The National Retail Federation’s Big Show, which ran January 16-18 at New York’s Javits Center, managed to draw about 20,000 attendees and 800 exhibiting companies, 190 sessions with 300 different speakers and profile keynote presentations. Leaders from Walmart, Target, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Ave, IKEA, Ralph Lauren, IBM, Morgan Stanley, and Forrester, were among the notable presentations. The show floor was impressive this year, with a range of solutions to help retailers, from sourcing products to the in-store and online experience. The retail industry has performed incredibly well including 14% overall sales growth in 2021, according to Matthew Shay, CEO of NRF. Several brands, from the small startups to established retail and tech giants, made announcements that will continue to push the industry forward and accelerate economic recovery.
Brian Cornell, CEO Target, noted that customers returned to physical shopping over the holidays and were out there enjoying what retail can provide, “We feel more optimistic than we probably did six months ago about where we are, but we’re still living with COVID”.
He stressed that the focus on agility, adaptability, and flexibility will continue to be as important as ever and retailers need to anticipate and adjust as needed, “Each day we’re going to have to listen to consumers,” to flex and adjust.
To help navigate the numerous topics and sessions at NRF 2022, VMLY&R COMMERCE has curated a list of six major themes trending at the Big Show – from supply chain concerns to automation rules and more:
- Supply Chain Concerns & Sustainable Shopping
- Evolution of Creative Commerce
- Justice at Shelf (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
- Retailing into the Metaverse
- Future of Physical Retail
- Automation Rules
View the NRF Recap microsite for more.