Retail transformation in focus at NRF Paris 2025
- Thought leadership
- 3 Minute Read
- Last updated 23/09/2025
Key Insights
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Retailers are prioritizing seamless unified journeys, but face ongoing challenges with fragmentation, vendor lock-in, and slow rollouts.
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ISVs are frustrated by full-stack providers limiting flexibility, creating strong demand for open, agile orchestration.
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Hardware innovation is reshaping the store, with mobile and tablet-based checkouts emerging as the new standard for customer-first experiences.
- Aevi helps ISVs, acquirers, and retailers innovate faster, orchestrating in-person payments to create seamless, customer-first experiences.
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Last week (16.-18.09.2025), our team attended the very first NRF Europe event in Paris. With two of our colleagues onsite, we had the chance to explore how retailers are rethinking the in-store experience and where Aevi’s open in-person payment orchestration can make a difference.
Beyond the checkout: experience takes centre stage
What stood out clearly: enterprise retailers, especially in beauty, luxury, and fashion, are looking beyond the checkout. Store transformation and customer experience are taking centre stage. The conversations confirmed that payments are no longer just about transactions. They’re about removing friction and making sure the last touchpoint in-store is as seamless as the first.
The strongest theme around the show was “seamless unified retail”. Retailers are pushing to connect online and offline journeys so that payments, loyalty, and data flow without interruption. Concepts like click & collect, endless aisle, and Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (BOPIS) are top of mind, but execution remains patchy. As Fabrizio Barni, our Head of Retail EMEA, put it:
“The usual three challenges came up strongly: fragmentation, vendor lock-in, and slow rollouts. Lock-in was the loudest pain point.”
ISVs frustrated by lock-in
That frustration was echoed by ISVs, many of whom are openly voicing how limited they feel when tied to full-stack providers. They want freedom to innovate and move faster but are often held back by provider roadmaps. Nadim Ghafoor, Pre-Sales Aevi, noted:
“It’s exciting to see the interest in how the Aevi in-person payment orchestration platform opens up new possibilities by giving partners choice, agility, and the ability to bring innovative solutions to their merchants without being locked in.”
Acquirers, too, are beginning to recognize the shift. By simplifying integration, streamlining onboarding, and offering flexible commercial models, they can position themselves as the partner of choice, competing more effectively with full-stack providers and helping ISVs scale faster.
Beyond strategy, hardware innovation also stood out. Mobile and tablet-based payment solutions were everywhere, giving staff the ability to complete transactions anywhere in-store. This shift not only reduces queues but also ensures that the last impression a customer has is a positive one.
“Reimagined checkout is the must-watch trend from Paris. It is fluid, mobile, and built around the customer rather than the counter,”
- Fabrizio Barni, Head of Retail EMEA, Aevi
A new vision of checkout
That future vision was brought to life during a store visit hosted by New Black at a Rituals store in Paris. The brand is slimming down traditional checkout desks, aiming to empower staff to act as consultants who guide customers through the experience and then complete the payment right there.
As Nadim shared:
“Specialty retailers don’t want a checkout that pulls the customer away from the experience or highlights a provider’s logo. They want it to feel seamless and on-brand, with store staff free to focus on service and engagement.”
Retailers face a growing disconnect between what consumers expect and what their payment systems can deliver. With new experiences like endless aisle, loyalty integration, and mobile checkout moving from “nice-to-have” to “must-have,” those who stay locked into rigid systems risk falling behind.
The direction is clear, retailers are serious about transforming stores into customer-first experiences, and payments are central to making it happen.
For Aevi, this reinforces our mission to orchestrate in-person payments so that ISVs, acquirers, and retailers can innovate freely, move faster, and deliver experiences that put the customer first.
Want to explore how Aevi can support your retail transformation? Get in touch with our team to start the conversation.
