Top 10 Things You Missed at The NRF Big Show 2010

By  Christina Zarrello
Missed NRF's Big Show in New York City this week or couldn't get to everything on your to-do list? Don't worry. We've got you covered. We've highlighted the best of what the RIS team found at the Big Show including blockbuster retailer announcements, game-changing technologies that will revolutionize retail in 2010, sessions that generated the most buzz, celebrity sightings, and the hottest NRF after-parties. Find out 10 things (and a whole lot more) that made this year's NRF Big Show a must-attend event.

1. First-Ever RetailROI Super Saturday Raises $100,000
More than 100 retail executives including CIOs, analysts and strategic thinkers gathered at the first-ever NRF RetailROI Super Saturday, which took place on January 9 from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm at the Marriott Manhattan East hotel. The event raised a remarkable $100,000, which will be donated to a select list of charities affiliated with the Retail Orphan initiative (ROI). The money will support efforts to aid orphans throughout the world including those that are most vulnerable and in need of help. For more information about RetailROI Super Saturday, click here.

2. Retailer's Rock Out at NRF's Hippest Party
Sunday's Rock N' Roll Retail event produced by RIS News and RSR Research proved that rock n' roll is here to stay. The stage at B.B. King Bar and Grill showcased a variety of talented musicians from the retail industry, which shocked audiences with their "hidden" musical talents. Three bands performed some of the greatest rock' n roll hits of all time including "Unchain My Heart," "American Girl," "I Love Rock N' Roll" and several other popular rock ballads. The band "Localized Assortments" took top prize and will donate $1,000 to their favorite charity. To see coverage from this year's hottest NRF party, click here.

3. Swanky Fun at CIO Insider's Party
An invitation-only gathering of more than 300 CIOs and top retail executives gathered at a "secret" location on Sunday evening for a swanky, fun-filled night of cocktails, games and fun produced by Cathy Hotka and Associates. The event featured race car and roller coaster stimulators, which were a huge hit among guests. As part of the event, RetailROI hosted a silent auction that raised $20,000.

4. Celebs and Big Names Draw Eyes and Attention
Attendees had the opportunity to see or meet the winning manager of the 2009 World Series, the winning dance act from MTV's America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC), and Zappo's CEO Tony Hsieh, who is also known for having the most followers on Twitter and for making an appearance on NBC's The Apprentice. New York Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, posed for photos and signed baseball bats for fans in a private room and on the show floor at an event held by Kronos. The winners of MTV's ABDC, Jabberwocky, created buzz (and a lot of noise) at the JDA booth. They were both a crowed pleaser and annoyance, depending on your point of view. Other high-profile retail execs at the Big Show were Tory Burch, CEO of Tesco Sir Terry Leahy, Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren, and Kip Tindell, co-founder and CEO of The Container Store.

5. 200 Retailers Gather at Invitation-Only Sunrise Breakfast
The sixth Annual AMR Sunrise Breakfast was a must-attend event for retail operations and IT executives who gathered at 6:45 am on Monday, January 11, 2010. Not a single seat was empty at the breakfast, which drew more than 200 retailers at sunrise in an exclusive "invitation only" setting. Attendees learned strategies for becoming shopper-driven enterprises and learned about some of the latest technologies that help facilitate demand-driven retailing tools on display at The Big Show. Presenters included Dave Hogan, SVP of retail operations and CIO, NRF, Michael Griswold, vice president, AMR Retail, and the AMR Research retail analyst team.

6. Standing Room Only at the ARTS RIS/IHL Group Store Systems Presentation
Seats at the preview of the RIS Store Systems Study, which is produced in partnership with the IHL Group and cooperation with ARTS were hard to come by at Monday afternoon's Big Ideas session, which drew an ample crowd of retailers and technology providers. The standing-room only session featured Dick Mader, executive director of ARTS, Joe Skorupa, group editor-in-chief of RIS News, and Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group. They shared their insights into some the most critical store systems trends facing retailers in 2010. Attendees were given an exclusive look into the just-released 2010 Store Systems Study, and had the opportunity to ask executives from Cy Young of Burlington Coat Factory, Perry Kramer of BJ's, and Mark Burstein of NGC during a roundtable discussion. To find out more about the 2010 Store Systems Study, click here.

7. Blockbuster Retail Announcements at The Big Show
Technology providers were eager to announce blockbuster customer wins at NRF's Big Show. Major retailer announcements include: The Home Depot transitions all of its U.S. and Canadian retail stores onto Fujitsu U-Scan self-checkout software, which operates as a unique VPOS (Virtual Point-of-Sale)...Best Buy implements merchandise financial planning and item planning applications from Predictix in Mexico and China as part of a broad international rollout...Wakefern Food, operator of ShopRite, announced plans to add SAS Marketing Automation.

8. A Groudbreaking "Sign" of Things to Come
One of the most innovative technologies to debut on the show floor was Intel's Intelligent Digital Signage Concept Proof of Concept, which uses Windows embedded standard 2011 to present dual HD video streams on two separate displays. Intelligent digital signage recognizes consumer gender and height using video analytics and then immerses customers into a rich multi-touch environment. The compelling user experience arms retailers with attractive tools that can help create targeted, personal and effective customer connections.

9. POS and Store Ops Transition to Smart Phones
Smart-phone based POS, which enables retailers to replicate the mobile checkout capabilities that impress consumers in Apple stores, made several appearances on the show floor. Solution providers moving in this direction include Sterling Commerce, Epicor, SAP, Cornell-Mayo and Oracle, who are all in varying phases of product roll out. Mobile manager's apps and POS were so hot we actually may have missed a few who are also developing it.

10. Game-Changing Technologies Debut on the Show Floor
Some of the most game-changing technologies that created buzz on the show floor include: HP's launch of the ap5000 All-in-One POS System, a touch-enabled point-of-sale, which minimizes workspace and enhances promotional activities...Motorola released a new Mobile Loyalty Solution, a managed service that helps retailers foster a more personal relationship with their customers by digitizing store-branded membership cards on customers' mobile phones...NCR and MOD Systems expand the Retail Digital Entertainment Platform with a new interactive self-service kiosks which allows consumers to download digital albums and tracks directly to Secure Digital cards, USB storage devices and various many music players...Kronos unveiled a next-generation user interface for workforce management, a single dashboard that identifies workforce-related issues and guides frontline managers to appropriate resolutions...Escalate Retail premiered its Interactive Store Kiosk application deployed on hardware from HP, and leverages Microsoft's Multi-touch and Silverlight technologies. This platform delivers rich product catalog browsing, highly detailed product features, social shopping features, and an "endless aisle" shopping supported by rich multi-media capabilities...Manhattan Associates is expanding its product offerings with the release of its first forecasting solution, which automatically addresses changes in intermittent and seasonal product demand...Verizon Business unveiled an ambitious wireless cloud-based end-to-end service it calls the Verizon Framework for Retail. It's first partner is Air Defense by Motorola, but many other partners are expected to be lined up in coming months...AfterBot debuts plug-and-play Quick Receipts product for digital receipts based on ARTS standards...Cisco is helping retailers convert their security camera systems into video analytics with a solution that helps improve store performance...SAP debutted a social CRM application that can be thought of as Twitter for grown ups. It aggregates unstructured information from Twitter or Facebook of other sources by using text analysis tools. The aggregation is then categorized by sentiment (strong negative to strong positive) and topics. It also offers a sampling of current postings for each query. Technology like this will soon be a must-have in the age of the social media boom.