Singapore Adds NRF 2024: Retail's Big Show Asia Pacific to its Flagship Event List

The Asia Pacific edition of the celebrated Retail's Big Show from New York City will be held in Singapore for the first time to transform consumer experiences in the new retail age

SINGAPORE, March 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Retail Federation (NRF) in the U.S. and global event organiser Comexposium are proud in bringing NRF 2024: Retail's Big Show Asia Pacific, one of the most celebrated and anticipated conferences and exhibitions, to Singapore for the first time this June 11-13, 2024 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Retail's Big Show is the signature global retail event held in New York City annually, and has been ranked one of the top 200 events in North America and one of the 50 fastest-growing trade events internationally.

With support from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the Asia Pacific (APAC) edition of Retail's Big Show will be held in Singapore for the first time this year. Singapore's strategic location and its long-established status as a regional business centre provide an optimal stage for NRF to launch the first-ever APAC version of Retail's Big Show, aiming to integrate leaders and organisations across the retail industry to collaborate at a pan-regional level.

Themed "Fast Track Your Success", NRF APAC 2024 features a remarkable line-up of conference programmes, exhibition and retail store tours across the three-day event in June. These include the latest technology and innovations, best practices and thought leadership spanning the entire retail industry, such as AI and machine learning, supply chain, loss prevention and asset protection, merchandising and immersive technologies.

"APAC is the world's largest retail market and yet the most underserved. This dynamic and diverse marketplace is at the cusp of a transformative era where traditional retail paradigms are no longer adequate to meet fast-evolving consumer demands," said Ryf Quail, Managing Director, NRF 2024: Retail's Big Show Asia Pacific, Comexposium. "The digital age beckons for a new retail concept, one that harmonises the digital with the physical, personalises customer experiences and leverages data and technology to create seamless, omnichannel journeys. Innovating the retail model is not merely an option but imperative for capturing the hearts and minds of the APAC consumer today and steering the industry towards sustainable growth and relevance."

Home to 60 per cent of the world's population, APAC is an immense market for retail that has been experiencing unprecedented growth, fueled by the region's vast population, increasing urbanisation and the rapid rise of megacities, as well as consumers' savviness in using advanced technology to access products and services. These sweeping trends have called for a new retail concept that is poised to revolutionise consumer experiences in APAC both online and in-store.

Enterprise Singapore, the government agency championing enterprise development, is supporting the Singapore Retailers Association to curate unique retail store tour experiences for show delegates and also bring together Singapore retail technology players to showcase at the national pavilion. Said Jeannie Lim, Assistant Chief Assistant Officer (Lifestyle & Consumer), Enterprise Singapore, "We are happy to be supporting the inaugural Asia Pacific edition of NRF 2024: Retail's Big Show. As a vibrant lifestyle and tourist hub in Asia, Singapore serves as an ideal destination for global and local brands seeking to expand into the region. Through this event, we look forward to new opportunities and collaborations between brands and partners to innovate and transform their products and services, to provide exciting and immersive experiences for shoppers."

"As Singapore's largest retailer, we aim to stay one step ahead of our customers' shopping habits and preferences. Technology and data have helped us to better understand consumer needs and provide them with seamless convenience and accessibility. Digitalisation is enhancing our competitiveness, effectiveness, and efficiency, and has been the driving force behind our disruptive efforts to reinvent retail across our touchpoints in recent years," shared Vipul Chawla, Group CEO, FairPrice Group.

"As cross-border travel from China continues to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, it's likely that the growing number of Chinese travellers will give a further boost to retailers in places like Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong," said David Mann, Chief Economist, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. "At the same time, consumers across Asia Pacific are spending more on dining out and eating in, as well as experiences like concerts and mega events. For example, Melbourne typically sees an uplift of over 10% in retail sales in the city during the Australian Open tennis tournament."

The three-day event is expected to attract 300+ exhibitors and 5,000+ retail leaders from the region and across the world to share knowledge and best practices, network with industry peers, and witness latest technologies and innovations available for transforming consumer experiences in the new retail age. For more information, please refer to Annex 1 or visit https://nrfbigshowapac.nrf.com/.