1. Future-Forward Heritage: Reinvigorating Brand Identity

Three chief executives of major brands – Joshua Schulman of Burberry, Mary Dillon of American sportswear retailer Foot Locker, and Joe Preston of Boston-based sportswear brand New Balance – zeroed in on using the through-lines of their heritage to support turnaround strategies or catalyse emotional bonds with consumers.

2. Dynamic E-Comm: Flexing Consumer Missions

The NRF Innovator Showcase and Start-Up Hub saw brands and technologists showcasing and discussing white-label tech capable of flexing to consumers’ e-commerce profiles and needs. Examples include ‘bid tech’ enabling brands to adapt to shoppers’ budgets in real time, and checkout tech letting retailers flex fulfilment options for different customer segments. 

3. Activating Brand Communities via Socialised Wellness

Tapping into the global loneliness epidemic (see Cohesive Communities: Consumers Combat Loneliness), speakers from brands including Canadian athleisure retailer Lululemon and US health-tracker smart ring company Oura discussed how they’re socialising wellness to improve customers’ wellbeing and boost their brand communities. 

See also Social Wellness in our Look Ahead 2025: Hospitality & Leisure.

4. Supercharging Shop Floor Staff

The retail workforce was one of the biggest topics at NRF 2025, with brands including Lego, Foot Locker, Levi’s and Sephora focusing on maximising the role of the store associate, including amplifying knowledge of their customer via new in-store clienteling and diagnostic tech.

5. AI Finessed Fit Tech: Cross Brand & Kidswear Solutions

Both start-ups and tech behemoths focused on reducing one of the apparel industry’s biggest e-commerce pain points – returns – via fit tech. Kids’ clothing was a key focus, with technologists vying to create predictive modelling allowing parents to see how long an item is likely to fit their child for.