NRF: Big retail media takeaways from The Big Show

InternetRetailing

What is NRF about? It’s the largest retailing conference in the world. Floors and floors of stands, myriads of presentations at any one time. The sort of place where, no matter how hard you try, you cannot find the stand or the floor you are looking for. Worse still, some of the conference parts of the Jacob Javits Centre are four floors away, and the queues for a presentation from a big name can be 300 metres long – or 984 feet and 3.024 inches in local currency.

Even the ketchup servings are bigger at “The Big Show”
Even the ketchup servings are bigger at “The Big Show”

What do you learn at the event? You learn very quickly that retail is about logistics, payments and shelving. It’s about the basics of getting the ‘retail is detail’ mantra correct.

However, you might be surprised to hear that the biggest stands of the lot were Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Shopify and Salesforce. Dinosaurs still walk the earth, apparently, as both IBM and NCR had stands. NCR stands for National Cash Register, founded in Ohio in the 1880s and it’s still going strong. Kerching.

So, aside from these stalwarts, what stood out at the event this year?

Agentic AI everywhere

You could not walk the floor without hearing about agentic AI and how AI assistants will help change the consumer experience. Instead of generative AI, all the big tech firms—Google, Salesforce, Amazon and ServiceNow—were talking about agentic AI, where systems don’t just respond but perform complex tasks with minimal human input. 

For example, Google’s latest innovation, Agentspace, gives retailers the tools to create advanced AI agents, which they say will “streamline operations by automating tasks like inventory management, customer service, and even loss prevention and bring personalisation to a new level.”

Screens everywhere

Screens everywhere; this is a display by Vusion
Screens everywhere; this is a display by Vusion

Aside from agentic AI, another big theme for Retail Media was “screens everywhere.” This isn’t just a takeout from NRF last week but also a megatrend. Forty per cent of shoppers say that “digital can change what they buy due to relevance and close proximity”, as Mark Boidman from Solomon Partners pointed out at the “What’s In-Store for Retail Media” conference. 

The “What’s In-Store for Retail Media” conference, organised by the team from Stratacache, had a healthy turnout of 500 people on a Saturday. There were speakers from Walgreens, Walmart, Costco Wholesale, Albertsons, Schwarz Group, REWE and Unlimitail, as well as brands like Danone, Bayer,and Mondelēz International. Agency expertise came from SMG and the international view from the team at IAB EU, represented by Daniel Knapp and Yara Daher.

Best of the rest

At the exhibition itself, some exhibitors stood out:

  • New players: Mirakl showcased its new Retail Media proposition. Already one of the biggest players in marketplaces, Mirakl is making a natural extension into Retail Media.
  • Aussies out in force: Not only were Australian retailers at the event, but fast-growing retail media adtech platforms also had their own stands, events and even hosted a Zitcha NYC Walking Tour, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how leading retailers are driving Retail Media.
  • Measurement: Measurement of in-store screens and their impact was a key focus at NRF. Startup Venvee and its CEO, James Bauer, spoke to retailers about how Venvee’s advanced computer vision, spatial artificial intelligence, and digital twin reconstructions are used to understand shopper behaviour in retail spaces.” The business already has its first retailer clients, promising to “bring transparency to audience measurement and enrich first-party loyalty data with in-store shopper behaviour”.
  • First-timers:
    + TopSort, a US-Chilean Retail Media AdTech vendor, was at NRF for the first time. Co-founders Regina Ye and Francisco Larrain tested the waters, showcasing their traction in Latin America, where they work with one of the region’s largest retailers, Magalu, Cencosud and Ambev.
    + Particular Audience – another Aussie team with their first NRF show with a stand at the Innovators Showcase. James Taylor and the team focus on hyper-personalised sponsored product ads and have some great clients. They were also practicing their video/podcast game on the stand, which made them the centre of attention.
    + Wi-Charge – over the air power solutions for digital LCD screens next to products that shoppers are exploring. No need for lots of power cables, which means that screens can be put, say, right beside a pair of sneakers to explain how it works dynamically. Ori Mor, Founder of Wi-Charge explained how retail media is an enabling technology that drives and facilitates the development of other technologies, innovations, or applications that are a strategic by-product of the original idea.”
  • New partners: The Vantage team attended NRF, presenting its Retail Media orchestration platform. Fresh from an announcement with Kevel, Vantage is growing on the back of their partnership with Home Depot—powering Orange Access, the analytics, insight, and advertising platform for The Home Depot’s retail media network, Orange Apron Media.
  • New customers: Stratacache made a big splash at NRF. It not only powered the “What’s In-Store for Retail Media” conference, but also announced a new deal with Currys Retail Media Network, Currys Connected Media. Currys, the largest UK electronics retailer, will use Stratacache technology to deliver targeted adverts on over 100 screens in its 297 UK and Ireland stores. The network is expected to generate around 40 million impressions annually.

Read More

Register for Newsletter

Created with Sketch.

Receive 3 newsletters per week

Created with Sketch.

Gain access to all Top500 research

Created with Sketch.

Personalise your experience on IR.net