Top Takeaways for Retailers From NRF Retail’s Big Show

Insights From NRF 2026: Trends and Innovations Shaping Retail

If there’s one thing you should know from NRF Retail’s Big Show, it’s that the strongest retailers are leaning into innovation and the newest retail technologies—and using them to their advantage. To summarize the experience for those in the retail industry and anyone who couldn’t make it, we’re covering the top takeaways for retailers from NRF Retail’s Big Show.

Curious where retail technology is headed in the coming year, what retailers are prioritizing, and how those insights connect to real-world challenges and opportunities? Keep reading to find out all this and more.

What is NRF Retail’s Big Show 2026?

NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show took place on January 11-13 at the Javits Center in New York City. This annual event showcases new technology, ideas, and innovation, featuring expert insights and peer conversations between individuals and companies in the retail industry. The 3-day event includes:

• 175+ sessions to attend
• A hub to connect with new startups
• 1,000+ industry partners
• Guided, in-depth expo tours
• An AI stage with curated sessions
• Networking opportunities
• Retail store tours
• And more

RTI had the opportunity to attend NRF 2026, where our team gained incredible value from the experience firsthand. Through our experience at Retail’s Big Show, our team learned more about new technology, connected through conversations with our peers, and discovered how retailers are innovating and reshaping our industry. By sharing the trends and opportunities our team saw, heard, and experienced at the showcase, our goal is to offer insights that retailers and our partners can utilize in the coming year.

NRF Retail Trends: What Retailers are Prioritizing this Year

• Greater efficiency and labor optimization with AI
• Unified commerce and platform consolidation
• Data visibility across inventory and stores
  
  

Where Retail Technology is Headed in 2026

Moving From AI Hype to Execution

The biggest change addressed at NRF 2026 is the jump from AI hype to actual implementation. While AI has been around for a while now, many retailers haven’t been using the technology to its full potential (or at all). This year’s showcase leaned heavily on AI and even included a new AI stage, complete with knowledgeable peer insights and strategies.

Next-Gen Retail Devices

Next-gen retail devices are the next big step for retailers in the coming years. Gone are the days where a simple cash register can carry your company. With shoppers found online and across various platforms, your technology needs to match.

For businesses to truly thrive, the most successful corporations are moving steadily with growing technology, opening themselves up to new technologies and ideas. Modern day POS systems and other tech are built to integrate themselves across multiple platforms, retaining information throughout digital and physical stores.

Related Content: Why Modernizing the Shopping Experience Matters

RFID and Flexible Self-Service Experiences

RFID (radio frequency identification) and other flexible self-service experiences are yet another rapidly emerging trend that’s being used in 2026 and beyond. These advanced scanners improve inventory management, speed up checkout times, and enhance theft protection.

RFID and self-service solutions support greater accuracy and faster experiences for consumers, ensuring a better customer experience and improved tracking needs are both met. This alone can help your company thrive amidst a vast amount of competitors in your industry.

Real-World Challenges Retailers Are Facing in 2026

Staffing Shortages and Efficiency Problems

Many retailers are experiencing staffing shortages and efficiency problems in their stores. Whether they don’t have the budget to hire extra hands, the sales patterns are hard to predict, or extra time is needed for simple tasks, retail companies are left trying to find a good solution. 

Meeting Customer Expectations

As technology expands, customer expectations do too. The fact of the matter is that customers are seeing new technology across storefronts and come to expect it at their preferred location. When point of sale systems and checkouts are outdated, your customer is the first to feel the difference between you and more advanced competitors. The ease of another store’s technology and overall customer experience can be the dominating factor in brand loyalty.

Slow, Unreliable Retail Devices

Retail stores with shoddy wifi or outdated devices are a customer’s worst nightmare. In 2026, customers love speed and efficiency. Slow, unreliable retail devices like POS systems, self-checkout kiosks, and other retail devices severely deplete credibility. Customers hate long lines and slow store experiences. To keep up with more advanced stores, innovation isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity.

Disconnected Systems and Messaging

The future of retail tech is everywhere. Literally. Gone are the days when retail store locations could rely on the simplicity of a classic cash register and nothing more. A huge challenge for retailers right now is disconnected systems and messaging caused by outdated technology and incompatible devices.

Opportunities for the Future of Retail

To address these real-world challenges, retailers can take steps to enhance the customer experience through new technologies and more innovative processes.

Automate to Offset Staffing Shortages

Automation is key in 2026 and beyond to both offset staffing shortages and simplify the entire sales process both in-store and online. Regardless of what platforms companies are using, AI automation can save you time and money while improving the customer experience.

Modernize the In-Store Experience for Customer Expectations

Modernizing the in-store experience to meet and exceed customer expectations is an attainable goal with the right technology. Using advanced POS systems, self-checkout kiosks, and other advanced retail tech ensures that you’re keeping up with both consumer and company needs. This one switch can save ample amounts of time and keep customers using your services rather than switching to another provider that does it better.

Invest in Reliable, High-Performance Retail Devices

If you’re constantly suffering from wifi drops, a POS system that consistently needs to be restarted, or simply slow, outdated retail technology, investing in newer, reliable devices is a must. Updated retail technology features faster, more integrated systems that offer impressive speeds for consumers and employees, more tools at your disposal, and greater assistance that allows customers to go at their own pace—which ends up being much faster than what you originally offered.

Unify Systems with Data Syncing Across Devices and Channels

Updated retail technology is the key to data syncing across multiple devices, store locations, and marketing channels. Whether a business needs in-store and online options, newer point of sale and checkout equipment offers greater capabilities for syncing consumer data, inventory, and so much more.

