Shoptalk Spring 2025 in Las Vegas is only a few weeks away, and our experts cannot wait to reconnect with brands and discuss where the industry is headed. They have been busy scheduling meetings, packing their mics, and making predictions about which technologies and strategies retailers and ecommerce brands will be placing their bets on this year. What do they believe is a safe bet?
Will you be there? Let’s schedule some time to chat over a coffee, tea, or cocktail.
An Agenda that Centers On the Customer
Nothing tells the story of ecommerce and retail this year quite like the topics making up the conference’s agenda. Across the agenda, key themes rise to the top like innovation in retail media, customer centricity, the concept of hospitality within retail, and the transformation of customer journeys using new technologies. Justin Racine, Principal of Commerce Strategy, points out that he is most looking forward to hearing from Liza Lefkowski, Chief Merchant and VP of Stores for Wayfair. She will discuss Muse, their new AI-powered tool for personalized home shopping and how it will lead to better customer experience. Another keynote that our senior strategist, Timm Henderlight, is excited about is “Re-Imagining Gap for a New Golden Age,” presented by Richard Dickson, President and CEO of Gap Inc. While this session focuses on unified commerce, there will be additional sessions on ecommerce personalization and retail media strategies.
Our team is eager to listen in and be a part of the conversation about what it means to be customer-centric and how brands and consumers need to come together to humanize the shopping experience. More than ever, brands are embracing connection with their customers and creating a personal experience rather than a transactional one.
Will Brands Take Risks or Play It Safe?
Our experts are going all-in on several bets that retailers might be taking, including mobile apps, augmented reality, and increased AI usage. The house doesn’t always win, however, and Timm suggests that a few capabilities parallel each other. There’s going to be continued discussion about AI and how it’s going to change the industry, but ample opportunities for personalization at scale are often missed by retailers. We’ll continue to see disconnected experiences, whether customers are searching or browsing, usually due to retailers using different technologies. Customer identity resolution and customer data platforms will continue to play a role and should be part of everyone’s personalization strategy.
As more companies move towards personalization, our team recommends brands keep these key points in mind when deciding on a solution:
- Primarily ensure you are not creating friction in the experience.
- Be able to identify the customer both online and offline through previous order history and customer affinities.
- Track intersession data when a customer is not logged in and augment the experience based on how the customer was attracted to the website.
- Represent the customer journey from a mobile ad or paid advertisement throughout the entire experience, augmenting based on real-time signals from the customer.
Staying relevant in retail is an ongoing challenge, and it means understanding the customer across all channels. It requires having a clear omnichannel strategy and understanding how the journey inside the store touches the digital footprint. In the future, there’s the potential for beacon technology being implemented in physical retail environments, which will track your movements between departments to give in-store associates access to your previous behaviors. This will help guide the store associates and yourself to purchases you’re most likely to make based on where you’ve been. Of course, there’s so much more beyond this, and our experts can’t wait to meet with brands and discuss new opportunities during the event.
For now, watch your step: the future has a lot in store. Stay up-to-date with all the new innovations in commerce, retail + distribution, and consumer goods.
Will you be there? Let’s schedule some time to chat over a coffee, tea, or cocktail.
