NRF Foundation Student Program
From AI-driven merchandising with Gap to sustainability at Coach, the NRF Business of Retail Initiative connects students to real-world retail innovation through the annual NRF Foundation student program in NYC. Explore the experience, highlights, and takeaways from this year’s student program.
NRF Business of Retail Initiative Team Travels to the NRF Student Program
On January 8-11, 2026, the NRF Business of Retail Initiative fellows and program director traveled to New York City to attend the NRF Foundation Student Program, an incredible experience filled with industry insight, inspiration, and meaningful connections.
Over the course of the program, they participated in seminars, panels, and discussions with leaders from across retail, technology, and brand strategy, covering topics like AI in shopping, sustainability, and the future of consumer experience. The trip was a powerful opportunity to connect classroom learning with real-world retail innovation, engage with executives shaping the industry, and bring back fresh ideas to our work at Georgetown.
From Concept to Customer: Inside Kohl’s Retail Operations
At the NRF Foundation Student Program in New York City, attendees participated in Kohl’s Chats as part of the Tours & Talks series, gaining an inside look at how teams across Kohl’s collaborate to move a product from concept to customer. From merchandising and planning to operations and execution, the session highlighted how deeply cross-functional modern retail truly is — showing that no single team owns the customer experience, that scale requires a careful balance of speed, consistency, and adaptability, and that execution matters just as much as strategy. The opportunity to engage directly with industry professionals reinforced how dynamic and people-driven retail is, and how classroom concepts translate into real-world operations.
AI x Retail: Defining the Next Generation Merchant
During the NRF Foundation Student Program, the session AI x Retail: The Rise of the Next Gen Merchant explored how artificial intelligence is reshaping merchandising and redefining the skills future retail leaders will need. Led by PwC’s Jill Noeh, Barbra Bukovac, Max Glickman, and Hunter Thomas, the session combined interactive discussion and hands-on problem solving to show how data, creativity, and empathy must work together to drive better customer outcomes — highlighting that AI enhances rather than replaces merchants, that data is most powerful when paired with real customer context, and that the future merchant is a hybrid of analytical fluency, storytelling, and critical thinking. The session reinforced that as AI continues to transform retail, the most impactful leaders will be those who use technology to strengthen, not replace, human connection.
Building What’s Next with AI: How Daydream and Gap Are Shaping the Future of Shopping
Rather than talking about AI as a distant future or abstract concept, this session at the NRF Student Program brought it to life through real, customer-facing applications. In a discussion led by Sheena Butler-Young, senior correspondent at Business of Fashion, Lisa Yamner, co-founder and chief brands officer at Daydream, and Tamesha Henry, vice president of information technology at Gap Inc., we saw how Gap is already using Daydream to make shopping more conversational, intuitive, and human — meeting customers where they are instead of forcing them to navigate endless product grids. The conversation highlighted AI as a customer experience engine, not just a productivity tool, showed how tools like Daydream are transforming discovery, and reinforced that the true winners in retail will focus not just on what the data says, but why customers behave the way they do. Most importantly, the session underscored that AI isn’t about replacing creativity, but amplifying it — enabling better discovery, storytelling, and decision-making across the entire commerce journey, and pointing toward a future that is more human, contextual, and intelligent.
Retail as a Catalyst: Building a Better World Through Fashion
Few industries have the scale and influence of retail, and this session at the NRF Foundation Student Program was a powerful reminder of just how much responsibility — and opportunity — comes with that reach. Led by Julia Furnari, vice president of sustainability at the Tapestry Foundation and Coach Foundation, the discussion explored how fashion and retail can become true catalysts for social and environmental impact not as side initiatives, but as core business strategy — highlighting that circularity starts at design, that value should extend far beyond the initial purchase, and that every function from design to sourcing plays a role in shaping outcomes. We also learned how brands like Coach are investing in the next generation and building community-powered craft, reinforcing the idea that progress beats perfection, and leaving us with a simple but powerful reminder: when retail changes, the world changes.