NRF Retail's Big Show Europe · 2026

Agoris analysis · updated June 2026

Key takeaways

• NRF 2026: Retail's Big Show Europe (formerly Paris Retail Week, rebranded in 2025) holds its 2nd edition under the new brand from Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 September 2026 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, halls 4 & 6 (2025 layout repeated).
• Event co-organised by Comexposium and the NRF (National Retail Federation): a strategic partnership announced in 2024 to create the European spin-off of the New York Retail's Big Show. Comexposium remains the on-site operator.
• 2025 review (1st NRF edition): 12,500 visitors, 500 exhibitors, 200 speakers, 100 international startups, 58 countries represented, 25,000 sq m of exhibition space. The first European edition was broadly praised by the retail trade press.
• 2026 targets stated by the organisers: 12,500+ professionals, 525 exhibitors, 4,200 brands represented, 200+ speakers, 60+ countries, 100+ exclusive sessions. Edition theme: "The Next Now" (transformations in European and global retail).
• 2015 launch: Paris Retail Week was born from the merger of E-commerce Paris and Equipmag (two Comexposium trade shows). The NRF rebranding in 2025 marked the 10th edition. Equipmag has remained integrated since 2024 within the overall retail / e-commerce / point-of-sale scope.

Who exhibits

Typical profile

An omnichannel retail trade show covering five major exhibitor areas: IT for commerce & logistics, e-logistics and supply chain, payment solutions, retail tech and digital in-store, marketing, data, customer relations. The exhibitor profile is dominated by SaaS vendors, integrators, digital agencies, payment solution providers, last-mile logistics operators, store equipment suppliers and retail tech startups.

Notable exhibitors

The 2025 edition brought together 500 exhibitors including 100 international startups. No 2026 list has been published at this stage: refer to the official exhibitor list as the event approaches. The 2025 international pavilions included delegations from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Poland, the Czech Republic and Israel (via Promosalons).

Visitor quality

The 2025 edition welcomed 12,500 retail decision-makers from 58 countries. Target profile: retailers (CEOs, e-commerce directors, store operations directors, IT/digital directors, logistics directors, marketing data), large European and international distributors, pure-play e-tailers, DTC brands, shopping centre property companies. Qualified retailers benefit from a specific Free Expo Pass (named registration).

Activities & community

Conference programme

More than 100 exclusive sessions announced for 2026 (target of 200 speakers): keynotes, breakout sessions, expert talks. The programme is structured around eight themes: seamless unified retail, store design innovation and technology, logistics and supply chain, CSR and ESG, marketplace growth, payments innovation, CRM systems, intelligent use of digital data. The 2026 editorial theme is "The Next Now".

Awards & accolades

The Retail's Big Show Europe Awards are presented on 16 September (day 2) and reward the most innovative solutions. For the 2026 edition, the organiser's website announces 9 categories (vs 8 in 2025). 2025 winners (8 categories, official labels verbatim):

• Seamless Unified Retail Store: New Black
• Store Design, Innovation, and Technology: Vusion Group
• Logistics and Supply Chain: IF Returns
• Expansion of Marketplaces: Mirakl
• Payment Innovations: Lyzi
• CRM Systems: Loyaltee
• Intelligent Use of Data: Live Crew
• Startup/Innovation: Claim.me

Satellite events

Three flagship experience zones within the trade show: Innovators Showcase, Startup Hub, House of Innovation Pavilion. The event remains a convergence point for the Parisian pop-up stores activated by exhibiting brands during the week, with no official co-organised pop-up programme at this stage.

Community & networks

A structuring strategic partnership: NRF (National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail association, based in Washington) + Comexposium (the historic organiser of Paris Retail Week). The event is part of the NRF Global Network alongside the Retail's Big Show New York (January) and the Retail's Big Show Asia Pacific (Singapore). International exhibitor recruitment via Promosalons.

Retail trade press: LSA, e-marketing, Republik Retail, FashionUnited, Mind Retail, A1 Retail, Retail Times.

