NRF 2025: Where to start?

From January 12 to 14, the traditional NRF 2025 National Retail Federation, Big Show, took place in New York, USA. In its 115th edition, it has been, globally, the largest annual retail event, attended by more than 70 countries and attracted about 38,000 participants and a significant representation of Brazil, with more than 2,000 participants.

Many articles have been published about the event, and before commenting on it, I will mention another event that precedes NRF, the annual meeting of the FIRA & International Federation of Retail Associations.

The FIRA meeting was attended by 28 retail associations from 19 countries on all continents, showing the strength of retail in the world, in which IDV (Institution for Retail Development) was present in Brazil.

We can infer that the participating countries have very similar concerns, with due proportions: high inflation, high interest rates, low economic growth, government performance issues and, in Europe, concerns about the low birth rate. There was no enthusiasm for the future of the economy in most countries, except the United States, certainly motivated by the moment of government transition.

A common point, and of prominence, at the FIRA meeting, was the exponential growth in recent years of exports of small volumes (cross-border) from Asian countries to practically all countries present, in which most of them are, say, “disoriented” what they should do to contain them. In this sense, we can say that Brazil is on the right track, because we have started a governance aimed at competitive equity with the Remessa Conforme program, which begins to show results, although still insufficient.

Returning to NRF 2025, during the event, 250 lectures were given that covered a variety of topics, very important for the retail sector, and there was also a wide area of product and service exhibition, with about 800 exhibitors, who presented innovations that are shaping the future of retail, from payment solutions to advanced data analysis tools.

The findings published in the world press on NRF 2025 highlighted several important points, such as:

• Physical stores are reinventing themselves, so as well as attracting customers, they can keep them inside longer, resulting in the growing importance of personalization and customer experience in modern retail.
• The crucial role of sustainability and social responsibility in retail operations, themes present in several lectures, but with less intensity this year.
• The impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, focusing on increasing productivity, improving operations, understanding consumer behavior and communication.
• The gains made with the effective implementation of the omnichannel, indispensable for growth and success in retail.
• Advances in marketing and monetization of digital and physical spaces, with endless possibilities of retail media,.

With so many lectures and exhibitors of technology of products and services, an important volume of raw material was generated for many companies specialized in retail to make excellent meetings in Brazil of post-NRF.

Who was in NRF or has already informed themselves well about what was presented at the event, depending on the structure and size of the company, may be wondering:

Where to start?

The answer is complex. All available technology, such as the fully autonomous store 2 CONTROLLING everything from customer entry, replacement of goods, payment by digital means of purchase, etc. 2 I.E., the checkout by images without the use of the barcode, the inventory of goods on the store floor made by robots, the digital media strategies with the use of generative artificial intelligence and all the other wonders and strategies presented, depend, first of all, on having a structured database, solid and constantly updated, specialized people and choice of the right tools. Without this initial structure, very well implemented, there is a significant risk of failure.

The use of advanced technologies is no longer a trend, but a strategic need for companies that want to remain relevant in the market.

So, Brazilian retail has an important mission, to follow technological trends, implement them and, at the same time, ensure the return of investments made in technology, something challenging for all retail sizes, in particular for medium and small companies, which suffer from the scarcity of financial resources.

The retail sector, which represents about 25% of GDP, for its importance in the economy, requires public and private financial support programs that enable its technological development, supporting the construction of a thriving and modern retail in Brazil.