# Retail Guru Tony D’Onofrio on Retail Tech, Empowered Consumers

Published 2020-01-21 · Updated 2026-03-19 · Retail on MarketScale
Canonical: https://www.marketscale.com/industries/retail/retail-guru-tony-donofrio-on-retail-tech-empowered-consumers

> MarketScale recently attended NRF 2020, the retail industry’s biggest annual show, to get a feel for where the industry is headed and sit down with some of retail’s biggest names. Retail influencer and consultant Tony D’Onofrio joined MarketScale’s Geoff Short for a discussion on some overarching themes in the retail industry as a new decade…

[MarketScale](https://marketscale.com/industries) recently attended [NRF 2020](https://nrfbigshow.nrf.com/), the retail industry’s biggest annual show, to get a feel for where the industry is headed and sit down with some of retail’s biggest names.

Retail influencer and consultant [Tony D’Onofrio](https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/tony-donofrio/) joined [MarketScale’s](https://marketscale.com/industries/) [Geoff Short](https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/geoff-short) for a discussion on some overarching themes in the retail industry as a new decade dawns.

[D’Onofrio](https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/tony-donofrio/) identified artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics and retailer immersion in technology as key items he hoped were high points at NRF, providing a look into the mind of one of the industry’s biggest names.

Regarding technology, [D’Onofrio](https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/tony-donofrio/) said consumer smartphone adoption has drastically altered the retail landscape, adding that consumers are often as educated or more educated regarding a retailer’s offerings than employees, themselves.

This “empowered consumer,” [D’Onofrio](https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/tony-donofrio/) said, expects retailers to respond to digital conversations and needs at a satisfactory level.

Short and D’Onofrio also discussed the difference between concepts, ideas and actionable and implementable tech, what makes tech worth it for retailers, consumer-centric technology, challenges facing retail entering the next decade, and more.

To keep up with everything going on in the retail industry, stay tuned to [MarketScale’s retail publication here.](https://marketscale.com/industries/retail)

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