May 2026

The 2026 edition of Shop! Marketplace (which focuses on developments in the physical retail industry) took place May 5-7 in New Orleans, and there were plenty of impactful developments taking shape in retail!

If you couldn’t make it to the Big Easy for the big trade show, NFI has got you covered with a quick-hit round-up. These are some of the highlights to know about coming out of Shop! Marketplace 2026:

  • The Shop! Association recognized the 2026 Outstanding Merchandising Achievement and Design Awards. Here’s a list of this year’s winners, plus a look at previous years.

  • AI (Artificial Intelligence) also got its moment to shine in several exhibitions. Footwear & apparel giant PUMA rolled out its use of multilingual AI agents and digital human concierge services on the retail floor, which is positioned as an enhancement to the human touch and not a replacement for it. Another program offered ways to prevent ORC (Organized Retail Crime) by deploying invisible tech on the sales floor that still preserves the in-store customer experience.

  • With worldwide supply issues, and tariff concerns still dominating the news cycle, sustainable material choices are a must to explore. Taylor Corporation took home an Outstanding Booth Award for its Substrate Materials Lab – a hands-on testing experience to showcase, compare, and test sustainable new construction materials, displays, and modular fixtures.

  • Check out the agenda of speakers to find topics relevant to your specific industry, but make sure to check out the keynote address Retail Reset: Trends Shaping the Next Era of the Store by David Meyer (Design Lead, Target), Tiffany Pieja (Senior Manager, Permanent Merchandising, Hershey) and David Kepron (Retail Studio Principal, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting Inc.)

To learn more about the 2026 edition of Shop! Marketplace, visit their official website

PS – they’re already promoting the 2027 edition, with dates and location still TBD!

 

That’s it for this edition of The NFI Northstar. Thanks for reading! We’ll be back next month with more helpful industry news.

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