Top Takeaways from NRF Retail’s Big Show

1. Innovating with Agentic AI to Achieve Retail Business Goals

The top takeaway from NRF 2026, agentic AI, is the “new front door to retail.” Unlike traditional artificial intelligence softwares, AI agents take the technology a step further by not merely reacting, but by planning and executing workflows. In a retail setting, agentic AI can be seen through:

• Autonomous Inventory: Retailers use AI to track supply and demand, predict inventory patterns, and trigger restocks.

• Hyper-Personalized Shopping: To mimic in-store employees, AI acts as a consumer’s personal shopper, recommending and completing purchases with consumer consent.

• Intelligent Customer Service: AI agents handle customer inquiries, offer in-store assistance at kiosks and other devices, and manage routine tasks.

This trend is supported by Google news stating that its new agent, Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, works directly with retail companies. Built for agentic retail needs, it “transforms search, commerce and service touch points into one seamless journey.”

By utilizing AI in your retail experience, the idea is that more will be handled and taken off your plate, so you won’t need as many hands-on employees for various monotonous tasks.

Related Content: 5 Ways to Future-Proof Your Retail Technology and Business

2. Unifying Retail Platforms for a Frictionless Experience

Next up for top takeaways at NRF 2026 is unifying retail platforms. Multichannel marketing is becoming a huge factor in company success, and the best retail companies are finding ways to bridge these channels. Modern retail devices are more than capable of supporting these initiatives, but some companies are still using traditional, unsupported devices.

To achieve a frictionless sales experience, companies can upgrade their retail technology to bridge across platforms. For example, a clothing company might have multiple stores across the country that use POS systems and checkout devices that all need to be connected to their online inventory and ordering system. Unifying these systems under a single, cohesive cloud-based system helps solve a majority of problems.

Related Content: Enhanced Efficiency and Customer Experience with Next-Gen POS Systems

3. AI-Powered Data Ecosystems and AIDC Technologies

AI-powered data ecosystems and AIDC (automatic identification and capture) technologies was another theme at NRF 2026. AIDC tools like RFID (radio frequency identification) and barcode scanning allow retailers to gain inventory data in real-time.

By combining these tools, retailers get a better understanding of how their sales work and increase visibility into their inventory levels. The result at each location is better-kept stock, anticipating and solving consumer needs, and reducing tracking errors. 

4. Prioritizing Action Over Perfection

Many retailers are waiting for the perfect time to upgrade their technology to fit the newest trends. Whether it’s for budget reasons or simply waiting until everything is aligned, the best way to move forward is to prioritize action over perfection. The sooner a retail company jumps on the bandwagon, the sooner they can start to see process improvements in real-time.

Even upgrading and trying out a portion of retail technology at a time can help your business scale up in the long run. Adding more modern technology throughout your storefront sooner rather than later shows that you’re invested in your customers and their experience as a whole. A little goes a long way.

The most innovative retailers are adopting a more fluid approach by testing new technologies and learning to adapt and grow with them rather than waiting for the perfect time to implement new solutions. In a high-tech industry that’s constantly evolving, the best option is to try to keep up.

Retail Tech at NRF 2026

At our Retail Tech Inc. booth at NRF 2026, the RTI team showcased our innovative technology solutions. Highlighting our expansive solutions partners, comprehensive services, and in-store devices and solutions, our goal is to help retail companies grow. Starting with updated, more reliable technologies, we help our clients enhance customer experiences.

• Expansive Partner Network: RTI works with advanced retail technology brands, including Toshiba, Zebra, Epson, HP, Lenovo, Elo, and more, to deliver high-speed, reliable in-store devices.

• Full Lifecycle of Services: RTI offers comprehensive services for retail tech, including product procurement, in-store deployment, ongoing maintenance, device disposal, and more.
  
  
• Store Systems Solutions: Using advanced retail devices and technology combined with 20+ years of expertise, RTI specializes in POS registers, mobile devices, barcode and RFID scanners, interactive touchscreens and displays, and more.

Related Content: Why Choose an All-in-One POS Provider

Featured Speakers and Keynote Highlights

• Kecia Steelman (CEO at Ulta Beauty): The evolution of “Experience Economy” and how Ulta uses data to bridge digital discovery and in-store purchases
• Harley Finkelstein (President at Shopify): Using unified commerce to bridge physical storefronts with social media shopping
• Dana Mathews (Chief Digital and Tech Officer at Taco Bell): Connecting fast food restaurant kitchens with drive-thru lanes with kiosks and agentic AI 
• Diana Marshall (EVP and Chief Experience Officer at Sam’s Club): Utilizing computer vision and AI at exits to replace manual receipt checks
• Caroline Brown (Global President at The North Face): Discussed using RFID and data ecosystems to manage complex global supply chains and track inventory

NRF Retail’s Big Show 2027

If you missed this year’s showcase and hope to be at the next one, NRF 2027 is already in the works for January 10-12, 2027, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in NYC. You can sign up as a sponsor or show your exhibit on the NRF website.

Ready to Transform Your Retail Technology for 2026?

You can turn NRF 2026 insights into action with our team at Retail Tech Inc. RTI offers comprehensive retail technology solutions that include finding your ideal tech, creating in-store floor plans, deploying equipment, and offering continual support for your devices. To innovate and advance your retail store, keep up with your consumers, and amplify success, reach out today to get started.

Talk to an RTI Expert