Retail is an interesting industry. It has its own challenges and opportunities, but what happens in retail is worth watching for marketers in any industry because retailing is the essence of a market. The storefront / cash register / online shopping cart is literally the intersection of the “supply” curve and the “demand” curve that I remember fondly from Econ 101. So that’s why I think it’s worth highlighting what my talented retail industry colleagues have in store for NRF next week in New York City.

“NRF” is shorthand for the annual retailing conference and exposition put on every January by the National Retail Federation, and this year it begins this Sunday. It is a very big event and it’s the largest non-SAS conference we participate in, so there are many opportunities to learn about SAS at NRF.

To begin with, we have a very large presence in booth #1352 that includes multiple courtesy charging stations for cell phones, blackberries and smart phones of various flavors. The SAS booth is also a wi-fi hotspot, so you can stay productive by being connected without leaving the show floor. Also, our fancy-schmancy booth has meeting rooms in it so you can even book a meeting to speak with one of our folks at the show.

Social media is very important to us all, so in addition to keeping you powered and connected, we’re offering our visitors copies of the recently-published book by retailing industry titans Bernie Brennan and Lori Schafer called, “Branded: How Retailers Engage Consumers with Social Media & Mobility.”

Two sessions at the show will feature SAS retail customer executives sharing their perspectives on timely topics. At 11:30am on Monday, Jan. 10 in Room 3D08, Jeffrey Jones, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Chico’s , will present “The Essential P’s of Retail Leadership.” He will explore how to make the merchant’s dream a reality while delivering stellar results. Also on Monday at 3:00pm in Room 3D08, Steve Nevill, Executive Vice President of Inventory Management and Support at Macy’s will present “My Macy’s: The Science of Localization.” He will highlight how Macy’s rethought how to provide a truly personalized experience to the local customer, while retaining the efficiencies of a large company.

In addition to SAS® Customer Intelligence, SAS® Analytics and SAS® Business Intelligence, there will be multiple solutions being demonstrated in our booth:

That line-up of demos is important because together they address the major functions in retail operations. And per the point I made in a previous post about branding having as much to do with communicating as it does with operational alignment, good business strategy involves data-driven marketing that's aligned with data-driven operations.

In this blog, we discuss the challenges of today’s marketers in getting, growing and keeping their best customers, but based on what SAS has planned for NRF, I hope it’s clear that our focus is on being the company that companies turn to for business solutions. So if you’re in New York next week, visit us at NRF, otherwise, check us out on the Web . Let me know what you think.