There was a lot of learning happening at NRF 2025: The Big Show. Attendees were treated to 175 educational sessions featuring retailers, vendors and industry experts discussing everything from tariffs and TikTok to digital twins and the democratization of commerce. At its core, the event has always been about retail and retailers, not technology, though as we know, there’s no denying the impact tech has had on retail. The good news is that after years of focusing on the growth of digital commerce, retailers are excited about brick and mortar again. Here, we share information and insights from NRF 2025 that prove physical stores matter more now than ever before.
Toward the end of the pandemic, many experts predicted that consumers, having gotten comfortable with shopping online for everything from boots and bread to brooms and beds, wouldn’t return to physical stores. The consensus at the time was that the endless aisle digital commerce provides was just too compelling, giving consumers little reason to trek to a store.
Over the course of the three-day show, multiple retailers confirmed that this simply isn’t the case. Leaders from Foot Locker, Sephora, PacSun, Lululemon and LEGO all confirmed that they’re investing in their stores because customers are shopping in them again. Not only have customers come back, but they’ve seen an influx of new consumers — primarily Gen Z and Alpha — many of whom are being introduced to these brands, or the in-store shopping experience they offer for the first time. The thing is, to keep customers coming back, brands realize that their physical stores have to deliver interactive engagement and customer service that parallels the digital experience.
Kate Ancketill, CEO and founder of GDR Creative Intelligence, who presented the final keynote, “Why the human touch is key to leveraging the full potential of AI,” said retailers should look at these new expectations as an opportunity. “Modern people lack a sense of community, belonging, warmth, wonder and awe — and these are the things that physical retail is perfectly positioned to provide.”
Foot Locker steps up its in-store style
“To be successful, you have to constantly be innovating, really understanding the customer journey. And for us, that's investing in all things customer experience,” Mary Dillon, CEO and President of Footlocker, told the audience to kick off her keynote presentation.
In her opinion, there are some retail categories where the store isn’t critical to the experience. Sneakers are not one of them. To deliver the experience customers want to have in-store today, Footlocker has modernized its top eight stores, infusing them with technology and interactive design elements that inspire engagement. The plan is to update at least two-thirds of its +2,500 stores around the globe by the end of 2025.
The improvements are noticeable the moment the customer walks in the store and sees the Drop Zone, an area that showcases the hottest sneakers on the market. The try-on section, which they’ve christened the Kick-it Club, has also been reimagined. They’ve moved it to the center of the store and made it circular so that customers can easily connect with each other and share in the excitement. There’s also the Sneaker Hub, a customization area where customers can purchase add-ons like unique shoelaces and pins to personalize their sneakers which has become a huge part of sneaker culture. Finally, they’ve expanded their women’s section and added a basketball court to celebrate the sport that put them on the map.
Finally, since the success of every customer experience starts with their “Stripers,” they’ve empowered their referee-shirt-wearing store associates with mobile handheld devices that provide visibility into inventory, product information and some fun interactive features, such as virtual foot measuring.
In a different session, Frank Bracken, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Foot Locker, offered more details on the company’s vision for its in-store experience. “What the stores allow us to do is really elevate the storytelling, the presentation of products. merchandise and collections in a way that no mobile device can.”
Sephora looks toward the future
In her keynote presentation, Artemis Patrick, President and CEO of Sephora North America, announced that every single Sephora store is getting a makeover. While some will only get minor touchups, others, she said, need major redesigns. The new store format is driven by both merchant and customer insights.
She said the team looked at productivity, at heat maps, at how people are shopping in their stores — and they talked to their customers. For example, they’ve moved the beauty studios to the side of the store because people don’t want their makeup being done in the window and improved the lighting, another customer request.
“I think too many times retailers talk about the store of the future and it's very much driven by the design team. And so you have this conversation of form versus function, and what to do with stores in smaller markets. One of the things that was really important to us was ensuring that no matter where you are, whether you are in our Soho store, in Boise, Idaho or in Vancouver Island, the experience is the same.”
