MarketScale Live At NRF 2019

This Live Blog was last updated January 15th at 2:30pm.

With NRF 2019 in full swing, our own Geoffrey Short is in New York City to bring you all the latest from the show. We will be updating this post throughout the day with all of his interviews, products demos, and insights from the show. You can also follow us on social media to get our live updates faster!

Twitter: @RetailMKSL

Instagram: @MarketScale

Tuesday January 15th

NRF 2019 is in full swing and MarketScale’s Chief Digital Editor Geoff Short is in the middle of it. He joined the podcast to recap what he saw and experienced at the retail industry’s big show for 2019.

 

The MarketScale team received a hands-on explanation of frictionless payment and how the industry is tackling potential security concerns. “The industry is wide awake to [security] threats, it’s just a question of how to implement these kinds of things,” Short said.

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085181290347933696

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085188889411645441

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085196874074607616

MarketScale took a private media tour of the area on the first day of NRF 2019 to see what stood out amongst these rising brands.

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085199460513210371

Tompkins Robotics: Another impact of the e-commerce world is the need for extremely efficient and precise distribution centers. Tompkins Robotics is automating this process with its team of mobile item sorting devices for warehouses. According to the company, four of the United States’ 10 largest retailers have already partnered signed on to use the ‘automated robotic sortation’ devices.

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085212001134149632

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085221145421459457

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085221760650436608

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085222191531286528

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085225941238984707

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085229056143036420

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085231965995962369

Companies are showing off their best and brightest new products to help retailers attract shoppers to an in-store experience. While e-commerce continues to rise, in-store shopping isn’t fading. It’s being transformed with the help of technology.

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1085233527942205440

 

Monday January 14th

This year’s conference will focus on the impact of the industry across many categories. Namely, business models and strategies that are perfecting, disrupting and innovating within the retail world. Attendees are hearing how retailers are refining the industry through social impact and challenging old standards

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084815446229045248

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084820075876634626

The retail industry has undergone a revolution as a result of eCommerce. This transformation has negatively impacted physical stores that have tried to compete with online retailers. However, according to Juniper Research, retail spending at friction-less payment stores will increase drastically by 2023.

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084857050952335369

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084890594688880646

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084933975209115648

 

Sunday January 13th

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084472942665314305

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084503421372325888

While the U.S. has shifted to a service-based economy, mobile devices haven’t effectively benefited the growing number of service jobs. There is arguably no sector of our economy undergoing more disruption caused by the mobile revolution than retail. This transformation in retail has created new marketplaces, payment methods and delivery options to service today’s “always connected” customers.

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084507912280698880

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084511397936095232

Face recognition technology has become accurate enough for practically everyone to have an interest in it. Any place with security concerns—including sporting facilities, malls, and public places where large numbers of people may assemble—or who want to reduce shoplifting, should have at the very least investigated facial recognition. Even those who are using standard digital cameras for security could easily upgrade to facial recognition by simply starting to use the software.

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084513100798279681

As two of the most attacked industries, retail and e-commerce need to work with a security provider who grasps where various threats are coming from, the tactics being used, and tactics in development that will likely arise down the road. AI is helping in various ways. While technology itself is neutral, AI tech can be adapted and used either for or against a company. Corporations must take advantage of tools offered by AI and understand how adversaries can use them against an entity.

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084532326086963206

 

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084559527008182275

 

https://twitter.com/RetailMKSL/status/1084581745696129025

 

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Retail Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @RetailMKSL
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

skilled trades mentorship
Why the Modern Data Center Is Forcing Communities and Policymakers to Rethink Infrastructure
April 21, 2026

Data centers have moved from largely invisible digital infrastructure to a highly visible source of public debate as artificial intelligence accelerates demand for power, fiber, and compute capacity. The modern data center is now being built closer to population centers to support low-latency services, bringing critical infrastructure into direct contact with residential communities for…

Read More
Inside the Spot Freight Shift: How Manifold Is Simplifying a Fragmented Logistics Market
April 21, 2026

The freight market is in the midst of a notable shift. With national tender rejection rates approaching 14% by the end of Q1, freight conditions have shifted back in carriers’ favor, often coinciding with increased activity in the spot market. At the same time, logistics teams are juggling an increasingly fragmented ecosystem of portals, emails,…

Read More
healthcare 2026
Healthcare’s 2026 Reality: Growing Workforce Gaps, Tiered Access, and the Rise of AI Support
April 20, 2026

Healthcare systems are entering 2026 under mounting pressure. A growing, aging population and rising disease burden are colliding with persistent workforce shortages—highlighted by projections that new cancer diagnoses in the U.S. will surpass two million this year alone. The stakes are no longer theoretical: delays in care, limited specialist access, and widening disparities are…

Read More
Mental Health Care
Policy, AI, and New Funding Models Are Reshaping Mental Health Care Delivery
April 16, 2026

Mental health care isn’t a new problem—but it’s finally being treated like an urgent one. After years of being sidelined, the cracks in the system are becoming impossible to ignore: overstretched clinicians, long wait times, and entire communities without consistent access to care. In the U.S., the scale is striking—more than one in five…

Read More