Executive Summary

The FGRT team attended NRF 2018 Retail’s Big Show in New York City this week. With more than 35,000 attendees from 95 countries, including 18,000 retailers and more than 600 exhibitors, the trade show is one of the biggest in the retail industry. Below are our key takeaways from the third and final day of the event.

• The strong economic backdrop supports an optimistic outlook for retail in 2018.
• Zero-waste fashion is trending—sustainability is the new fashion.
• Toshiba demonstrated several solutions and products for retail, focusing on digital signage, frictionless checkout and an engaging shopping experience.
• FGRT cohosted Microsoft’s annual Innovators Board Roundtable event at Microsoft’s New York offices. The event featured retail technology startups and expert-led discussion on artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain solutions.
• Alibaba’s Lee McCabe gave a very well-attended keynote presentation on the company’s vision of the future of retail.