Walking NRF with Melissa Gonzalez and Nicole Leinbach Reyhle

Geoff Short
Jan 18, 2019
Geoff Short Video Melissa Gonzalez Video Nicole Leinbach Rehyle Video Zach Werblo Video

For three short days this week the entire retail world congregated in one place, New York City’s Javits Center, for NRF 2019. With tens-of-thousands of visitors and a maze of exhibits to check out, this conference had much more to take in than could be achieved in such a short period of time.

MarketScale called upon two of the industry’s most prominent thought leaders to give us a tour of the floor so we could walk away with the most important insight from Retail’s Big Show.

Melissa Gonzalez, CEO and Founder of The Lionesque Group, and Nicole Leinbach Reyhle, Founder of Retail Minded gave us an all-access look at this year’s event. The two told us what their favorite exhibits were, what trends became evident and what their favorite emerging technologies were.

“Everything is an experience, and experience is everything,” Nicole said in summation of what NRF 2019 attendees and retail professionals should take away from this year’s expo.

Experience can mean a number of different things to retailers and Melissa was particularly enthusiastic about digital signage. Where most people associate LED boards with large displays one might see in nearby Times Square, what she noticed at the show was the use of smaller, more personal screens.

“It’s actually the smaller format that’s seeing a lot of growth,” she said.

Frictionless payment was another area where the pair noticed innovation and pointed to it specifically in a sector not known for pushing the boundaries of technological implementation.

“Frictionless payment is such a big conversation in retail right now and it’s happening across a lot of channels, but definitely in the grocery channel, there’s a lot going on in this space,” Nicole noted.

With three floors full of products and displays, there was plenty to talk about, so come explore NRF 2019 through the eyes of Melissa and Nicole!

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

Radar
Physical Retail’s Next Infrastructure Layer: Item-Level Intelligence with Radar
June 4, 2026

Physical retail is under pressure to become as measurable and responsive as e-commerce. While retailers have spent years optimizing digital channels with real-time data, store teams have often had to make decisions with incomplete inventory visibility and delayed operational signals. That gap matters because stores still account for 80% of U.S. retail sales, making…

Read More
Healthcare in Pakistan
From Institutional Excellence to Population-Level Access: How Pakistan Can Bridge Its Healthcare Divide
June 1, 2026

Healthcare systems are under pressure almost everywhere, but the strain is especially visible in lower-resource settings where demand is rising faster than infrastructure. In Pakistan, that pressure is playing out across a system that has to serve more than 250 million people with limited public investment. Public health spending remains below 1% of GDP,…

Read More
Engineering
Scaling Experiential Learning in the Curriculum: How Iron Range Engineering Transformed Engineering Education
June 1, 2026

Engineering has transformed nearly every part of modern life, from the phones in our pockets to the systems powering global industry. But the way engineers are educated has often moved far more slowly than the profession itself. Employers are asking for graduates who can navigate ambiguity, communicate across teams, and contribute meaningfully from the…

Read More
vascular surgeon
When Geography Meets Purpose: How One Move Reshaped a Vascular Surgeon’s Career
May 28, 2026

Medicine isn’t what it used to be—not for the people practicing it. Independent physicians are becoming the exception, not the norm, as more doctors move into hospital systems, corporate groups, and academic networks. At the same time, the pipeline of specialists isn’t keeping pace with growing patient needs, particularly in complex fields like vascular…

Read More
Related
Radar
Software & Technology
Physical Retail’s Next Infrastructure Layer: Item-Level Intelligence with Radar
June 4, 2026
infant health
Healthcare
From Monitoring to Knowing: How Owlet Is Redefining Infant Health at Retail
May 14, 2026

Baby monitors have long promised parents the ability to see and hear their child from another room. But as connected health devices become more normalized in everyday life, from smartwatches to sleep trackers, parents are beginning to expect more than visibility. They want insight. For Owlet, that shift matters because its wearable monitors track…

Read More
Gen Alpha
Healthcare
A Gen Alpha Take on Experiential Retail: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What’s Missing
May 4, 2026

Gen Alpha is no longer a future consumer segment—they are already shaping how retail and entertainment experiences are designed today. Research from MG2 shows that a whopping 70% of Gen Alpha influence what adults in their lives purchase, reshaping brand decisions faster than many companies are prepared for. As experiential retail continues to evolve—with…

Read More