Separate registration and additional fee required. Retailers only. Retail Store Tours can be purchased when you register for NRF 2025 or through the dashboard (see Add-on Experiences) after registration has been completed. Retail Store Tours are expert-led, highly curated, time efficient guided walking tours of cutting-edge stores. Attendees experience the latest tech, store designs, employee training, and best practices.
The tours allow people to get insider insights, network with peers and stay ahead of industry trends. Programs are created with retailers and designed to deliver impactful unique experiences for each location.
Who should tour? Retail executives in fashion, apparel, health, beauty, cosmetics, jewelry, restaurants, and department stores as well as executives in branding, IT, operations, business analyst consulting, or retailers who want to learn new perspectives.
What will the tour look like? Each guided tour is led by a retail industry expert who will take retailers to several carefully selected stores at an iconic shopping destination. At each store, an administrator will speak about the features, innovations, store design experience, customer service enhancements and brand stories at that location.
What are the benefits?
- Experience new perspectives as you go behind the scenes
- Learn the different solutions each retail store has adopted to overcome their challenges
- Be inspired with new trends and technology
- Network with your peers
Tour Locations:The Iconic Tour: Fifth Avenue—World-Class LoyaltyOn this tour, we meet with the best-in-class retailers on Fifth Avenue, home to the finest shopping, dining, and cultural destinations in NYC. For more than a century, it has been the definition of glamour for both visitors and locals, and it continues to be a place to experience the best of the best. From flagship boutiques such as Tiffany’s, Gucci, Saks, and Bergdorf’s and cultural spots such as MoMA and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, to luxury hotels just a few steps away from Central Park, Fifth Avenue has something for everyone to enjoy.
What will I learn? You will learn how in-store advertising drives in-store customer loyalty programs. The ad experiences should add value rather than detract from the overall customer experience. Loyalty programs are rising in importance as paid media costs increase, which allows retailers to leverage their own connections with consumers more effectively.
When is this tour offered?
- Saturday, January 11: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm, and 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Monday, January 13: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
- Tuesday, January 14: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
The Meatpacking District In this neighborhood, see AI implemented in technology, automotive, food and fashion stores. Continuing a transformation that began in the 1990s, the Meatpacking District is now home to the famed High Line linear park and the Whitney Museum of American Art. In the last 20 years, fashion and graphic designers, architects, artists, restaurateurs, world-renowned stylists and corporate headquarters have moved in alongside existing meatpacking plants. It is the home of innovative stores such as the new Google store, Restoration Hardware, the Samsung Innovation Center, Warby Parker, Sephora and many more.
What will I learn? You will learn the best practices of utilizing generative AI and the AI technology road map.
When is this tour offered?
- Saturday, January 11: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm, and 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Monday, January 13: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
- Tuesday, January 14: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Oculus: Where Every Store Has a Story This survey of the Oculus district takes you on a tour of the recent history of retail disruption and adaptation. Visit the Apple Store, which pioneered evaluating staff based on kindness and empathy. Then go to Casper Sleep, which found a way to compress mattresses into boxes. We will stop by the stark Amazon Go, which has done away with checkout, and then take in the voluptuous Eataly, where children take cooking classes while the store sommelier educates parents on the latest Tuscan reds.
What will I learn? Meet and learn more about technology companies driving the pace of change for the next thirty-six months.
When is this tour offered?
- Saturday, January 11, 2025: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm, and 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Monday, January 13: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
- Tuesday, January 14: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
SoHo + NoHo: Connected Store Journey Visit cutting-edge retailers in SoHo + NoHo, neighborhoods that are known worldwide for their innovative artistry and artfulness. Here, retail is unbound, spilling all over the streets in a kaleidoscope of forms. Side by side with iconic stores are avant-garde pop-ups that won’t be around tomorrow. The randomness is inspirational, and it adds to the neighborhoods’ excitement.
What will I learn? Learn about the latest technology and best practices for the connected store journey with a look at 2025 and beyond.
When is this tour offered?
- Saturday, January 11: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm, and 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Monday, January 13: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
- Tuesday, January 14: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Tour meeting locations will be announced prior to NRF 2025. 
