NRF is launching a new conference dedicated to reverse logistics and circular retail. The inaugural NRF Rev conference will take place Jan. 11-12, 2026, during NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show in New York City.
NRF Rev will build upon the foundation that the Reverse Logistics Association built over 20 years and create new opportunities for executives in finance, operations, sustainability and reverse logistics to collaborate and co-create the future of circular retail.
Check out NRF's hub designed to support retailers’ efforts to generate economic value while creating net positive environmental, social and community benefits.
Circular retail is an emerging set of practical and profitable practices that allow retailers, manufacturers and consumers to reduce waste, lower costs and keep products and materials circulating through the economy for as long as possible. It includes resale models in which manufacturers and retailers sell or facilitate the sale of used products. It also includes efforts to promote the design, manufacture and sale of more durable products to enhance their long-term resale value, and selling products in reusable or refillable packaging to reduce packaging waste.
The reverse logistics industry makes circularity possible. Reverse logistics includes recovering, refurbishing, reselling and recycling used products like computers, servers and furniture from large businesses, schools and universities that no longer need them.
Within the retail industry, it also includes the process for managing products that a retailer is unable to sell and products that consumers return to the retailer because the product does not meet their needs. Historically, unsold merchandise and returned products were treated as marketplace failures and retailers optimized their reverse logistics processes to reduce the cost of properly disposing of the unwanted items.
Once considered the “dark side” of the retail industry, reverse logistics has become an increasingly important part of retail’s future. Unwanted products have become big business.
Retailers are carefully examining every step in their reverse logistics processes to find creative ways to further lower reverse logistics costs, create new revenue sources, deliver additional consumer value, attract new customers and create environmental benefits by rethinking their reverse logistics processes.
The Reverse Logistics Association, which NRF acquired in 2023, defined the following key steps of a typical reverse logistics process:
The reverse logistics process begins when a business identifies products that have outlived their useful life, a consumer returns an item, or a retail manager declares unsold products as excess inventory. This initial step is supported by robust, AI-powered software to track the process and make recommendations along the way.
Unwanted products must be inspected to determine the next appropriate step in the reverse logistics process. Unused products returned to a physical store might be returned to the store shelf for sale the same day. Others are sent to disposition centers where they are inspected to determine if the product can be resold as new, resold as used or “open box,” repaired and/or repackaged for sale, sold or auctioned in bulk (liquidated), donated or recycled.
Some products enter the reverse logistics process because the original packaging was damaged, a part is missing, a consumer used the product once and returned it, or a safety recall was issued that requires repairs. Many of these issues can be corrected cost-effectively so that the products can be resold.
Products must be properly packaged for the next step in their journey. Products that meet the original product specifications can be packaged as new for resale. Some are packaged for sale as used or refurbished. Others are packaged for bulk sale in auctions or sold to preferred resellers or liquidators.
There are different sales channels for any product that can be resold. Some are sold as new, refurbished or “open box” by the original retailer or, depending on the retailer, sold at one of its outlet stores. Others are sold to discount retailers, preferred resellers or liquidators in bulk.
Products that cannot be cost-effectively repaired, refurbished and repackaged can be disassembled so that parts can be recovered and reused. There is a significant demand for electronic components collected from computers, tablets and cell phones. Parts of other products are recovered to support repair and refurbishment needs.
When products cannot be resold or disassembled to reuse parts, they enter recycling streams so the materials can be reused in the manufacture of new products.
Every step in the reverse logistics process is supported by a network of executives and third-party suppliers focused on improving customer engagement, reducing costs, increasing revenue and reducing waste.
Working together, they are transforming retail and other business models into circular business models that keep products and materials profitably circulating for longer periods of time. To be part of the conversation, attend the NRF Rev conference, Jan. 11-12, 2026, in New York City.
