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NRF 2025: RFID dominates as brands relax on AI


An image of Newton's Cradle

By: Ben Davies, Account Director


From a communications perspective, NRF: Retail’s Big Show is fascinating. The biggest retail technology trade show of the year, kicking off only a couple of weeks into January, provides visitors with an immediate view of the plans and expectations of the industry for the year ahead.


I’ve been fortunate enough to support some incredible businesses exhibiting at NRF for the past few years. Despite the harsh New York winter conditions, it is without a doubt my favourite event of the year, providing an opportunity to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones, see the latest retail innovations on display, and importantly, be a part of the new year buzz that fills the halls - creating the excitement that will guide the retail sector for the next 12 months.


This year’s event was no different, giving us all an insight into how brands envisage 2025’s development. It seems many are aligned in their vision for how the year will play out…


A more dialled back view on AI

Artificial Intelligence covered every corner of NRF in 2024. Following the explosion of Large Language Models and Generative AI into the public domain, many brands were keen to leverage AI to benefit both their own business, and their customers’. However, it soon became clear that there is still a huge amount to learn about the technology, and that was obvious in New York this year. 


AI was still popular, with NVIDIA understandably leading the charge at NRF - a couple of weeks before Deepseek would dominate the headlines and tank the brand’s stock price. But the communication was much tamer, much less in-your-face, and brands were demonstrating it as a supporting technology, not one that will blow your socks off as soon as you step on the booth.


RFID’s momentum continues

RFID isn’t a new technology. It has existed for decades, and has long been viewed as an expensive addition to any retail stack. But over the last few years this view has changed. Early adopters, who initially deployed the technology to significantly enhance their inventory management practices, are now realising the vast opportunity that RFID offers in terms of customer experience, theft and fraud, and general operational efficiency. The self-checkout solutions in UNIQLO speak for themselves. A foundational technology that can completely change the way retailers operate and deliver experiences. And the wider industry is now recognising it.


This was evident at NRF. Last year we saw rumblings of RFID innovation, but this year it led the way in a range of on-booth demonstrations - and attracted a significant number of interested visitors.


RFID will play an important role in retail technology discourse in 2025, especially as experiential retail continues to drive consumer decision-making, and retail shrink challenges still cause headaches for retailers.


Communicating clearly

The retail industry might be aligned in its view of popular technologies - AI and RFID certainly won’t be alone in the innovations fighting for headlines in the next 12 months - but this only creates more noise for brands looking to make the presence felt.


Everyone wants to be seen and heard, and it only places more importance on the way a brand communicates its message. Defining and utilising key messages will help retail brands differentiate themselves from their competitors, creating focus on the unique benefits they can provide to show their true value.

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