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Coming soon to a store near you — talking robots, face reading sales assistants and a shopping list that goes wherever you do. These are just a few of the technologies on display at the National Retail Convention and Expo in the Javits Center.

While the event is primarily for retailers to communicate with other retailers, consumers can benefit from attending by taking a look at things to come.

The man-sized robot in Wipro's exhibit may be engaging, but he's unlikely to be found at the corner supermarket in the near future. He's big, bulky and of course needs a man behind the curtain to operate.

However, other Wipro products, like face recognition technology, are already gaining popularity. Besides identifying customers, face recognition technology can create a profile for a shopper by tracking past purchases and be ready to serve as soon as the person walks in the door.

Javits Center Expo Displays The Future Of Shopping
For example, a returning customer at a wine store could be instantly identified through face recognition. If the customer previously bought pinot noir, the customer could be shown every pinot noir in the store and be given recommendations.

At the Microsoft exhibit, monitors showed a step-by-step consumer experience in the not-too-distant future. Starting at the home-based computer, the consumer moves to the mobile device or smartphone, which will not only helps with navigation to the store but also navigation within the store.

Items on the grocery list are cross-checked for available coupons, comparison shopped against other products, a virtual store clerk can answer questions and then finally the customer is directed to the product's precise location and shelf level in the store.

"When consumers are looking to purchase products, they can do it in a seamless, integrated and easy fashion," says Luke Shave of Microsoft.

While science fiction robots will remain Jetsons-style fantasies of the future, the real robots, that provide instant customer recognition, are already showing up in stores and customers' smartphones. They are changing the face of shopping, buying and overall consumerism every day.