the frosty scene of New York in January, it’s that while some technologies might focus on enhancing retailer operations, and others focus on delivering high-quality customer experiences, today’s retail environment demands both. Retailers should consider their entire operation when it comes to deploying new solutions. With the capabilities of modern retail technology, there is no reason why any integration shouldn’t benefit both customer and retailer.

 With so much on display at NRF 2025, the year ahead promises to be one filled with experimentation and innovation. And who knows? Maybe this year we’ll crack AI.

 Interested in finding out how Teamwork Commerce can help your retail brand deliver high-quality experiences and operational efficiency? Get in touch today.