NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show Europe, is a global retail success

The first edition of NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show Europe was held from 16^th – 18^th September in Paris and convened thousands of global retail leaders and solution providers. Under the theme “Retail Together,” attendees exchanged ideas, experienced new technologies and innovations, built relationships and collaborated on shaping the future of retail. The event showcased 200 high-profile speakers, 500 exhibitors, a 25,000 m² exhibition floor, and 100 international startups with emerging innovations.

“We are grateful to the sponsors, exhibitors and attendees who made the inaugural NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe such a great success. NRF is always looking for opportunities to convene industry leaders, and in partnership with Comexposium we have successfully launched NRF Retail’s Big Show in the Asia Pacific and now Europe,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Retail is an industry of constant evolution, and progress demands new tools, bold ideas and innovative approaches. Retail’s Big Show Europe offered an extraordinary opportunity to be inspired, share insights and learn from one another.”

An international platform and a highly engaged audience

Born from the strategic partnership between the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Comexposium, the event confirmed its role as a global platform for dialogue, bringing together more than 12 500 attendees from 58 countries to discuss key challenges and opportunities facing retail. Attendees spanned the world’s largest retail groups to the most innovative startups. The majority of attendees were retailers who made meaningful and high-value business connections. The event fostered strategic partnerships and conversations around the latest trends in AI, data, omnichannel, sustainability, supply chain, and payments.

For more than a century, NRF has hosted Retail’s Big Show in New York, and this past June hosted NRF Retail’s Big Show APAC, which launched in 2024 in partnership with Comexposium.

Exclusive content and a unique program

With more than 100 keynote and breakout sessions, the program provided participants with unparalleled access to strategic insights, market analysis, and real-world case studies covering every major retail issue. Keynote speakers included Rami Baitieh (CEO, Morrisons), Simone Dominici (CEO, Kiko), Jason Goldberg (Chief Commerce Strategy Officer, Publicis Groupe), Hajir Hajji (CEO, Action), Mark Irvin (EVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer, Best Buy), Diana Marshall (EVP and Chief Experience Officer, Sam’s Club), Guillaume Motte (President and CEO, Sephora), Corey Salter (COO, Authentic Brands Group), Dennis Schröder (CEO, Snipes), Henry Stupp(President of EMEA, Authentic Brands Group), and Odile Szabo (COO, Louboutin), who offered inspiring perspectives on the future of retail.

Beyond the sessions, attendees participated in Retail Store Tours and Expo Tours, giving them a behind-the-scenes look at the most innovative retail concepts and direct access to practical solutions designed to improve customer experience and operations.

Innovation at the heart of this inaugural edition

The show was a true showcase of retail innovation, featuring more than 100 international startups and emerging technologies across three flagship areas: the Startup Hub, the Innovators Showcase, and the House of Innovation Pavilion. These spaces highlighted tangible solutions and disruptive technologies spanning artificial intelligence, data, customer experience, sustainability, logistics, and payments. From reinventing in-store experiences to sustainable logistics and frictionless payments, innovation touched every link of the retail value chain.

The Retail’s Big Show Europe Awards, presented on September 16, recognised the most innovative projects:

• Seamless Unified Retail Store: New Black
• Store Design, Innovation, and Technology: Vusion Group
• Logistics and the Supply Chain: IF Returns
• Expansion of Marketplaces: Mir
• Payment Innovations: Lyzi
• CRM Systems: Loyaltee
• The Intelligent Use of Data: Live Crew
• Startup/Innovation: Claim.me

The award ceremony spotlighted companies that offer transformative solutions for the future of retail.

A forward-looking dynamic

This first edition of NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe marks a major milestone for global retail. The strong mobilization of professionals, exhibitors, and speakers from across Europe and beyond underscores the growing demand for an event of this scale.

“NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe represents a decisive step in creating a European platform dedicated to retail innovation. The quality of exchanges, the diversity of speakers, and the richness of content confirm the relevance and need for this event. It provides a solid foundation on which we will build for years to come,” said Arnaud Gallet, Managing Director of the event.

NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe has already established itself as a must-attend event for the industry. Building on this success, preparations are already underway for an even more ambitious 2026 edition.

Save the Dates

• NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show NYC – January 11^th – 13^th  New York
• NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show APAC – June 2^nd – 4^th, Singapore
• NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show Europe – September 15^th – 17^th, Paris

Image ©Anne-Emmanuelle Thion.