Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Throughout the conference, leading retail and technology brands released a steady stream of press releases, surveys and research, including a statement from NRF CEO and President Matthew Shay, who disclosed that the show will expand into Asia Pacific next year with an inaugural APAC event to be held in Singapore from June 11 to 13, 2024.
"NRF is proud to expand the footprint of Retail's Big Show by bringing all the power and reach of our New York show to Asia-Pacific, one of the world's fastest-growing markets with limitless opportunities in retail," Shay said, noting the region represents a $3 trillion consumer market and is poised to become the world's fourth-largest retail market by 2050.
NRF's chief economist, Jack Kleinhenz, Ph.D., CBE led a press briefing on emerging trends and key economic indicators with Sarah Wolf, economist at Morgan Stanley and Kenneth Kim, senior economist at KPMG. The panelists said they expect retailers to weather current economic challenges, buoyed by advanced technologies and a healthy labor market.
Citing the January issue of NRF's Monthly Economic Review, Kleinhenz stated the Fed increased interest rates a half percentage point in December 2022, despite a 7.7 percent drop in inflation, which has been dropping steadily for the past five months, according to the Consumer Price Index.
"It isn't impossible to sidestep a recession, but when the economy slows, it becomes very fragile and the risk rises significantly," Kleinhenz said. "If a recession is in the cards, it will likely be rising interest rates that set it off."
A survey published Jan. 16, 2023, by NMI, found a majority of consumers willing and eager to try new payment methods. Of the 1,000 respondents, 84 percent cited convenience as a leading factor and 49 percent chose speed as a reason to adopt a new payment scheme.
"In 2022, speed and convenience largely dictate consumer payment preferences," NMI researchers wrote. "Younger consumers in particular are eager to try new offerings that offer these benefits — and demand will only increase as familiarity with new payment technology grows. Merchants and payment technology partners must meet consumer enthusiasm with technology that enables frictionless, end-to-end payment experiences."
NMI researchers further noted that contactless payments usage is the fastest growing emerging payment method, closely followed by BNPL and biometric payments. Respondents in 18-24 and 25-40 demographic sectors are most likely to use contactless payments, they stated, at 79 percent and 82 percent, respectively.
Paytech adoption rates will continue to gain traction, NMI added, as consumer excitement to try new payment technologies continues to scale. However, consumers may not always know what they're missing in terms of speed, convenience, security and other benefits, they stated, underscoring the need for trusted authorities to drive education and public awareness.
To access the NMI study, visit: nmi.com/blog/new-from-nmi-consumers-are-eager-to-try-payments-innovations
Additional highlights from NRF 2023: Retail's Big Show can be found at: nrfbigshow.nrf.com/about/2023-event-recap 
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