AI and beyond: Retail trends to watch in 2024
By Sadaf Sundas Riaz
Retail Gets Real episode 331: NRF’s Susan Reda on AI, the metaverse and Gen Alpha
It wasn’t too long ago that the metaverse was the buzzy retail trend that everyone was talking about. Then came ChatGPT.
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| Susan Reda, Vice President of Education Strategy, NRF |
“We’ve really flipped the switch from all things metaverse a year ago to all things AI this year,” Susan Reda, NRF’s vice president of education strategy, says on this episode of NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast. “And AI is just hype, hype, hype — but often with good reasons. I think that’ll be a huge trend for us as we move into 2024.”
Each year, Reda scours trade publications and industry news and hits the mall to talk to retailers and source out retail trends for the year ahead. She then uses that retail intel to write her annual retail predictions for the year ahead.
While artificial intelligence is the current hot trend in retail, the metaverse hasn’t gone anywhere, Reda says. “I don’t think that the hype will return, but I don’t think metaverse is dead, which is what the headlines were,” she says. “And the reason I don’t think metaverse is dead is because our good friends, the Gen Alphas, who live on Roblox, and who are learning about the world on Roblox.”
She points to the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, which has two new immersive retail experiences on Roblox aimed at Gen Alpha. “I do believe that because the metaverse and gaming are for a particular demographic … I think that we’ll continue to see growth,” she says.
Reda also uses these insights to help guide themes and programming for Retail’s Big Show, which kicks off Jan. 14 in New York City’s Javits Center. “It’s worthy of the plane ride, train ride, whatever it is. Just dive into our agenda, and save a bunch of stuff, and be sure you get to hear from the latest and greatest because we’ve done our best to bring luminaries to the stage,” says Reda, who began attending Big Show in 1985.
Read Reda’s list of 2024 retail predictions here and listen to the full podcast to hear why Gen Alpha is drawn to bricks-and-mortar stores, how retailers are using technology to make store environments “emotional, engaging and very hands on,” and why we all need to watch out for deep fakes.