Retail’s BIG Show, or the NRF Annual Convention & EXPO, is the flagship industry event of the National Retail Federation. Retail’s BIG Show is an annual event held over three days in New York City. It is the world's leading annual retail event, bringing together 37,000 retail professionals and vendors from more than 90 countries for educational and networking opportunities. In 2020, Retail's Big Show had more than 300 speakers, 800 exhibitors, 40,000 attendees and 200 sessions. Retail’s BIG Show has frequently been ranked as one of the Top 200 events in North America, as well as one of the 50 fastest-growing trade events.
Events
Over two dozen leaders from retail, technology and business will be among the headline speakers as over 37,000 retailers from nearly 100 countries gather in New York in January to address the latest trends, innovations and strategies for transformation at the National Retail Federation’s 108th annual convention in 2019.
History
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with members including department store, specialty, discount, catalogue, Internet, and independent retailers, chain restaurants, and grocery stores. It is also an umbrella group that represents more than 100 associations of state, national and international retailers. NRF began in 1911 as the National Retail Dry Goods Association. This was also the year of its first annual meeting. In 1958, NRDGA was renamed National Retail Merchants Association. In 1990, the association and the American Retail Federation merged to form the National Retail Federation. During all the years, an annual convention was held for members. Today, Retail’s BIG Show continues to be an annual event held over four days beginning in the second week of January, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The EXPO Floor is open each day of the convention and hosts more than 700 exhibiting companies. The EXPO features special sessions produced by the NRF covering a wide range of topics such as sustainability, visual merchandising and the global economy. Exhibitors also offer their own sessions with product demos and case studies titled Exhibitor Big Ideas. The Innovation Lab, added to the showfor the first time in 2018, showcases technologies of the future and how they are transforming the way retailers market, connect and serve their customers in immersive and interactive demonstrations. Robotics, personalization, augmented reality, faster checkout systems, spatial recognition and other technologies are on display that are either already in commercial use or at the start-up stage. The NRF Foundation Gala is held each year during the NRF convention. This event raises money for Foundation programming, dedicated to shaping retail’s future, and honors the 25 individuals named to the Foundation’s annual “List of People Shaping Retail’s Future.” Many of those on the list also speak at Big Show.
Awards
Retail’s Big Show has made Trade Show News Network’s annual list of the Top 250 US Trade Shows since 2011. Most recently, in 2018, Retail’s Big Show was ranked no. 76, up from no. 88 in 2017. This list represents the top trade events held each year within the United States and is ranked by net square footage. Retail’s BIG Show 2013 is a finalist for Best Association Show and Best Use of Content/Education on the Show Floor. In 2018, BizBash Magazine named NRF 2018: Retail’s Big Show as one of the top 100 events to attend in New York. To choose and rank the annual events on the list, BizBash looks at several factors including economic impact, buzz, innovation and an event's prominence within the communities it intends to serve. Trade Show Executive named Big Show to its 2018 Gold 100 list of the largest trade shows in the U.S. TSE also ranked Big Show on its 2018 Next 50 list as one of the fastest-growing trade shows in the U.S.
