By: Ben Davies, Retail Sector Lead
NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show is just round the corner, and the retail sector is eagerly anticipating this year’s event. Returning to New York to raise the curtain on the year for the industry, over 40,000 attendees are expected to fill the Javits Center on 14-16 January with featured speakers ranging from Martha Stewart to Magic Johnson, and a range of innovative technologies on display from more than 1,000 exhibitors. This year’s event - as usual - is sure to impress and I can't wait to be there.
With just over one week to go until I walk through the open doors of Retail’s Big Show, I expect a few key themes to emerge during the event…
AI & Data
There are no prizes for guessing AI would be included here. The explosion of the technology, and more specifically, Generative AI, throughout 2023 can’t be ignored. In the year to come, the industry expects to see a number of effective solutions take flight across all retail touchpoints. Where better to demonstrate their use-cases than at NRF 2024?
Retail technology providers have been working to combine data collection and AI, and integrate them with their offerings to become more efficient and deliver improved experiences.
NRF presents the first opportunity for vendors to lay out the path for AI within the sector in 2024. Expect to see a number of new solutions, enhanced offerings within existing solutions, and a strong focus on AI’s ability to drive ROI and long-term value for retailers.
Theft & Loss Prevention
We saw a significant increase in theft headlines in 2023, with the issue perhaps exacerbated by the impact of the cost of living crisis on both consumers and businesses. However, shrink is not a new problem, nor is it limited to in-store visitors stealing from the shop floor. In fact, according to research undertaken by Thruvision, as much as 40% of retail theft comes from employees working in distribution centres and stores.
The problem persists, and the conversation around theft and shrink is expected to continue into 2024. With retailers keen to minimize their shrink issues, retail technology providers are delivering new loss prevention solutions across the supply chain. NRF 2024 will showcase some of the very best innovations available.
More Noise Than Ever
Retail’s Big Show only continues to grow. In 2022, its first event following the COVID-19 pandemic, numbers were low - and they felt low. Last year’s show brought the event back towards the norm, but in 2024, with COVID-19 now little more than a distant memory, brands have an opportunity to capture new and existing audiences at one of the retail industry’s most important trade shows.
Those who succeed at NRF this year will be the brands that deliver an effective communications strategy, aligning marketing and PR to reach the right audiences before, during and after the show.
With the Jargon Group in attendance, supporting our clients and receiving a front row look at the trends and technologies that will dictate the retail landscape in 2024, we can’t wait to experience firsthand the solutions that are shaping the sector.
To find out more about how your retail technology business can stand out from the crowd, visit https://www.thejargongroup.com/retail/nrf2024
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