If you’re a retail industry professional, you are very likely preparing vigorously for NRF ’24 in New York City, January 14-16. We are too, and we’re zeroed in on a handful of retail themes we think will permeate the discourse this year.
As an event that covers nearly every facet of retailing, the massive NRF agenda can overwhelm. The organizers expect this year’s show, with 170 educational sessions and 1,000 exhibitors, will attract an expected 40,000 attendees, of which roughly one-third will be international visitors.
Beyond the C-level executives and A-list celebrities on the Keynote stage, the conference program is packed with presentations that promise to deliver practical knowledge and fresh perspectives.
At DemandTec we know from experience how much it helps to approach NRF with an organizing principle. We’ve been sifting through the agenda to zero in on the influential ideas and must-see appearances that attendees should consider adding to their personal show agendas. Here are the industry themes we’ll have our eye on at this year’s show, along with our top picks for sessions that address them:
1. Pricing Strategy
As always, how to effectively price products for optimal revenue, profits and sell-through will be a top-of-mind topic at this year’s Show. Pricing strategy is of course foundational, and it extends far beyond establishing margin rules and managing the price book. Sessions at this year’s show incorporate price strategy from several angles, including responses to inflation, promotion optimization, omni-channel pricing, the impact of store execution on maintaining price competitiveness, and even dynamic and intra-day pricing.
Our top pick: Mark Kotcher, Senior Vice President, Field Sales & Marketing, Save A Lot, discusses how his company has found superior in-store execution can be the key to unlocking lower prices while preserving expected quality. (Tuesday, Jan. 16, 9:15 AM.)
2. Supplier-Vendor Collaboration
Collaboration is more than an ideal – it’s a way of building shared success grounded in transparent data sharing and trust. Often discussed in the context of the supply chain, at this year’s NRF, various presenters will address the value of collaboration in joint promotion planning, retail planning/forecasting/omnichannel inventory optimization, location, and connectivity.
Our top pick: Linda Lomelino, Senior Director, Product Management at Walmart Data Ventures will discuss how her company enables its U.S. suppliers to tap Walmart’s proprietary first-party data to improve every touchpoint on the customer journey. (Monday Jan. 15, 11:00 AM.)
3. Shopper-Centricity
Long a stated goal among retailers, now Loyalty and personalization,. Future of Loyalty/build lifelong loyalty using data and intelligent pricing methodology. Grow trust, purpose and culture. now blending into the fast-moving world of retail media.
Our top pick: Christina Hennington, Target Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer addresses the return to retail fundamentals like customer service, inventory management, merchandising and pricing strategy. (Monday Jan. 15, 12:10 PM.)
4. AI-Enhance Retailing
Artificial intelligence is hardly a brand-new concept for the retail industry, but this year the high-profile arrival of Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Bard, OpenAI and others has captured the attention of retail decision makers. Advocates tout the potential for these advanced tools to streamline decision-making and content creation and reveal faster, more actionable insight. Skeptics raise concerns about over-reliance on new tech before it is well-understood and its unknown impact on jobs.
All agree that clean, trusted data is essential for large language models and other AI solutions to deliver accurate forecasts and fact-based results. Terms like “machine vision” and “conversational AI” are also coming into the mainstream. The application of various AI-enabled tools into store operations promises to change the way decisions are made and work gets done.
Our top pick: Glenn Allison, Vice President, Customer Facing Applications Development, Tractor Supply company will discuss why his company views Generative AI as the future and describe the path it is taking to get there. It is embracing real-time Generative AI to enable voice and text natural language capabilities. (Monday, Jan. 15, 2:00 PM.)
5. What’s Next in Grocery
Consumers have been whipsawed by inflation over the past several years, and grocery retailers are looking for guideposts to understand behavioral changes and practical methods to offer the best possible value. Several sessions address the impact of recent economic realities from varying perspectives, and the NRF will again provide a press-only briefing on the topic from a panel of economists.
Our top pick: Yael Cosset, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at The Kroger Co. examines North American market trends and the year ahead in an interview with Sucharita Kodali, VP and Principal Analyst of Forrester Research. (Sunday Jan. 14 12:40 PM.)
More to Consider: Big Names on the Main Stage
NRF perennially attracts some of the most highly-visible retail influencers in the world to its keynote stage. This year will be no exception. Here are some sessions that promise to be standing-room-only:
Top Retail Leaders:
- John Furner, President and CEO of Walmart U.S. and NRF Chairman opens the show on Sunday morning with a brief “State of the Industry”
- Bob Eddy, Chairman and CEO, BJ’s Wholesale Club – “Making the Shift to Consumer Obsession”
- Edward W. Stack, Executive Chairman, DICK’S Sporting Goods – “The Visionary 2024”
- Dave Kimbell, Chief Executive Officer, Ulta Beauty – “Beauty Redefined”
- Hal Lawton, President and CEO, Tractor Supply Company – “Trust, Purpose and Culture”
- Mark Metrick, CEO, Saks – “Evolution of the Luxury Experience”
- James Daunt, Chief Executive Officer, Barnes & Noble – “Market Makers”
A-List Celebrities:
- Earvin “Magic” Johnson, NBA Legend, Chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises
- Martha Stewart, Creator of Martha Stewart Living Magazine, Founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
- Drew Barrymore, Talk Show Host, Actress, Co-Founder, Barrymore Brands
