The essential strategy for modern retailers
Clienteling isn’t a temporary trend; it’s the survival strategy for stores in the future.
The core problem clienteling solves is the customer’s desire for an easy, personalized shopping experience. People are tired of feeling like just a number. Clienteling is how you deliver both true personalization and efficient service.
Everyone at NRF 2026 will be focused on giving store associates the right clienteling tools to build those amazing, high-value connections.
The big problem: Why retailers urgently need a unified commerce change
Lately, customers expect more and more from retailers. They want a connected experience: checking stock online, buying in-store, and getting a personalized text about a product they love.
Clienteling fixes the biggest retail challenge: the disconnect between in-store and online.
By making clienteling the main focus, you’re turning every visit and every digital message into an opportunity to strengthen the bond with your customer.
This kind of human-first, tech-powered approach is going to be the central theme at NRF 2026.
Saving money by loving your customers: Cutting CAC and boosting CLV
Retailers are desperately seeking ways to lower the cost of finding new buyers.
Think about the money you spend trying to get new customers (your Customer Acquisition Cost, or CAC), which includes expensive ads and social media campaigns. Clienteling is all about keeping the great customers you already have (retention).
When your associates use a clienteling app to send a simple, personal text about a new product, your customers will come back to purchase faster, and they’ll spend more in each purchase they make— you can check out the data on that here. This dramatically increases their Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)—how much they’ll spend over their entire history with you.
At NRF 2026, every smart retailer will be looking for ways to cut CAC and boost CLV. Clienteling is widely recognized as the best strategy to achieve this.
It’s not just “omnichannel” anymore, it’s unified commerce
You’ve probably heard the word “omnichannel” a lot. That just means all your shopping channels (store, website, app) work together. That concept is now considered old news.
The future and the focus at NRF 2026 is unified commerce. Think of unified commerce as a perfectly connected brain.
When a customer browses a blue sweater online, that information pops up on the store associate’s device when the customer comes in. The entire customer experience is connected, highly personalized, and never confusing.
Clienteling is the essential tool that makes this unified experience actually happen and is executed effectively on the sales floor.
The main takeaway: Why clienteling is your retail superpower
Clienteling isn’t just a fancy new idea—it’s the way stores are going to survive and thrive.
Every successful store at NRF 2026 will be talking about this: Customers want an easy, personal experience, and they hate feeling ignored. Clienteling fixes this by giving store employees the power to connect with shoppers personally, whether they’re in the store or at home.
The big lesson is simple: When you treat your current customers well, you save a lot of money. Clienteling helps stores stop wasting money on expensive ads for new people and instead makes the people they already have come back more often and spend more. This is the smartest way to run a business!
Forget the old idea of “omnichannel.” The future is unified commerce, where the online and in-store shopping experience is perfectly linked. Clienteling is the essential tool that makes this connection work perfectly for the people who actually sell the products—your store associates.
When you invest in clienteling, you’re investing in real, lasting loyalty. This is the essential strategy that will dominate NRF 2026 and set the winners apart.
Learn more and book your demo
Book a meeting with one of Tulip’s solution experts at booth #5271 for a personal demo of Tulip Clienteling. This is your chance to see a range of AI capabilities and the latest engagement innovation, Outreach Plus, in action.
To learn more about clienteling at NRF 2026, check out The ultimate guide to clienteling at NRF 2026.
