News Summary
- Cisco announced its participation in NRF 2026: Retail's Big Show, taking place January 11-13, 2026, at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.
- Cisco will present its vision for AI-ready retail infrastructure at Booth 5829, featuring networking, security, observability, and collaboration innovations for modern retail.
- A major highlight is the Cisco Store Tech Lab, a fully operational retail environment demonstrating end-to-end innovation across online, in-store, customer service, business insights, and supply chain workflows.
- Cisco will host multiple in-booth theater sessions, covering AI-driven fraud prevention, secure omnichannel experience design, cloud video analytics, and real-time supply chain visibility.
- Network-Switch Official is honored to share this announcement and recognizes Cisco's continued leadership in building secure, scalable, and intelligent infrastructure for retail transformation.
On January 7, 2026, Cisco published its official event announcement for NRF 2026: Retail's Big Show, confirming it will exhibit from January 11-13, 2026, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, with demonstrations and expert sessions hosted at Booth 5829.
Network-Switch Official is honored to share and report on this announcement, which highlights Cisco's continued investment in AI-ready infrastructure designed to help retailers modernize operations, strengthen security, and enhance customer experiences at scale.
NRF is widely recognized as the world's premier retail industry event, bringing together retail leaders, technology innovators, and solution providers. Cisco's presence reflects a global retail trend: enterprises are shifting from isolated upgrades to full-lifecycle infrastructure modernization, where networking, security, and intelligence must work together to deliver seamless omnichannel experiences and resilient operations.
Cisco Store Tech Lab: Innovation in a Real Retail Environment
A centerpiece of Cisco's NRF 2026 showcase is the Cisco Store Tech Lab, described as a fully operational retail environment designed to demonstrate real-world innovation across the retail lifecycle.
Through this immersive lab experience, Cisco showcases how modern infrastructure can enable:
- Smarter online shopping journeys
- Seamless and secure in-store engagement
- Enhanced customer service experiences
- Richer business intelligence and operational insight
- More resilient and efficient supply chain workflows
This approach emphasizes that next-generation retail is not theoretical-it is already achievable with deployable architecture, supported by the right network foundation.
Key Focus Areas Cisco Will Highlight at NRF 2026
Cisco's NRF message connects directly to the operational pillars of modern retail. The showcase is structured around key areas:
Online Experience
Supporting scalable digital commerce with secure connectivity and consistent customer journeys.
In-Store Modernization
Enabling agile store operations through reliable, high-performance networking infrastructure.
Business Insights
Delivering visibility and intelligence through observability and analytics-enabled architecture.
Contact Center and Customer Service
Strengthening customer engagement through connected and collaborative service infrastructure.
Supply Chain Intelligence
Improving resilience and execution efficiency through real-time connectivity and operational visibility.
Together, these focus areas demonstrate Cisco's view that retail success increasingly depends on unified infrastructure-integrating connectivity, security, and intelligence across every environment.
In-Booth Theater Sessions: Retail Priorities in the AI Era
Cisco will also host a schedule of in-booth theater sessions, covering practical topics for retail decision-makers and ICT leaders.
Highlighted themes include:
- Accelerating intelligent retail with AI-ready infrastructure
- AI-driven fraud prevention and loss reduction
- Secure omnichannel experience design
- Intelligent cloud video analytics for store operations and security
- Real-time supply chain visibility for resilience and optimization
These topics reflect the immediate challenges retailers face today-security threats, operational complexity, and rising customer expectations-while reinforcing how AI-era infrastructure is becoming a baseline requirement for modern retail competitiveness.
Future Outlook
The retail industry is entering a new stage where organizations must balance innovation with resilience. Retailers are increasingly expected to deliver:
- Personalized customer experiences
- Secure and trusted transactions
- Efficient operations across stores and logistics
- Faster adoption of AI to improve intelligence and automation
Cisco's NRF 2026 participation signals that future-ready retail infrastructure will be built on foundations that are:
- AI-ready and scalable
- Secure by design
- Observable and insight-driven
- Resilient across cloud, edge, and store environments
Retailers that invest in these capabilities will be better positioned to innovate continuously and respond quickly to market changes.
How Network-switch.com Can Support Retail Customers
While Network-switch.com will not be attending NRF 2026 in person, we warmly encourage retail leaders, system integrators, and ICT professionals who plan to visit Cisco at Booth 5829 to explore Cisco's latest retail innovations.
If you are planning retail infrastructure upgrades or AI-ready modernization, Network-switch.com is ready to support your procurement and deployment needs globally-with trusted supply, certified expertise, and scenario-based solutions.
We welcome you to connect with our team for product recommendations, solution planning, and fast global delivery support.