If you missed National Retail Federation (NRF) 2025, here's a concise summary of the key takeaways. The theme of this show was unmistakable: AI in retail is maturing beyond buzzwords to practical, ROI-driven solutions.
Unlike previous shows, where AI was often showcased as aspirational, 2025 brought tangible deployable products ready to address operational efficiency, loss prevention, check-out process, and store communications. The message was clear — AI and data are transforming the in-store retail experience into smarter, more connected journey.
The Practical Impact of AI on Retail Operations
AI is no longer just a concept — it’s actively reshaping the way retailers operate. Here’s how AI is revolutionizing four critical areas of retail operations:
1. AI-enabled Digital Twin Technology
After years of hype and investment, digital twin technology is finally being applied at scale, though primarily by larger retailers. Lowe’s, for example, has created digital twins for 1,700 stores, updating them several times a day with operational and inventory data. This allows the retailer to simulate layouts and conditions, optimizing the shopping experience. Similar technology is being used in logistics, improving warehouse layouts for retail and e-commerce fulfilment.
However, as Shawn Crabtree, leader of Compugen’s AI Practice advises, “Retailers must prioritize data hygiene, security, and privacy — these are the foundations of any effective AI strategy.”
2. AI Revolutionizing Self-Checkout + Self Service
AI-powered self-checkout systems have matured significantly. Multiple vendors now offer solutions with built-in item recognition and fraud prevention. Mainstream players like Toshiba have introduced their own versions of ‘scanless checkout’ concepts, a technology previously synonymous only with innovators like Mashgin. Zebra and Datalogic now both offer AI features such as produce recognition and ticket-switching detection directly embedded in their scanner-scales. Toshiba and Fujitsu’s camera-based AI solutions for traditional self-checkouts were among the highlights, showing the growing competition in this space. With increasing vendor options, retailers face the challenge of choosing the right partner to implement these transformative technologies.
3. Computer Vision Combating Retail Crime + Enhancing Insights
Computer vision is being democratized, offering retailers new ways to track shopper movements, identify repeat offenders, and gain detailed insights into physical spaces. At this year’s NRF, the technology’s evolution was evident as edge server architectures gave way to silicon-enabled cameras, making AI at the endpoint more accessible and cost-effective for businesses of all sizes to deploy.
Basic analytics like motion detection and traffic counting are now expected as part of standard features from most camera manufacturers, including AXIS and Cisco Meraki. Advanced features — such as heat mapping, gender and facial recognition, licence plate tracking, and even natural language video search — are also now available at no additional cost from industry leaders like Verkada. Retailers seeking even greater insights about shopper behavior in their stores, can layer platforms like Everyangle on top of most RTSP-enabled cameras to obtain the most advanced demographic analysis and detailed dashboards.
For retailers aiming for ambitious applications, such as cashierless stores, solutions from AiFi’s technology offer groundbreaking capabilities. AiFi, an HP partner and a Microsoft Azure-friendly alternative to Amazon’s Just Walk Out (JWO) technology, enables the seamless tracking of items from shelf to the exit — even in massive environments like the Intuit Dome!
4. AI Enhancing Store Communications
With up to 80% of frontline staff feeling underserved by technology, AI in store communications was a standout area at this year’s show. Vendors showcased AI-enriched tools designed to empower frontline workers with enhanced communication and productivity capabilities.
Zebra’s refined “Companion” suite included AI agents designed to empower retail workers by addressing critical in-store needs. The suite features a Knowledge Agent, enabling conversational interactions with job aids and standard operating procedures, a Sales Agent to assist with product-related inquiries, and a Merchandising Agent, which uses cameras to assess shelf health and resolve issues such as out-of-stock items and planogram misplacements.
Microsoft also impressed with tremendous progress and new AI features for their Teams for Frontline Associates, a platform connecting corporate communications with retail staff. In addition to basic voice, messaging and tasking features already included in Teams, retailers can now use the platform to deliver custom AI agents for use by staff in the stores. Retail frontline staff can now use the Teams interface to look up inventory, get product info or get help with operational tasks.
A hidden gem on this front was Microsoft’s partner SYNQ Technologies using AI and Azure cognitive services to turn standard retailer’s radio chatter into structured, actionable data, on using which an AI agent could provide sales coaching, escalate tasks or offer inventory updates… all over retailers’ existing radios! AI is becoming truly omnipresent!
2025: A Bright Year for Retail + AI
NRF 2025 will be remembered as a pivotal moment for AI in retail. From digital twin technology and self-checkout innovations to computer vision and advanced store communications, the event highlighted AI’s practical potential to create smarter, more connected retail experiences.
As retailers embrace these advancements, the challenge will lie in balancing innovation with strategy, choosing the right partners to deploy the solutions and ensuring a solid foundation in data hygiene, security, and privacy.
To learn more about how Compugen’s retail solutions can help your business leverage these advancements, explore our retail resources or connect with our experts today.
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