NRF 2026: Mars Store Tour in Times Square — POS Reliability in Full Colour
NRF 2026: Mars Store Tour in Times Square — POS Reliability at Scale
The calm before the storm at the Mars M&M's store in Times Square offered a rare chance to see the behind-the-scenes detail of running one of the most iconic retail destinations in New York — and what a store to take in.
We were lucky to co-host the store tour alongside Oracle Retail at NRF 2026 and share the technology behind M&M's Times Square flagship operational excellence. It's a masterclass in immersive retail — every colour, every format, every way to check out. And in a location this busy, the technology behind it simply cannot afford to let that experience down.
The checkout experience is just as varied as the pick-and-mix wall: mobile POS for queue-busting on the shop floor, self-checkout for the independent shopper, and classic register lanes for high-volume throughput. The Oracle Retail Workstation 8 terminals were a fitting reflection of Mars's progressive, experience-first approach to retail technology — sleek, modern, and every bit as considered as the store around them.
Built for the demands of modern retail
Oracle Retail Xstore POS is the technology that keeps the experience seamless and resilient enough to handle one of the world's busiest flagship stores, day in, day out.
With OLR behind the scenes, Mars's Xstore estate is in expert hands — removing friction, keeping operations running smoothly, and ensuring there is no room for downtime. Because in retail, every second counts. From real-time monitoring across all locations with HAWK, to rigorous testing before every update goes live, OLR makes sure the technology never gets in the way of the experience.
A store like M&M's Times Square is a great example of what modern retail looks like when the technology and implementation is done right.
Want the same resilience and reliability across your stores?
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