NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show will take over the Javits Center in New York City next January. Retailers from every sector will come together Jan. 12-14 to learn from leading innovators, explore cutting-edge advancements and forge connections.
As a part of the event, NRF is excited to introduce the NRF 2025 Innovators Showcase, an exclusive showcase of the top retail tech innovators making a real impact on the way retailers sell and consumers shop.
In 2017, NRF created the Innovation Lab to highlight technology transformations coming out of fast-scaling retail startups. The Innovation Lab quickly became the go-to destination for retail leaders and investors to learn about the latest emerging tech trends firsthand. For the last seven years, it has carefully selected and featured more than 350 companies, primarily early-stage venture-backed businesses working to improve consumers’ retail experience and convenience.
Past exhibitors in the Innovation Lab have gone on to be acquired by industry leaders such as UPS, Walmart, Apple, Google, Nike, Instacart and Swiftly. They have secured game-changing partnerships with companies including Verizon, Lowe’s and Albertsons, and landed hundreds of millions worth in additional investments from top firms such as General Atlantic and General Catalyst.
What’s different about the NRF 2025 Innovators Showcase?
Retail-tech innovation has become ubiquitous, and the latest advances are coming from all kinds of companies in the retail ecosystem. For example, larger companies — including Fortune 500 names such as Lowe’s, Coca-Cola and Kohl’s — have incubated their own internal startups to compete in the ever-evolving retail landscape.
The NRF 2025 Innovators Showcase is the next era of the Innovation Lab, reflecting that shift and highlighting all of today’s innovation leaders — no matter how big or small.
Like the Innovation Lab, this special showcase will be a must-see immersive experience: three days featuring live demonstrations of the latest tech at NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show.
The NRF 2025 Innovators Showcase will include technologies working in all parts of the commerce journey: sourcing, supply chain, inventory, product awareness, product consideration, customer engagement, payments, service and logistics, and loyalty.
This is an extremely competitive environment, and we encourage applicants to provide a detailed and thoughtful application that provides a 360-degree view of the nominated technology.
Apply here before applications close on August 15.
