Even with headliners like Alex Rodrigez, Tommy Hilfiger, Walmart CEO John Furner and Footlocker CEO Mary Dillon, among others, Artificial Intelligence (AI) stole the show at NRF 2025. Over 6,200 brands and 40,000 people filled the floors at the Javits center in NYC from January 12-14 for three days of presentations, events, expo halls and exhibit labs and Columbus Consulting was there. As an exhibitor at the show, Columbus assembled a team of retail experts to be part of this year’s event.

The Columbus Consulting booth was buzzing with retailers looking for solutions to meet their business needs and at the top of their list was how to leverage AI to streamline resources, build operational efficiencies, become more agile and be able to proactively address consumer demands. While machine learning (ML) and AI dominated theoretical conversations over recent years, this year retailers were talking about tactical applications for the technology. Brands are applying AI to manage inventory levels, build more accurate allocation models, create digital replicas of warehouses and stores to maximize space and perfect presentations. Furthermore, AI is being applied through visual technology to reduce checkout wait times, manage flow at drive-thrus and even better align staffing resources by location and weather disruptions. Most common is the use of AI to personalize content by user, perfect product recommendations and manage dynamic pricing and promotions.

From virtual fit technology to individual product IDs (Digital Product Passports DPPs), retailers and brands are at the cusp of a new era of reinvention. The evolution of the industry has spanned from stores to malls to catalogs and direct mail, from layaway to just go technology and digital commerce (web/mobile/social) to marketplaces and robotic staffing (self-checkout, fulfillment, customer service, delivery and more). Retail is in a constant state of change which has never been more visible than at NRF 2025.

As leaders in the retail industry, Columbus Consulting has helped its clients usher in change to deliver sustainable and scalable growth. The team helped retailers navigate the endless aisles of vendors and technologies to educate clients on which companies can help solve for their business needs. Columbus created a proprietary digital map of the exhibit floor identifying vendors by specialty areas such as: PIM, WMS, OMS, POS, Unified Commerce, Planning/Merchandising and Grocery. What could be overwhelming was made manageable and accessible through the expertise of the Columbus team. According to EMEA Lead, Managing Partner and Board Vice-Chair, Charlotte Kula-Przezwanski, “walking the floor with clients and colleagues, like John Lewis from the UK, helps them best acclimate the floor and maximize their time by being focused and efficient.” She further stated that, “retailers are looking for solutions and knowing where to look through the lens of experts like Columbus who have worked with and, in many cases, for such industry leaders and providers, can provide a framework at the show that streamlines the experience and is ultimately more productive.”

Another added value of being onsite at NRF as an exhibitor is being able to host in person demonstrations.Columbus Consulting developed a SKU rationalization application that works with vendor solutions for SKU/product/inventory management systems. The application loads in a retailer’s assortment by SKU level and instantly runs a productivity/profitability ranking to make critical decisions on streamlining inventory –identifying profit every time the application is run.

“NRF is the show of shows in our industry,” comments Columbus Consulting CEO Jon Beck. “Working the show to generate sales is a benefit on one level, but Columbus is relationship driven and we always welcome the opportunity to spend time with our clients and colleagues. We love retail and love being a resource for the industry. Our team of over 250+ consultants have come from the brand/retail side and have worked in the roles for which they consult. We have former CIOs, CEOs, COOs and other C-level talent who offer their services to clients and who work side-by-side with them from strategy through implementation.” “Two key themes we heard this year was the need for data cleansing, management and governance to fuel AI and the need to revisit legacy systems such as ERPs to help scale the businesses into the future. The show was filled with ‘shiny objects,’ but we know retail runs on the basics—having the right product, in the right location, at the right price and available to the right customer. The rest is icing.”

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Columbus Consulting delivers solutions that drive true value and have been transforming the retail, grocery and CPG industries for over two decades. We are a retail consulting company of industry experts. Our approach is simple, if you do it, we do it. We are more than consultants; we are experienced practitioners who actually sat in our clients’ seats. We understand the challenges, know what questions to ask and deliver the right solutions. Columbus offers a unique, consumer-centric approach with an end-to-end perspective that bridges functional & organization silos from strategy to execution. Our specialties include: unified commerce, merchandising & category management, planning & inventory management, sourcing & supply chain, data & analytics, accounting, finance & operations, people & organization and information technology. Let us know how we can help you. To learn more.