Back from NRF 2025: Key takeaways and insights for OneStock
NRF 2025, Retail’s Big Show in New York, once again cemented its reputation as the centre of retail innovation. This year’s event brought together more than 40,000 attendees, more than 1,000 exhibitors and executives from more than 100 countries, all seeking to navigate the rapidly evolving retail landscape. For OneStock, NRF is not just a calendar highlight, it’s an essential opportunity to engage, learn and lead in shaping the future of retail.
This year’s theme, Game Changing, perfectly captured the transformation sweeping through the industry, from unified commerce to AI and supply chain reinvention. At OneStock, we used NRF 2025 to further our mission of empowering retailers with innovative order management system (OMS) solutions. Here’s how we made an impact and the key takeaways we’re bringing back to the retail community.
Our key achievements in NRF 2025
- Strengthening our partnerships: Collaboration is at the heart of innovation. Thanks to the efforts of Kevin Bessat, we strengthened our relationships with key technology partners and systems integrators, setting the stage for future shared success.
- Showcasing OneStock’s value: Led by Johan Benoualid, we engaged more than 30 targeted retailers, initiating dialogues that will drive omnichannel excellence in 2025 and beyond.
- Expanding in North America: Under the leadership of Virginie Cosset, we officially launched our North American presence, marking an important milestone in the OneStock journey.
- Planning for NRF 2026: For the first time, OneStock will have its own stand on the main floor next year, an exciting step forward.
- Exploring industry trends: From immersive booth experiences to thought-provoking conferences, we deepened our understanding of the trends shaping retail.
Key takeaways from NRF 2025
- Unified commerce: The next evolution beyond omnichannel
Unified commerce emerged as the dominant theme at NRF 2025, signalling a shift away from the omnichannel rhetoric of years past. The concept emphasises a seamless and consistent experience across all channels, powered by a single commerce platform.
Retailers such as Screwfix, Pacsun, Vitamin Shoppe and Arc’teryx demonstrated how unified commerce is enabling them to meet customer expectations for flexibility and personalisation. As Vitamin Shoppe’s digital director aptly put it, moving to unified commerce is like moving from DVDs to Netflix, a revolutionary leap towards simplicity and efficiency.
Notably, Shopify and Commercetools have unveiled innovative point-of-sale systems designed to bridge online and offline commerce. This development could disrupt the POS market, creating opportunities for mid-market and enterprise retailers to streamline operations while improving the customer experience.
For retailers, the message is clear: unified commerce is no longer optional. It’s the foundation for meeting customers where they are, delivering contextualised experiences and building loyalty through consistency.
- Supply chain resilience: A business-critical priority
The supply chain took centre stage at NRF, with executives such as Amazon’s Doug Herrington highlighting its role as a competitive differentiator. Amazon’s ongoing shift from national to regional distribution centres is a case study in reducing delivery promises and improving reliability, key drivers of conversion and customer satisfaction.
Order management systems (OMS) were a key part of the supply chain optimisation discussions. Gartner analysts highlighted the role of Distributed Order Management (DOM) as a critical layer of abstraction that enables retailers to unify inventory, orchestrate complex fulfilment scenarios and provide accurate delivery promises in real time.
Peak periods such as Black Friday underlined the importance of agility. Retailers such as Pacsun revealed strategies for fine-tuning orchestration rules during surges, while Walmart’s centralised returns model showed how to minimise the time products remain unsold.
For OneStock, the message is clear: retailers need agile, data-driven supply chain solutions to meet today’s challenges and prepare for tomorrow’s disruptions.
- AI: From buzzword to business impact
AI was everywhere at NRF 2025, with NVIDIA’s keynote setting the tone for how machine learning, generative AI and predictive analytics are transforming retail. But the real value lies in tangible applications:
Fraud prevention: Solutions like Black.AI and Trigo use computer vision to detect theft in stores, adding a new layer of security.
Demand planning: AI-powered platforms help retailers predict trends and optimise inventory, ensuring readiness for demand fluctuations.
Returns management: Yofi’s AI-driven returns detection tools minimise fraud while streamlining the process.
Personalised customer experiences: From tailored recommendations to autonomous customer service agents, AI is enabling retailers to engage customers in more meaningful ways.
The takeaway? AI is no longer a futuristic concept, it’s a practical tool that retailers must adopt to remain competitive.
- Slow retail: Quality over speed
Lee Peterson’s presentation on ‘slow retail’ offered a refreshing counterpoint to the race for speed. He argued that physical stores should focus on delivering emotional, high-quality experiences that can’t be replicated online.
Drawing parallels with the slow food movement, Peterson advocated better design, exclusive products and knowledgeable staff to create memorable shopping experiences. This approach positions stores as destinations, not just transactional points, and emphasises sustainability and customer connection over rapid turnover.
For retailers facing the pressures of e-commerce, slow retail offers a compelling alternative: prioritising differentiation and long-term value over unsustainable speed.
Looking ahead
NRF 2025 confirmed that retail is at a pivotal moment. Unified commerce, resilient supply chains, the adoption of AI and the rise of slow retail are reshaping the industry, presenting both challenges and opportunities.
At OneStock, we are committed to helping retailers navigate these changes with confidence. From our OMS solutions to our growing global footprint, we’re ready to help our partners build the future of retail, one innovative step at a time.
As we prepare for NRF 2026 and beyond, we remain committed to sharing insights, fostering collaboration and driving progress in the retail community. Together, we can turn challenges into opportunities and reimagine what’s possible in retail.
