"Unlike NRF's Retail's Big Show 2025 held in New York in January, this new event was not overwhelmed by over-hyped potential artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities. Although AI was prevalent at NRF Europe, the technology was portrayed in a more measured manner - perhaps as a sign of growing recognition that AI is a powerful tool that can act behind the scenes and complement the existing operations and processes of retailers."
"Miguel Angel Gonzalez Gilbert, chief digital officer at Carrefour, was in agreement with this view as he highlighted how widely AI is now being used in-store, within e-commerce and in the warehouses among other areas. A recent move involves deploying Google's Gemini AI tool to Carrefour's 300,000 associates around the world. "Technology will play a role as an ally. It's a fantastic enabler...but we do not see our employees being replaced by robots," he said."
In September 2025, Paris hosted the inaugural European NRF showcase, attracting 500 retail technology exhibitors and 12,500 executives and specialists from 58 countries. AI featured widely but was presented in a tempered, practical way as a tool to support existing operations rather than a disruptive replacement for staff. Retailers described AI as a quiet co-pilot for product teams and as an enabler across stores, e-commerce and warehouses, including experiments such as AI-assisted 3D printing of shoes. Nvidia and Lowe's highlighted digital twins combined with computer vision to optimise distribution centre throughput, demonstrating supply-chain applications.
Read at ComputerWeekly.com
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