The Next Big Thing is Here

This month, European retailers headed for Manhattan’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to understand what’s just around the corner. But is there more to “Retail’s Big Show” than bytes and pieces?

In case you hadn’t noticed, The NRF Big Show in New York took place this past month. And alongside the many booths showcasing the latest and greatest in-store tech products, the planeloads of European delegates took time out to go look at the shops.

This is actually pretty easy in Manhattan, and even with the freezing temperatures, it’s only a few minutes’ walk – or a short hop in a taxi – to the midtown shops on Fifth Avenue, or to take a critical look at SoHo and all it entails. A few may actually have done both of these. One thing was apparent to these Europeans: Tech is now an integral part of the in-store panorama, and it means a bit more than just a few touchscreens and an invitation to hand over your data.

The interesting part about these new advancements, to a Brit at least, was the manner in which online retailers now have no compunction about leaping over the digital divide and creating physical stores. Warby Parker on Greene Street stands as a case in point, while nearby, the recently opened Ray Ban store embraced the “phygital” world and has left its London outpost in Covent Garden, looking a little tired.

All of which meant that while there was certainly a lot to look at in the Javits, including an impressive supermarket checkout that passed items through a tunnel which looked like an MRI scanner, recognizing merchandise without a barcode. The shops were every bit as worthwhile.

Innovation comes in many forms, and for those visiting the U.S. from time to time, the differences between the way things are done in Europe and what happens across the pond (no, we don't have people bagging our groceries – we do it ourselves) is just as informative as looking at the latest widget. The NRF Big Show is good, very good, but so are the shops in Manhattan.  

John Ryan is a journalist covering the retail sector, a role he has fulfilled for more than a decade. As well as being the European Editor of VMSD magazine, he writes for a broad range of publications in the U.K., the U.S. and Germany with a focus on in-store marketing, display and layout, as well as the business of store architecture and design. In a previous life, he was a buyer for C&A, based in London and then Düsseldorf, Germany. He lives and works in London.