What's new in 2026

• 2nd edition under the NRF brand, following a 2025 first edition judged a success by the trade press
• Target of 9 award categories (vs 8 in 2025)
• "The Next Now" theme centred on AI transformations, consumer expectations and sustainability imperatives
• Confirmed presence in Paris despite competition from European retail events (Shoptalk Europe, EuroShop)

On site: what you need to know

• Venue: Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, halls 4 & 6 (2025 layout repeated, to be checked against the official practical information as the event approaches).
• Dates and opening hours: Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 September 2026, three fully professional days (no general public opening).
• Visitor passes: Free Expo Pass reserved for qualified retailers (named validation by the NRF depending on company type and job role). Non-Retailer All-Access Pass at €1,950 excl. VAT: access to keynotes, breakouts, Exhibitor Big Ideas, expo, Startup Hub, Innovators Showcase. Prices and conditions to be confirmed on the official registration page.
• Transport, parking and accommodation logistics: see the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles page. Mid-September in Paris is a less stretched week than June (Roland-Garros, VivaTech, Tour de France), but still allow 3 to 4 months' lead time for accommodation in the 15th arrondissement.

How much it costs to exhibit

Preparing your visit

For the exhibitor

• 9 months out: get in touch with the Comexposium / NRF sales team, choose your scope (Startup Hub, Innovators Showcase, international pavilion, standard stand)
• 6 months out: apply for the Retail's Big Show Europe Awards (9 categories in 2026), validate package and location
• 4 months out: stand brief, targeting of visiting retailers, matchmaking activation on the official platform
• 2 months out: team accreditation, accommodation booking in the 15th arrondissement, product demo brief
• 3 weeks out: scheduling of B2B meetings, sales demo brief, finalisation of collateral and signage

For the decision-maker visitor

• Retailers: check your eligibility for the Free Expo Pass as soon as registration opens (named NRF validation required, do not wait until the final weeks).
• Non-retailers (vendors, agencies, consultancies): All-Access Pass at €1,950 excl. VAT, to be weighed up depending on the value of the keynotes / breakouts compared with the expo alone.
• Identify your 10 to 15 priority exhibitors among the 500+ present in advance. Map your route by theme (payment, logistics, data, store tech).
• Allow 2 days minimum to cover the expo + keynotes + Startup Hub. Three days for those targeting the ESG / data breakouts.
• Cross-reference with the European retail calendar: Shoptalk Europe (June, Barcelona) and EuroShop (triennial, Düsseldorf) are the two other structuring fixtures of the ecosystem.

Policy & CSR initiatives

The 2026 edition lists "CSR and ESG" as one of the eight major thematic strands of the conference programme, reflecting a sustainability positioning claimed by the organisers. The 2025 trade press noted that the sustainability issue was central to the show's keynotes (retail climate tech, circular economy, low-carbon supply chain).

No structured, publicly available CSR programme specific to the trade show (such as a Net Zero Carbon Events charter or a published carbon footprint) has been identified to date on the official website. The dedicated CSR award category that existed in 2024 under Paris Retail Week (2024 winner: Save Your Wardrobe) does not appear as such in the 2025 NRF honours list, the ESG topic now being addressed transversally across the programme.

The trade show's evolution

Trajectory analysis

A trajectory in deep transformation: 10 editions under the Paris Retail Week brand (2015-2024) peaking at around 40,000 visitors in the best years, then a shift in 2025 to a more tightly focused, more international event under the NRF Retail's Big Show Europe brand. The 12,500-visitor figure for 2025 is below the historic Paris Retail Week peak, but the event embraces a repositioning towards a target of international retail decision-makers (58 countries) rather than a broader B2B general audience. The 2026 edition retains the format and the target. The Comexposium / NRF partnership is part of an NRF Global Network strategy (New York January, Singapore autumn for Asia, Paris September for Europe) that now structures the global retail calendar.

Unless otherwise stated, all factual data in this listing comes from the organiser's official website (nrfbigshoweurope.com).