This IDC Perspective discusses key takeaways during NRF 2025: Retail's Big Show. The event highlighted the transformative potential of AI in retail, emphasizing its role in enhancing customer experience through personalized, seamless interactions across digital and physical channels. Retailers are focusing on AI readiness, omni-channel strategies, and data integration to drive efficiency, loyalty, and growth. Key technologies such as AI-powered recommendations, smart stores, and conversational commerce are pivotal in meeting evolving consumer expectations and achieving a unified, customer-centric approach."Achieving excellence in CX requires a pragmatic approach: leveraging technology to enable a customer-centric strategy. Success lies in mastering the core pillars of 360-degree retail CX — employee experience, experience-driven operations, omni-channel commerce, demand-driven supply chains, and personalized product recommendations — to deliver frictionless, personalized, and cohesive experiences that foster loyalty and drive growth," said Ornella Urso, research director IDC Retail Insights. "Under this premise, agentic AI is augmenting retail as it merges the digital and physical realms for a seamless, personalized customer experience."
Executive Snapshot
Situation Overview
CX Remains a Top Priority
Retailers Must Continue to Drive Unified Commerce
Key Technologies, Use Cases, and Implications for Enhancing Retail CX
Emotional Loyalty Tools and Gamification: Evolving from Transactional to Experiential Loyalty
Customer Data Platforms for Consistency in Profiling Intent and Preferences
In-Store Technologies
Retail Media Networks
Advice for the Technology Buyer
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Related Research
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