In Review: National Retail Federation’s Big Show NYC 2023
2023, and NRF’s BigShow (probably, the biggest retail show on Earth) came back in full strength. Putting behind the crazy years of the pandemic, the BigShow focused on what it does best - bringing people together.?
Held in Javits Center, right in the center of Manhattan, this three days’ show and its numerous panels, forums and expo area generated a buzz of energy - one focused on people and customer’s experience.?
These are a few of our highlights:
Reckon.ai was in booth #1557!
Ok. Sorry for this moment of shameless self pride. But we are just a small startup ailing from Porto, Portugal, so, for us this was a big moment! We had our own booth on the first floor of the National Retail Federation , showcasing our AI and Computer-Vision technology. Our small fully autonomous microstore performed dozens of demos to retailers, payment systems providers and curious people that just wanted to experience first-hand the retail revolution. We are glad they did and we could have a chat about how technology can positively transform retail.
Technology, technology, technology
And that was something that seemed to be on everyone’s tongue. From Ahold Delhaize’ CIO Rom Kosla to countless visitors from retail chain’s big and small, grocery and specialized, technology was strife in every conversation. After all, “90% of consumers believe technology will significantly improve the shopping experience” according to a Shekel Scales research released during the BigShow - and we can’t deny its impact.
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The two biggest themes of conversation were then on cost controlling and efficiency and on richer and better customer experiences.
Efficiency was a theme that was pretty much on the spot light on conversations with our CTO, Paulo Ribeiro . Many retailers wanted to know how can they be sure of what is on their shelves (something our Computer Vision and AI technology excels) and how can that work together with Data Analytics to build predictive models on demand and stock - our smartstore systems is actually a good example of a Just-In-Time operation, in an unpredictable world where that became a rare sight.?
“Customer still want ease, choice and a personalized experience” - John Furner , Walmart US President and CEO
Customer experience was another dominant theme on the show. Everyone is obsessed on how to provide the best experience to their customers - and how that differs between different shoppers and chains.
As Paige Thomas, Saks OFF 5th CEO, put it, “ The answer always lies with the customer. (...). An important part of it is the customer experience, the customer journey. Do everything you can to smooth the path”. At Reckon.ai we believe we can help retailers on this journey, by offering reliable, trustworthy no-checkout systems that are part of a journey that takes less than one minute (no queues, no frills), but also availability, with a 24/7 solution that is so flexible and small (though fully functional) that a store can be opened anywhere in less than 6 hours.
?The Customer @ the very center
“Technology is a tool to ensure people are at the very center of the shopping journey” as Reckon.ai’s Head of Marketing, Ricardo Ribeiro da Silva , puts it. The NRF is a wonderful example of the push everyone is doing in this area. Thousands of people walked right in front of our booth, dozens stopped by, asked questions, took part in live demonstrations of our microstore (and then asked more questions about how it worked). And everyone in there was focused on the same person - the Customer.?