A key goal was to create a more agile environment by installing smaller, modular fixtures that can be easily moved to adapt to change. Artemis pointed out that 25% of their customers are now checking on the beauty associates’ handheld devices, so the need for a long line of fixtures that hold minis and sample sizes in the checkout area may not be necessary anymore. The new fixtures can be broken up and moved around the store. “We call it our future footprint.”
We've done 111 doors just in the last few months, and so far everything across every KPI — transactions, productivity, sales — is up versus the control group.
President and CEO, Sephora North America
Artemis stressed that the stores will always be a big part of Sephora. “Beauty is so tactile, it's so demonstrative, everybody has a first beauty story. Everyone knows the first time they went and got their makeup done or the first lipstick they bought. I have those stories too.”
“Omnichannel isn't just about the digital experience or your P&L (profit and loss statement), you have to think through the entire consumer journey — and I’m not sure I'll ever see a world in my lifetime where people aren't going to want to come in and touch and play with beauty.”
Unifying the omnichannel experience
Recent statistics clearly show that consumers are fluidly traveling back and forth between digital and physical channels, using all available touchpoints to make buying decisions. At the same time, they’re also demanding more from the in-store experience. They don’t need a place to buy products — they can easily order products online.
In the session, “Beyond the Store: Retail’s expanding footprint to meet customer expectations,” Erin Frankcombe, Vice President and General Manager of AMEX Offers and Business Insights at American Express, shared, “Today’s consumer is buying into experiences and brand values, and as part of that evolution, they want more meaningful interaction in the retail space.”
The traditional sales funnel has been reimagined and expanded to an ecosystem of touchpoints. Our challenge today is to keep consumers circulating through the ecosystem, driving awareness, consideration, intent and purchase, optimizing each and every touchpoint and keeping consumers engaged well after the purchase is made.
Vice President and General Manager of AMEX Offers and Business Insights, American Express
Unified commerce as the future of retail
Unified commerce can provide retailers with the foundation they need to adapt to this new retail landscape. By consolidating product and customer data from all touchpoints onto a single backend, it creates a golden record that retailers can leverage to enhance experiences across the entire ecosystem. Unfortunately, as Giri Agarwal, Chief Strategy Officer of Incisiv, pointed out in the session, “Mastering digital personalization: Crafting unique journeys,” most retailers still operate digital and physical commerce separately, which creates friction and drives up costs.
commercetools is empowering retailers to unify disparate systems with its newest innovation, commercetools InStore. Introduced at NRF25, it enables retailers to connect their online channels to their in-store systems, bringing the best of digital into the physical experience to truly deliver on the promise of unified commerce.
In the session, “The Agility Advantage: Enhancing commerce across channels,” Dirk Hoerig, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at commercetools, explained that to keep up with the evolution of commerce and customer expectations, retailers must break down the barriers between the physical and the digital world.
As Anne Sung Ruckstuhl, Chief Marketing Officer of Manhattan Associates, suggested in the session, “How Arc’teryx and PacSun are redefining unified retail,” the goal should be to turn online relationships into physical relationships as a way to build loyalty. “When customers come into the store, all kinds of magic happens. So you have to show up and give them a delightful experience. If you have to ask them to repeat their name, their address, their payment method every time they come in your store, it’s going to be cumbersome and you’re not going to be successful.”
To learn how Jaycar, an Australian retailer is enhancing the in-store customer experience and empowering sales associates with the help of commercetools Composable Commerce for B2C and commercetools InStore, read Aisles meet apps: How Jaycar unified digital and in-store shopping with commercetools.
Anita J. Temple is the Corporate Journalist at commercetools. She was a fashion editor at Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) and W Magazine before launching a career as a freelance writer and creative producer. She has written content and worked on a wide range of marketing projects for companies including Dreamworks, Walmart, Coca-Cola, Verizon, and Adidas.