NRF is huge – there are around 33,000 people here – and while there is a lot on show here is our pick of the technology trends affecting retailers.

NRF has become so big – there are around 33,000 people here this year – that rounding up everything discussed each day would probably involve listing every prescient technology trend affecting retailers in 2015.

While there are relatively few UK retailers speaking at the conference, it still serves as the most important look at retail technology anywhere in the world, and the international nature of the crowd shows how today’s technology evolution is a global one.

The retail technology world has resolutely shaken off its recessionary dip of a few years ago and the number of vendors exhibiting at the show seems to have mushroomed – the exhibition hall holds everything from mirrors that remember who you are to drones that take pictures of shelves to let staff know what needs restocking.

Wipro drone at NRF

As for the trends that were discussed on Monday, we heard about RFID technology as Macy’s discussed its experience with the tags, and international expansion as Debenhams spoke of Africa being the next frontier for growth.

Overall, the conversation is similar to that happening among many retailers in the UK, and is centred on the challenges of moving into the next stage of omnichannel retailing, and of investing in core systems while balancing this with innovation and customer-facing technologies.

Every retailer is at a slightly different stage in the omnichannel evolution but there are some ideas surrounding best practice that are emerging from the haze.

Picking the right moment to replace legacy systems is one, and the importance of investing simultaneously in the front end and back end is another. Technology-enabled innovation has become a requirement and developing the ability to fail fast is a priority on the to-do list of a growing number of chief information officers.

Building strong processes that enable operational efficiency also came up frequently – the importance of robust logistics and IT was highlighted starkly by 2014’s unpredictable Christmas period in the UK.

And enabling people across the business to see the benefit of omnichannel-related changes for themselves is crucial – the benefit of trials is clearer than ever, as retailers test everything from mobile point of sale to interactive touchscreens in-store.

Finally, NRF allows attendees the opportunity to do more than hear the theory in conference sessions, or hear the sales pitch in the exhibition halls. New York’s retail offer is one of the best in the world and the sales assistants in stores from Diesel to Kate Spade highlight how crucial their role has become in enabling omnichannel retailing to happen.

They are making change happen where it matters, and it’s gratifying to see the change NRF helps to produce taking place on the shopfloor.