NRF 2024: The Rise of AI

At NRF 2024, the star of the show was undoubtedly Artificial Intelligence. AI and its application have been a growing topic for the last few years and now it dominates the conversation and is reshaping the industry. This year’s NRF show was a return to form that was packed with attendees, new tech to show off, and guest speakers like Martha Stuart and Earvin “Magic” Johnson. There is no doubt that operations are back to normal, yet they will be looking a little different in the future.

The show floor was packed with new technology and AI was at the center of it all. The technology has had slow adoption over the last few years, yet more brands are now testing the waters and giving us a glimpse at what is possible. Traditionally, AI has been used to solve specific problems and finding the right use case has proven difficult for some companies. Many of the demonstrations and discussions at the show were about the use of generative artificial intelligence and how it surpasses the limitation of basic pattern recognition. An example of this is Abercrombie & Fitch’s CTO, Samir Desai, who uses generative AI to help generate product descriptions. For the apparel industry, AI could also be used to provide more personalized items and allowing customers to search for products based on their specific needs like a for certain event or geographic region. It also being used to capture real time customer information including demographics and shopping habits.

There was also some interesting tech on display at various booths. Amazon showcased Amazon One, which allows shoppers to pay with their palm and can even determine if a shopper is over 21. Microsoft showed off POS systems featuring AI avatars that helped customers complete their orders. Ulta discussed robots that could do nails and eyelash extensions as well as vending machines that distribute product samples. The show also featured the first ever foodservice section that will be even larger next year. In this section robotics were on display with pizza robots that outperformed their human counterparts and vending machines with hotdogs and hamburgers.

Many of the technologies on display at the show are in the testing phases, yet it won’t be long before they are implemented on a larger scale. Now is the time to act and get the most from the show by following up on leads and connections. It’s important to get in on the ground floor of these innovations instead of waiting until it is too late. Tools like generative AI and robotics are the future and they will be filling even more booths next year.