The world’s largest retail conference and expo, NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show closed out with a bang on Tuesday. This year’s event brought together over 38,000 attendees, including over 10,000 international attendees, to discuss the latest in retail tech, strategy, leadership, economy and many more topics.
Focus on technology
The retail industry’s transformation was the focus of this year’s show, and technology was a big draw both on stage and in the expo — Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen talked about how the largest grocery chain in the United States is using different technologies to achieve different goals. Concepts like artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, facial recognition and the digital store were popular topics. Walmart and eBay spoke about investing in logistics to get a competitive edge in the marketplace. Online marketplaces are also picking up steam, and many brands are getting into the game. And retail execs emphasized the focus on human employees and the need for talent development in the industry.
Social media roundup
“Our brand is not about any product we sell, it’s about the relationships that are created.” #nrf2019
— NRF (@NRFnews) January 15, 2019
- @brandless co-founder and CEO Tina Sharkey pic.twitter.com/Ur4SrJTILm
“The number one thing is looking deeply into your supply chain and not just stopping there.” @patagonia CEO Rose Marcario talking the importance of transparency in supply chain. #NRF2019 pic.twitter.com/3Esp43Y3hH
— NRF (@NRFnews) January 15, 2019
Jeff Gennette, CEO @Macys reminds the audience that “every retailer needs to be maniacally focused on their customer journey.” pic.twitter.com/umnvWXyYm4
— NRF (@NRFnews) January 15, 2019
Entreprenuers Chip and Joanna Gaines of Magnolia fame closed out the show with lessons learned while building their empire:
“For us we’ve done a lot of our business based on gut instinct. When there‘s creativity and passion there’s a lot of opportunity.” #nrf2019
— NRF (@NRFnews) January 15, 2019
- @joannagaines & @chipgaines pic.twitter.com/mfls6IXDRC
Visit the official recap for more from the show, including videos, session presentations, articles and media coverage.