From Omnichannel to Unified Commerce: NRF Big Show Takeaways

CI&T kicked off Q1 by attending the NRF Big Show, one of the leading retail conferences, gathering nearly 40,000 retail experts from some top global brands. The Big Show always provides the chance to peek ahead at what retailers are most likely prioritising from an innovation and budgetary perspective. Reading between the lines during sessions and looking at how topics are covered serves to determine the most likely challenges for the industry as well. 

Very few session titles were missing “AI.” AI was intended to be woven into every topic from marketing to pricing to supply chain to data analytics to merchandising. Still, many of these conversations focused much more on the outcomes rather than the how. At a high level, AI’s use in each of these contexts came down to optimisation of inputs to efficiently create outputs such as more comprehensive customer profiles, improved inventory management, added associate support, enhanced promotional strategies, and more compelling store presentations. 

This year’s NRF Big Show agenda demonstrated the industry understanding that AI hasn’t yet been mastered in all the ways it could, and there was significant focus on its ability to better brick-and-mortar experiences for employees and shoppers. RFID technology received common mention as providing the data foundation that would greatly benefit physical retail. A couple of sessions specifically covering RFID praised item-level tagging for its ability to make store associates’ roles easier and more efficient. With RFID item-level tagging, cycle counting can happen daily, replenishment can occur much faster, associates can help shoppers find what they’re looking for instantaneously, and checking items into stores takes far less time from associates. These metrics are just a few examples of the data that becomes accessible via RFID, which can then be fed into AI models in order to impact future product development, lower return rates, merchandise stores, and empower associates.

Retail thought leadership is often about buzzwords, and this year, the term “omnichannel” was overtaken by “unified commerce.” “Omnichannel” has long been how retailers characterized the increasing number of shopping touchpoints and the nonlinear movement from websites to apps to stores to social media when shifting from discovery to purchase. While the industry conversation historically focused heavily on “omnichannel” behaviours, in the last year, that discussion has evolved to acknowledge the digital transformations (big or small) required to make this nonlinear perusing possible. Enter “unified commerce.” Thanks to the rising popularity of the term “unified commerce” in the retail thought leadership world, the sessions at NRF this year were much more technical. The “how” in reference to the technological decisions and providers facilitating unified commerce got closer to centre stage.

It’s incredibly important to note that although the technology behind best-practice customer experiences received a large portion of this year’s conference spotlight, brick-and-mortar stores were a very hot topic. As Scott Devlin, CIO of The Vitamin Shoppe explained to me in our fireside chat on day one of the Big Show, “all channels are digital channels, especially including brick and mortar.” Devlin took great pride in saying that interactions between The Vitamin Shoppe store associates and shoppers are greatly enriched because of the digital footprint associates can leverage when assisting customers. This was a significant throughline across the Big Show this year- brick-and-mortar is a key component of many retailers’ successful digital ecosystems. Another key takeaway from my chat with Devlin that was echoed throughout the conference was the value in building flexible architectures that can support innovation on an ongoing basis. Devlin, like many other retail executives at the Big Show, shared the decision to de-platform and build a composable commerce solution, wherein they can select best-of-breed providers for each necessary capability. At the same time, a large undertaking, has allowed them to update the technology stack on a much more iterative, rapid basis without disrupting the customer experience.

So, what was noticeably missing from the Big Show? Retail Media Networks were hardly a part of any session titles or descriptions. My hypothesis going into the show was that so much had previously been said about Retail Media Networks that the maturity of the topic meant it could take a backseat to AI. Reflecting on the minimal presence of Retail Media Networks in the agenda leads me to believe that while there is still innovation to pursue there, it is less of an open space for thought leadership than AI. 

Unfortunately, sustainability was also hardly mentioned at the Big Show. As Jennifer Hyman, founder and CEO of Rent the Runway, stated, fast fashion continues to grow more quickly than ever before. Fast fashion, of course, isn’t the only retail contributor to climate change. However, the non-fast fashion brands weren’t discussing sustainability metrics or goals. But, as Meera Bhatia, COO of Fabletics, articulated, brands will need to develop more sustainable practices and methods for measuring their progress with the upcoming environmental regulations imposed on businesses. 

We will see what 2025 brings for retailers and shoppers alike, but there is no doubt that given the emphasis on AI, any way retailers decide to grow will depend upon their commitment to smart data management. If brands are to offer the right products, at the right prices, in the right places, by way of the best shopping experiences, they will need to embrace the spirit of unified commerce, refine their data strategy to support their AI intentions, and put effort towards caring about the environment. 

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