Like many readers, next week, partner Nikki Baird and I will be attending the NRF Big Show in New York. And also like many of you, I’ve lost track of just how many times over the years I’ve made that trip. The question is, over those years and the indescribable amount of change they’ve brought to our industry, what do I hope to see at this year’s show? What do you?

Personally, my answer is brief: I want to see real-world technologies that solve right-now store problems. The past few years, we, collectively, at RSR, have typified much of what we’ve seen demonstrated in the expo hall as being “cool ” or “shiny. ” Some of these technologies are being showcased just to get attendees out of the aisle and into the booth. And we get that – we genuinely do. With a show that big and bustling it is absolutely vital to bring something that will grab attention. In fact, the Big Show can, in many ways, be viewed as the ultimate example of the “attention economy “: with so much going on simultaneously, every exhibitor’s biggest challenge is to lure your eyes their way.

That said, once the VR or the AR or the interesting signage has lured me in (the “win a car ” stuff never did work), I want to hear a pitch about how that technologist can solve a problem that exists in stores right now. And heaven knows there are plenty to choose from.

The good news? Our Store Report a few months back told us retailers get it. That they KNOW the store is in trouble – but also that they KNOW it can saved: with the help of the right technologists. Notice we’re not saying with the right technologies, but rather, with the help of the right technologists. Vendors who understand the unique position store-based retailers are in at this moment in time. While Amazon breathes down retailers’ doors, but before Amazon has enough doors of its own to be a brick-and-mortar threat.

The question is, did the tech community get the memo? Or as my partner Brian once put it, are too many technologists “too far out over their skis? ” Have they fallen too deeply enamored of their own capabilities to recognize this moment store-based retailers are in? And just how much these retailers genuinely need partners that can help them navigate this new world via comprehensive understanding of the uniqueness at hand – not just someone who will still sell them a “solution “?

The NRF Big Show will be a very clear indicator of this very thing. Not the only indicator, mind you, as evidenced by our travel schedules for the ever-expanding “conference season ” of 2018 (which has morphed from the Spring and Fall affair of the past to more of a January-late November continuum). But it’s always provided a strong look into what’s to come in the year ahead, and 2018 will be no exception.

The really good news? If the pre-show briefings that all four partners have been taking in the recent weeks have been any indicator, a lot of tech providers seem to have gotten the memo. Make sure to join us for our annual recap webinar after the show to see if the pattern really stuck.