Relevant, practical content and expert insights

The substance and value of NRF Nexus is like no other industry event. Our programmed content is highly vetted and informed by our expert Industry Advisory Board to ensure your time away from the office is well worth it.

We keep our content fresh, making sure you’re hearing from new voices as well as retail veterans. NRF Nexus will expose you to expert insights you can use to re-evaluate your business strategies and refresh your thinking about where you need to go from here to keep your brand at the top of its game.

The future of retail: Staying competitive is the name of the game

The pressure to outperform the competition is stronger than ever. This year, we’ve created a line-up of timely content about the topics you care about most.

Consumer Trends

Through detailed and accurate forecasts, hear how consumer behaviors, interests and tastes will shape how people live, work and play. Understand how to anticipate big lifestyle shifts within and between generation groups and create experiences that meet their needs.  

GenAI Reality Check

GenAI is transforming the retail enterprise internally. Hear real-world stories from retail peers about the broad ROI AI-enabled solutions are creating in areas such as product design, customer support, content development, and no-code/low-code IT development.

Competing with China’s Online Retail Powerhouses

The meteoric rise of China-based online retailers has many other retail companies scrambling for effective competitive strategies. How can retailers respond with a convincing value proposition when faced with on-demand business models and low prices?

MarTech: 1st Party Data Strategies

Consumers are getting smarter in how they research goods and services, and the process they take to make purchasing decisions. This also means a rise in customer experience expectations when they willingly offer up personal information. It’s up to your organization to explore strategies for using technology wisely when capturing this first-party data effectively and securely.

Removing Barriers to Seamless Commerce

Retailers continue to implement improvements to the customer experience across multiple shopping channels. With so many consumer touchpoints, how can brands deliver truly seamless commerce by reducing friction for shoppers all along the buyer’s journey?

New Horizons in Social Commerce

Social media platforms have become the new front door into your retail business. Convenience, personalization, interactivity and community-driven shopping experiences will continue to revolutionize how many customers discover and buy products online. Hear from experts who are harnessing the power of social commerce now and preparing for its evolution.

The Convergence of Entertainment and Retail

We’ve moved well beyond the old days of the celebrity brand spokesperson. The intersection of entertainment and retail has boomed and transitioned to in-store experiences and partnerships across all media forms. As more consumer behavior is influenced by popular culture and entertainers, how can your business capitalize on this growing trend?

UX/CX Imperatives

Easy-to-navigate user experiences are paramount for increasing ecommerce success and repeat sales. Hear from our UX/CX experts about how leading retailers are meeting and exceeding online buyer expectations using multivariate and AI-enabled testing and personalization practices.

GenAI Impacts on SEO

Generative AI is reshaping the SEO landscape, moving from keyword-based strategies to more contextual, personalized and conversational approaches. Businesses need to adapt by creating content that not only ranks high in traditional searches but also can be optimized for AI-generated results. This means embracing AI optimization (AIO), leveraging AI tools for content creation and focusing on answer-first, natural language and personalized content to stay relevant in an evolving SEO world.

Understanding Gen Z

Gen Z, also known as Zoomers, has created an interesting challenge for retailers trying to woo this 12- to 27-year-old consumer group. Having experienced the explosion of the internet and social media firsthand, along with a global pandemic in their formative years, their buying behaviors can be difficult to pin down. Let our experts help uncover useful insights about this important market.

Quantum Computing at Inflection Point

Quantum takes overly complex mathematical queries and “solves” them in a fraction of the time it takes for normal computing power. No longer limited to tech giants, quantum computing today is less expensive with more shared computing resources. As a result, the retail industry is finding new ways to access this analytical power and its implications for customer experience.

Maintaining Brand Loyalty

It’s time for broader thinking and new strategies to keep your existing customers delighted, actively engaged, and eager to buy now, buy later and spread the word!

Embrace future frontiers

Whether it’s experiencing idea-generating presentations from visionary leaders in conference keynotes or forming opportunity-opening connections in expert-led think tanks, here’s what you’ll explore.

The Future of Commerce

The retail industry has undergone significant changes in recent years, with the rise of e-commerce, mobile commerce, and social commerce disrupting traditional retail models. Hear about the current state of commerce in retail, including trends, challenges, and opportunities using the latest data and insights on consumer behavior, preferences, and expectations. Learn valuable insights and actionable strategies to help drive growth and success retail businesses.

Consumer Trends 2025 and beyond

Forward-looking consumer insights inform valuable strategies for retailers. Know your consumers and stay ahead of lifestyle shifts with unrivalled insight into the way they’ll think, feel and behave for years to come. Through detailed and accurate consumer forecasts, hear how consumer behaviors, interests and tastes will shape how consumers live, work and play. Understand how to anticipate big lifestyle shifts within and between generation groups and develop products and services that meet consumer needs.

AI Today and Tomorrow

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being put to the test, in many cases learning from past years’ tire-kick-testing to provide real-world solutions and core capabilities across the retail enterprise. Sessions will offer practitioner insights on AI uses cases that are up and running today to enhance productivity and agility, breakdown barriers for tech, digital and ecommerce leaders, and provide sustained positive results to fuel future investments in AI across the enterprise.

MarTech Innovation

Explore how disruption is driving innovation and unlocking force-multiplier value for retailers through new marketing technology capabilities. Discover the latest technologies and strategies that support the rise of authentic content marketing, chatbots, voice search, data analytics related to consumer intent, social media marketing, and engaging user experiences. Don't miss this opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and learn from top industry experts. 

Supercharging Unified Commerce

The future of unified commerce will evolve through advanced technology, integrating AI, IoT, and data analytics for deeper customer insights and personalized experiences. Learn how the next generation of unified commerce promises to redefine shopping experiences by creating more seamless, real-time transactions across multiple touchpoints, combined with fast-evolving technologies like augmented reality and voice commerce. This evolution will focus on further enhancing convenience, personalization, and predictive strategies, thereby reshaping the retail landscape and consumer interactions in a more tech-savvy and customer-centric manner. 

What’s New in Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics in retail continually evolves to personalize experiences, optimize inventory, and refine pricing strategies. Advancements in customer segmentation, AI-driven recommendations, and sentiment analysis drive tailored marketing and product offerings. Predictive maintenance, supply chain optimization, and fraud prevention streamline operations. Augmented reality and virtual reality enhance immersive shopping experiences. Hear what’s coming in the constant innovation that’s shaping retail analytics, ensuring responsive strategies and improved customer satisfaction. 

The Future of Social Commerce

In the near-term future, social commerce envisions the seamless integration of shopping within social media platforms, employing advanced AI for personalized recommendations and interactive experiences. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) will redefine product visualization, enhancing user engagement. Social commerce will evolve into a dynamic space where influencers and user-generated content drive purchasing decisions, blurring the lines between entertainment, social interaction, and e-commerce. Convenience, personalization, and community-driven shopping experiences will dominate, revolutionizing how people discover and buy products online. Understand how to prepare for the next generation of social commerce. 

Advances in AR/VR

Recent advancements in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are reshaping the retail landscape. Enhanced AR applications enable virtual try-on experiences, allowing customers to visualize products in their environment. New advancements in VR, like Apple’s new Apple Vision Pro headset, facilitates immersive shopping environments, enabling customers to explore products in a simulated space. Innovations in AI-powered recommendation systems and interactive experiences are revolutionizing online shopping, providing a personalized and interactive approach for consumers. Hear how these technologies are bridging the gap between physical and digital retail, offering an engaging, convenient, and customized shopping experience.

Session Topics