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ChatGPT going to take away your job? No. But somebody using generative AI is going to take your job." AI Won't Replace Humans at Retail Amid concerns AI might take the jobs of humans, several sessions touched on the importance of human connections as part of the shop- ping experience. At the store level, AI has the potential to replace staff 's mundane tasks to free them up to better service customers. Suzanne Long, chief sustainability and transformation officer at the grocer Albertons, believes people "crave" human connections with so much time spent on mobile phones and computers. She further believes human interaction at physical stores is the core differential from the Amazon shopping experience. Long said, "It's about what service can you provide to create that hu- man-to-human connection that would otherwise just be a transaction." "I think it's that balance between tech- nology and that human interaction in retail that's going to pave the way for the future," said Target CEO Brian Cornell. Social Commerce Set to Take Off Social commerce, or using livestreaming video broadcasts online to sell products to viewers, was touted across several sessions for its potential to reach younger consumers despite a potential ban at the time of the platform leading the practice, TikTok. Linda Li, head of customer activation & marketing for H&M Americas, "I don't think any brand can be relevant for this younger generation…without social commerce." Pacsun CEO Brieane Olson mentioned how social commerce particularly resonates with its target 16-to-24-year-old customer that wants to be "part of the conversation" and "co-create alongside" brands. On TikTok Shop, Pacsun sold nearly half a million pairs of jeans via livestreaming in the last 18 months. Said Olsen, "It's a really significant number. And what's more interesting is the halo that we've created in our stores, on all of our other channels, and in our community of people who want to get the jeans that they saw on TikTok." Social commerce, also increasingly popular on Facebook and Instagram, represents only 6.6% of online sales in the U.S., according to Emarketer, but is seen as here to stay. Sky Canaves, principal analyst of retail and e-commerce at Emarketer, said, "It's part of a much broader shi taking place globally in how new and younger consumers interact with retail." Economic Uncertainty While the NRF reported 2024 holiday sales grew 4%, topping its forecast of 2.5% to 3.5% growth, 2025 is expected to be another year of challenges, including potential tariffs. "2024 was a successful year in the face of a lot of challenges like lingering inflation, elevated interest rates, geopolitical issues and events with labor and the ports, and we'd love to say that's all in the past, and that this year is going to be smooth sailing, but this year will bring more uncertainty and more challenges," said John Furner, CEO of Walmart U.S. Jack Kleinhenz, the NRF's chief economist, said, "e momentum of 2024 should continue into 2025, but at a slower pace. ere is good reason to expect healthy growth, but there are a lot of moving parts and there is uncertainty over trade, immigration and regulation, and probably we will see some volatility, especially in the stock market." The Sustainability Prerogative As companies race to achieve their 2030 sustainability targets, myriad exhibitors supported solutions that promised to save retailers money while benefiting the planet. At one session, sustainability leaders from IKEA U.S., Target and Walmart explored efforts in education, awareness and outreach to associates and consumers. Ramallo Garcia, VP, enterprise sustainability with Target, said, "What we have learned is that, when you actually align a potential solution to what they care about most, which is affordability, convenience and, of course, ease and quality, they are really, really willing to embrace it." n sportstylemag.com • sportstyle January/February 2025 • 7 At the NRF '25 Big Show in NYC technology was a key talking point.

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