More than 40,000 people from more than 100 countries took over the Javits Center in New York earlier this month to see hundreds of exhibitors reveal the biggest technology trends for retail operations. Surprisingly, only a handful of people involved in construction supply went to the National Retail Federation’s Big Show, even though just about all of those companies have cash registers and at least a small retail business.

It’s no surprise that Artificial Intelligence programs were touted by more than 150 of the exhibitors and referenced by most of the others. For manufacturers, distributors, and the biggest deaiers, A.I advances promise to make operations more efficient and customers happier. But A.I. is largely about large amounts of data, so for many dealers its benefits aren’t as big. That said, those same dealers can expect to benefit from the advances that their buying groups, distributors, and manufacturers make.

But A.I. isn’t the only major trend for retail. Another one may surprise you: Weight-loss drugs. Prashant Agrawal, CEO of Impact Analytics, said that apparel stores in cities with a good-sized population taking the weight-loss drugs are reporting more sales of smaller-sized clothing and less XL and XXL goods. And shopping cart sizes at groceries in those same cities also are reduced–a sign that people using the weight-loss drugs aren’t as hungry. As the drugs become more prevalent, dealers that sell work apparel might want to stock up more on smaller sizes.

Other researchers also had comforting news about Gen Z, the cohort of people born since the year 2000. This group is starting to enter the workforce and is spending money. And while Gen Z is definitely tech savvy and comfortable with online sales, it also likes to shop in physical stores. Analysts say this may be in part because they were largely in isolation during the COVID years and thus are extra-eager for human connections now.