Four retail trends presented at NRF 2025

The big events bring us important trends and reflections. This time, NRF 2025, held at the Javits Convention Center in New York, showed that, even with all the strength of digital, physical stores remain the heart of local retail, integrated with the most advanced technologies to meet the demands of the sector. During the event, discussions focused on topics such as technology, personalization, social commerce and the reinvention of physical stores, turning them into unique and unforgettable experiences for consumers.

Considered the largest and most influential trade fair in the sector, NRF, organized by the National Retail Federation, every year brings together market giants, visionary startups and technology experts to discuss the future of commerce. For Cesar Baleco, CEO of IRRAH Group, a Paranaense group present at the event that serves 70 countries with digital solutions for fashion and retail, attending the event was an opportunity to bring innovations that really make a difference in people's daily lives.

“Unique experiences, community connection and integration with online are the keys to transforming retail. Our commitment is to continue innovating to surprise and facilitate the customer journey”, he says.

Among the main trends presented, Caesar points out four highlights that drew attention during the event and how they work in practice:

Customer-centric technology: Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming retail, enabling personalization at scale and experiences that reduce consumer effort.The key, experts say, is to dream big, start small and act quickly.

In practice, applying AI in retail involves collecting customer data to create personalized experiences in real time, such as product recommendations and automated interactions by chatbots.It also allows you to optimize the buying process, making it more efficient and intuitive, and helping in the creation of personalized marketing campaigns.

The key is to start with simple solutions, perform quick tests and continuously improve based on the feedback obtained, ensuring continuous customization that best meets customer needs and creates a frictionless experience.This means offering the customer a simple, fluid and unhindered process throughout the entire brand interaction journey, whether in the physical store, online or in other channels.

“The idea is to minimize or eliminate any barrier that may cause dissatisfaction, delays or difficulty for the consumer through an intuitive website or application, a quick navigation, reduce queues with automatic tellers, for example, or even implement chatbots or efficient virtual assistants”, comments Cesar Baleco.

Stores as connection hubs: Turning physical stores into connecting hubs means creating immersive, interactive spaces that go beyond simply buying products, offering experiences that establish emotional connections between customers and the brand, strengthening loyalty. Examples such as IKEA and LEGO perfectly illustrate this approach, by creating environments full of storytelling and design that delight consumers.

Social commerce on the rise: Social commerce brings the convenience of shopping directly to social networks, using influencers to create an authentic and engaging experience, as well as leveraging features like live shopping to drive sales. It transforms the way consumers discover and buy products, creating new opportunities for engagement and loyalty.

Sustainability to stay: It means offering products that are durable and ethical, as well as adopting responsible business practices. By aligning with values of environmental preservation and social justice, brands can retain conscious consumers who seek to make a difference through their purchase choices.

For the director of IRRAH, NRF 2025 made it clear that the retail of the future needs to balance technological innovation with a strong human connection, reinforcing the vision of always putting the customer first. “We are attentive to market transformations, but above all, we seek solutions that really positively impact the lives of our customers”, said Baleco E he concludes: “With these trends that were widely discussed and highlighted during NRF, the Group remains aligned to the changes that are shaping retail, investing in technology and purpose to continue surprising and delighting its customers.