NRF 2026 Recap: Workforce and Retail Execution Strategy in Your Stores  

The key takeaway from NRF this year is clear: boosting performance in your stores is the next competitive edge. Let’s be honest, retail has seen its fair share of big tech promises. But NRF 2026 wasn’t just about showcasing shiny solutions. It was about getting clear on what actually moves the needle in stores: disciplined labor planning, tighter execution, and consistent store communication.  

At StoreForce, we showed up with proof! We brought real data and real outcomes. When labor is aligned to peak hours and operations like task management and communication are in sync, the results speak for themselves. 

Here’s what stood out at NRF, what retailers couldn’t stop talking about, and how StoreForce made workforce execution the center of the conversation. 

Top NRF 2026 Key Take Aways

Physical Retail Reinvention 

Retailers are reimagining their brick-and-mortar spaces, not just as sales channels but as brand experiences. From immersive store design to localized engagement, physical stores are being positioned as a key differentiator in the retail journey.  StoreForce helps retailers optimize across different store formats by aligning labor and task execution to the unique needs of the store and format.  

Human connection, enhanced by tech 

Retailers emphasized how tech should support associates, making them more informed, more effective, and more central to the customer experience. Associates aren’t going away. They’re becoming smarter, more connected, and more critical to brand success.  StoreForce supports this by giving associates visibility into their tasks, schedules, and store goals reducing guesswork and increasing productivity and engagement.  

Frontline workforce strategy as a boardroom priority 

Workforce strategy is now a central business conversation. Executives are looking beyond just coverage, and focusing on how labor optimization improves productivity and sales. And it’s not just about schedules. Task execution, in-store communications, and audit completion are now tied directly to performance metrics. StoreForce equips store leaders with clear workflows, accountability tools, and real-time visibility into store execution. 

Unified commerce powered by store intelligence 

Brands are connecting data across systems such as POS, traffic, task, and scheduling into one view to drive real-time, store-level decisions. That unified approach enables retailers to adjust faster and execute more consistently across regions and banners. StoreForce brings multiple data points together to drive performance in stores.  

Agentic AI in retail operations 

Retailers were eager to move past the AI buzz and get tactical. From merchandising to task flow automation, the conversations centered around “agentic AI,” tools that can operate autonomously and manage specific functions. The consensus: AI must drive ROI, not just intrigue. 

The bottom line is NRF 2026 was less about isolated tech showboats and more about integrated strategic execution. And StoreForce is delivering on that promise with a platform built to empower frontline teams, streamline store operations, and unlock the next wave of retail performance in your stores. 

How Journey’s Uncovered $50 million in New Sales Opportunity 

A highlight at NRF was the StoreForce Big Ideas session: 

“The 25% Comp Sales Gap You Can’t Ignore” 

Our session dug deep into the comp sales gap between top- and bottom-performing locations. Analysis of 150,000+ data points from aggregated client data showed that improving peak-hour coverage correlated directly to comp sales growth. Specifically, locations that increased their peak coverage band saw 2 to 4 percent average sales gains, and in some brackets, comp sales increased by as much as 13.3% to 25%. 

At StoreForce we know that 50% of total sales occur in just 20 hours of the week, showing the high stakes of labor alignment during key periods. 

Journeys’ Director of Retail Data Analytics, Billy Bennett, emphasized how real-time data became part of their culture. “Real-time data drove behavioral change. It became part of the culture,” he said. 

Bennett illustrated that better schedules didn’t just improve performance, they unlocked over $50 million in missed sales at a national scale. 

“A good schedule is worth +10%. A bad schedule loses you 10%.” 

The core takeaway: small adjustments to peak-hour staffing can generate outsized business impact. As Bonnell put it, “Once we had the right data, we could be exact with where labor needed to land. Before, we couldn’t.” 

Learn more about Journey’s Back-to-School 11% sales growth story. 

What You Missed at Booth #2119 (And Why It Matters) 

Reflex: On-Demand W2 Coverage 

In a landscape where flexibility matters more than ever, Reflex showed how retailers can fill last-minute labor gaps with fully compliant, on-demand staff without overspending. Their retail-specific workforce helps turn labor from a constraint into a conversion engine. 

Learn more about Reflex. 

Payactiv: Financial Wellbeing On-Demand 

Retailers are fighting for hourly talent. Payactiv’s earned wage access solutions help retailers support their teams between paydays, increasing retention and satisfaction, two essential pillars in today’s high-turnover climate. 

Click here to learn more about Payactiv’s partnership with StoreForce. 

RetailNext: The “Power of 1%” 

RetailNext showed how a 1 percent improvement in conversion can translate to massive profit. Their platform merges retail analytics (traffic, engagement, and dwell time) into one strategic hub, bringing store intelligence front and center for ops leaders. 

Learn more about RetailNext.