Top Takeaways from NRF 2025

This was my first participation in NRF as anything other than a retailer. I read (and wrote!) quite a bit leading up to NRF, and I’ve started to absorb some of the commentary post-NRF. It’s all fascinating!! Approximately 40,000 people descended upon New York City to attend, up to half of them retailers. There were over 1,000 exhibitors, 100 plus keynotes, and party after party! I attended our own at The Boom–with ~300 attendees, The VIP Awards, and I also had the pleasure to hear Simone Biles speak at another. I am most drawn to actual retailers, those in the day-to-day grind of trying to grow their business, primarily focusing on revenue and margin (gross, contribution, and operating!) and all the different KPIs that roll up to those, as I’ve discussed ad nauseum including one of my “core belief” blogs on metrics!

Reflections on my NRF experience

The retailers had a bright yellow bar at the bottom of their badge, so it was clear that they fell into the bucket of  “a buyer.” I’m not even sure what all the other colors meant. In fact, I don’t even remember what color I was. Often, when I walked the floor, I put my badge underneath my vest, which continually stimulated curiosity from those in the booths, wondering how interesting I might actually be. The one thing that bonded all 40,000 of us together is everyone is trying to help their business grow in one way or another. 

I’ve read several post-NRF commentaries about “the one thing that you need to take away from NRF.” Looking back it’s just not that simple for me. Having been on the consumer side of the business as a ‘chief something officer’ since 1997, it’s hard for me to attend one of these conferences through anything other than the eyes of a retailer–not just because I’m trying to show empathy, simply because that’s what I am at my core.

For fabric, I would have to say NRF was wildly successful! Our new messaging around our core offering of fabric AI Order Cloud was clear; it generated real interest, and we left NRF with many opportunities and links to opportunities that we did not have before we arrived! We also made great inroads in our partnership ecosystem, which we are revamping to accommodate our new focused offering. And, of course, face time is the best time, so it was great to see fellow associates–many whom I had not ever met in person.

3 top takeaways from NRF 2025

If I had to list my takeaways from NRF, (I was there from Friday, the initial kickoff at the VIP awards dinner, all the way through until closing, with a few customer meetings following that), I would list the following three things—which honestly aren’t that much different than what I anticipated going in:

1. AI was dominant

AI was so dominant that many speakers even cracked jokes about it—about how sometimes it’s far more show than go, and everyone is changing their website to be a dot AI, marketing has shifted, etc. Retailers, platform providers, systems integrators, investors, and more all want to understand what your AI story is. My biggest takeaway from this was the same as my recommendation going in: Make sure you dig deep into the technology if you’re considering a new solution. NRF represents a huge investment in marketing for everyone who attended who was not a retailer. So their AI story, including ours, was or at least should have been as articulate and clear as humanly possible at this point in time. 

2. There was a focus on margins and profitability

5-10 years ago, the conferences I attended throughout the years were marketing-technologies focused–or seemed to be. I had a sense as I walked the floor and spoke with partners, platforms, and retailers alike that operations excellence, with a focus on the margin, EBITDA, and profit metrics, seemed to be in the front seat. 2025 brings some uncertainty around customer spend (I, for one, believe it’s going to be a very similar story as 2024), retailers have direct control over the systems processes and people that help contribute to their bottom lines. That’s a story that never gets old. I cut my teeth on the concept that cash is king, and at this point in my career, I will probably remain so inclined! Also, good news for fabric–that is the arena in which we play!

3. Retailers are ready to modernize without missing the mark

Lastly, despite all of the unknowns around customer sentiment and anticipated retail growth in 2025, there did seem to be a quest for concrete solutions to solve articulable problems–people don’t want to miss, but they also know they need to modernize. I got the distinct sense that people from the retail community are narrowing more precisely on the problems they’re trying to solve and, therefore, the subsequent platforms and partners they need to help solve them. It seemed a little more real. COVID brought great growth to the digital ecosystem. Post-COVID, there seemed to be a retraction, so 2025 could, in fact, bring about very targeted and pointed capital investments to improve (in an incremental fashion) technology stacks that become older and more difficult to manage.

Anyway, those are my observations from NRF! I hope every retailer, partner, and investor has an accretive 2025! More than anything, I hope the direct consumers realize positivity down to the individual level in 2025–because as retail consumers go, so go the retailers. And as the retailers go, so go all the partners and platforms that serve them. A rising tide lifts all boats, so here is to a fantastic 2025!

—

Curious how fabric AI Order Cloud can transform your operations and drive growth? Discover how our cutting-edge technology streamlines order management, enhances customer experiences, and empowers your business to thrive in today’s competitive market. Request a demo today and take the first step toward smarter, faster retail solutions!

---