Only at NRF can you feel wildly inspired, walk your feet sore, and feel like you missed 40 important things… all before lunch.
When retail people get in the same room, something clicks. And some of the best insights never make it onto a keynote slide. They come from real operators comparing notes, sharing what they have tried, and trading the kinds of practical lessons that make work easier for store teams.
What follows is our highlights reel: customer ZipTalks from the show floor, the themes we couldn’t stop hearing, and our Big Ideas session with Tapestry (Coach + Kate Spade). And for anyone who wants the full download, we’ve got that covered too.
The themes we heard everywhere
Across stages, side conversations, and ZipTalks on the show floor, the same ideas kept resurfacing. Different brands, different roles, same underlying challenges. These were not one-off opinions. They were patterns that showed up again and again as retailers talked candidly about what it takes to execute well right now.
AI is advancing fast… but people are still the heart of retail
“Agentic” was the most-used word of the show. But the retailers actually making progress are not chasing sci-fi. They are using AI to remove friction. Helping customers move from intent to basket faster. Helping associates find answers in seconds. Cutting down on busywork so store teams can spend more time doing human work.
That is what made the most grounded conversations at NRF feel different. They were not about replacing people. They were about supporting them. Turning scattered store feedback into something actionable. Speeding up decisions without adding more dashboards. Using AI to amplify human judgment, not outshine it.
Strategy is easy on Monday. Execution shows up on Tuesday.
It is one thing to align on priorities in a meeting. It is another to see those priorities show up clearly in stores the next day.
Across sessions and side conversations, leaders kept coming back to the same challenge: how to turn strategy into consistent action without adding more noise for store teams. The retailers making progress were not doing more. They were doing less, more clearly.
Stores (and the people in them) are (still) the advantage
For all the talk about technology, NRF reinforced something retail veterans already know. The most important customer experiences still happen in stores, and they rise or fall on associate confidence.
The retailers standing out are investing in communication, clarity, and trust. They give store teams context, not just instructions. When associates understand the why, execution follows.
ZipTalks: real operators, real playbooks
It’s always powerful to bring together thought leaders and retail leaders to see what they take back to their teams. But some of the most valuable conversations at NRF didn’t happen on the biggest stages. They happened on the show floor, where real retail operators shared what’s working, what’s not, and what they’d do differently next time.
Across every ZipTalk at booth #5251, the throughline was clear: communication works best when it’s two-way, human, and designed for the realities of the frontline.
- Helzberg brought a great example of what happens when feedback doesn’t disappear. LeRae White shared how shifting from one-way updates to real dialogue gave stores a voice—and gave HQ real-time visibility into what was happening on the ground. When trust improved, execution followed.
- Reanna Smith from Mark’s (Canadian Tire) walked through a communication transformation rooted in inclusivity and simplicity. Predictable rhythms, visual storytelling, and built-in translation helped messages land clearly—and helped store teams feel supported, not overwhelmed.
- The Container Store’s Emily Thole Stark showed how short, authentic videos turned everyday updates into moments of connection. By letting stores and leaders tell the story together, engagement climbed past 80%, and initiatives moved faster across markets.
- A different kind of lesson came from Mosaic’s first 90 days supporting Google Retail Stores. Sara Cavolo and Kevin Moeti shared a reminder many leaders needed to hear: don’t overload stores. Launch with intention. Align early. Prioritize what matters most so teams can move quickly without chaos.
- With Kate Spade, the focus shifted to leading through change. Ashley Iasillo reflected on a year of transformation—and the role communication plays when everything is changing at once. Structure, empathy, and a clear “one place to look” experience helped stores stay confident even as systems, workflows, and priorities evolved.
- And to close the loop, Grace Hill-Preece from Aritzia made a point that resonated with many: as organizations scale (and as AI becomes more prevalent), authentic, human communication matters more, not less. Connection is what keeps teams aligned across roles, locations, and work environments.
Bottom line: real retail teams are focused on clarity, trust, and giving store teams what they need to do great work.
Big Ideas: when AI meets real retail work
If ZipTalks were about what is working on the ground, our Big Ideas session zoomed out to look at how retailers are using AI and data to support that work without losing the human element.
In this session, Mandeep Bhatia, SVP of Global Digital Product and Omnichannel Innovation at Tapestry, joined Melissa Wong, CEO and Co-Founder of Zipline, to talk about what AI looks like when it is designed for store teams.
The conversation focused on reducing friction. Helping associates find answers faster. Cutting down on drudgery. Turning scattered signals into clearer guidance. Not to replace people, but to give them more time to focus on what matters most: connecting with customers and delivering great experiences.
As Mandeep put it, “Where there is empathy and creativity and strategy, that is where we need to focus.” AI works best when it supports human judgment rather than trying to outshine it.
Want the full NRF 2026 Field Notes?
At NRF this year, we sent a handful of Zipliners into some of the most interesting sessions to sit in the audience, take notes, and capture the ideas shaping retail in the year ahead.
We pulled those notes together into a downloadable PDF with speaker highlights, major takeaways, and moments you may have missed, even if you were there.
Feel free to download it, share it with your team, or pass it along to anyone who could not make the trip.
Keep the NRF momentum going
NRF always leaves us energized and thinking about what comes next.
If you want to compare notes from the show, talk through what you are seeing in stores, or dig deeper into how retailers are turning clarity into execution, we would love to connect.
And if your feet are still recovering, same.
Book time with our team or follow along as we keep sharing insights from the field.
