Feb 22, 2019

Retail Renaissance NY NOW winter market drives historic retail attendance

The nation’s largest retail facing exhibition completely repositioned itself at the Winter edition that took place February 3 through 6, at the Jacob K. Javits Center.

Fully embracing the transformation sweeping the brick & mortar industry, Retail Renaissance NY NOW focused on what success looks like in this new environment of inspirational customer experience.

Extensively reported by Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, Forbes and American Express—the Retail Renaissance is the new reality where e-commerce, still less than 10 percent of retail sales, is largely about “chore” buying while “cherish” is in-store experiences and sales and it’s soaring.

Millennials and Gen Z buyers prefer the store experience — if it is memorable. Today’s buyers seek a creative, discovery experience that is not just about stuff on shelves. This demand is seeing the entry into the market of thousands of “premiere” brick & mortar retailers who present innovative and distinctive products in an inspirational constantly changing format. These premiere retailers are growing 40 times faster than traditional “balanced retailer” that are fast becoming a memory.

Retail Renaissance NY NOW celebrated this focus on inspirational experience with the Transcend Experience, major on floor spaces composed by the industry’s top interior designers such as Robin Baron, Francis Toumbakaris, Vanessa Deleon, and dynamic ASID designers using products from among the show’s 2,300 exhibitors and showrooms around New York City. Retailers experienced what beautiful displays can look like in inspirational spaces using Roche Bobois, Lladro, Chistofle, Baccarat, Kartell, Tom Dixon and many others.

Transcend Talks featured on floor presentations where the CEO’s of Lladro, Lissoni, Zanotta, top retailers and designers, social media gurus and industry analysts all came together in dynamic panels to discuss the future of retail to standing room audiences.

In addition, Holiday House @ NY NOW featured five designer stars who each created a “room” composed using the world’s leading brands. The Holiday House also presented a realistic outdoor “terrace” with wine bar. Holiday House topped off the inspirational experience displays for retailers eager for ideas to take home to use in their stores.      

“Positioning NY NOW at the center of the Retail Renaissance created such excitement at the Winter Market. We showed retailers and designers that NY NOW is the place to not only find what is innovative, unique and distinctive for their stores, but to learn what success looks like from those that do it best.” Commented Kevin O’Keefe, EVP Emerald Expositions. “We were delighted to see attendance surge up 20% as thousands of retailers crowded in to be a part of this sweeping renaissance”.