The Asia Pacific edition of the celebrated Retail’s Big Show from New York City will be held in Singapore for the first time to transform retail consumer experiences in the new retail age

The National Retail Federation (NRF) in the U.S. and global event organiser Comexposium are proud in bringing one of the most celebrated and anticipated conferences and exhibitions to Singapore for the first time – the inaugural NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific which is scheduled to be held on June 11-13, 2024 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Retail’s Big Show is the signature global retail event held in New York City annually and has been ranked as one the top 200 events in North America and one of the 50 fastest-growing trade events.

With support from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the Asia Pacific (APAC) edition of Retail’s Big Show will be held in Singapore for the first time this year. Singapore’s strategic location and its long-established status as a regional business centre provides an optimal stage for NRF to launch its inaugural Asia Pacific edition of Retail’s Big Show, which aims to integrate leaders and organisations across the retail industry to collaborate at a pan-regional level. 

Themed “Fast Track Your Success”, NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific will feature a remarkable line-up of conference programmes, exhibition and retail store tours across the three-day event in June. These include the latest technology and innovations, best practices and thought leadership spanning the entire retail industry such as AI and machine learning, and sustainability and ethical practices; in-store experiences, supply chain, loss prevention and asset protection; as well as merchandising and immersive technologies. 

The list of distinguished conference speakers include:

• Simon Miles, Former Vice President, Global Omnichannel, Coca-Cola
• Yuki Habu, Director & Executive Vice President and Executive Officer, Aeon Co., Ltd
• Ian Wonshik Kwon, Chief Strategy Officer, Lotte Retail HQ
• Nicole Sheffield, Managing Director, Wesfarmers OneDigital 
• Ken Feyder, Head of IT, Americas, Hermes 
• Panchalee Weeratammawat, Chief People Officer, Central Retail Corporation 

“APAC is the world’s largest retail market and yet the most underserved. This dynamic and diverse marketplace is at the cusp of a transformative era where traditional retail paradigms are no longer adequate to meet fast-evolving consumer demands,” said Ryf Quail, Managing Director, NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific, Comexposium. “The digital age beckons for a new retail concept, one that harmonises the digital with the physical, personalises customer experiences and leverages data and technology to create seamless, omnichannel journeys. Innovating the retail model is not merely an option but imperative for capturing the hearts and minds of the APAC consumer today and steering the industry towards sustainable growth and relevance.”

Singapore’s strategic location and its long-established status as a regional business centre provides an optimal stage for NRF to launch its inaugural Asia Pacific edition of Retail’s Big Show

Home to 60 per cent of the world’s population, APAC is an immense market for retail. The APAC retail market has been experiencing unprecedented growth, fueled by the region’s vast population, increasing urbanisation and the rapid rise of megacities, as well as consumers’ savviness in using advanced technology to access products and services. These sweeping trends have called for a new retail concept that is poised to revolutionise consumer experiences in APAC both online and in-store. 

Enterprise Singapore, the government agency championing enterprise development, is supporting the Singapore Retailers Association to curate unique retail store tour experiences for show delegates and also bring together Singapore retail technology players to showcase at the national pavilion. Said Ms. Jeannie Lim, Assistant Chief Assistant Officer (Lifestyle & Consumer), Enterprise Singapore, “We are happy to be supporting the inaugural Asia Pacific edition of NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show. As a vibrant lifestyle and tourist hub in Asia, Singapore serves as an ideal destination for global and local brands seeking to expand into the region. Through this event, we look forward to new opportunities and collaborations between brands and partners to innovate and transform their products and services, to provide exciting and immersive experiences for shoppers.”

“As Singapore’s largest retailer, we aim to stay one step ahead of our customers’ shopping habits and preferences. Technology and data have helped us to better understand consumer needs and provide them with seamless convenience and accessibility. Digitalisation is enhancing our competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, and has been the driving force behind our disruptive efforts to reinvent retail across our touchpoints in recent years,” shared Vipul Chawla, Group CEO, FairPrice Group. 

Highlights of NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show 2024 include:

 Innovation lab opportunities: The NRF Innovation Lab is a carefully curated, invitation-only showcase of the most visionary retail technologies including AI, augmented reality, virtual reality, machine learning, facial recognition, robotics, data analytics and Web3. 

Exhibitor Big Ideas: Catch the industry’s brightest solution providers demonstrating their latest products and sharing customer case studies and success stories across multiple stages throughout the exhibition show floor. 

Retail Store Tours: Retail Stores Tours are expert-led, highly curated, time efficient guided walking tours of cutting-edge stores, allowing participants to get behind the scenes to gain valuable insights on the latest technology, store designs, employee training and best practices.

“As cross-border travel from China continues to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, it’s likely that the growing number of Chinese travellers will give a further boost to retailers in places like Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong,” said David Mann, Chief Economist, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “At the same time, consumers across Asia Pacific are spending more on dining out and eating in, as well as experiences like concerts and mega events. For example, Melbourne typically sees an uplift of over 10 percent in retail sales in the city during the Australian Open tennis tournament.”

The three-day event is expected to attract more than 300 exhibitors and over 5,000 retail leaders from the region and across the world to share knowledge and best practices, network with industry peers and witness the latest technology and innovations available for transforming consumer experiences in the new retail age. 

About NRF
The National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail succeed. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, contributing US$3.9 trillion to annual GDP and supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 52 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies. nrf.com

About NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific 
Retail’s most important event in Asia Pacific takes place in Singapore from June 11-13, 2024. The Asia Pacific edition brings together retail industry leaders from across the region to collaborate on a Pan Asia Pacific stage. https://nrfbigshowapac.nrf.com 

About Comexposium
The Comexposium Group is one of the leading event organisers worldwide, creating events that bring communities together to discover and explore businesses, passions and interests. Comexposium organises more than 150 professional and general public events, covering more than 10 sectors of activity. The group connects 48,000 exhibitors and 3.5 million visitors, 365 days a year.

(This article was adapted from a press release)