The Shoptalk conference this spring in Las Vegas brought out all the glitz to tout retail’s next golden age. According to the show organizations, the industry is on the precipice of its next golden age, and it constructed a massive disco ball to prove its point.
The show, which took place March 25-27, attracted more than 10,000 attendees and 840 exhibitors. Shoptalk featured an agenda packed with dozens of top-level executives over 75 sessions.
Here are the top takeaways from this year’s event:
1. The obvious: brands need to be using artificial intelligence today
Generative artificial intelligence-powered tools have been in market for more than a year now. And early adopting brands are ready to showcase their results from this powerful technology.
“We are working with a couple new, I have to say it, AI-enabled tools. It wouldn’t be a panel if someone didn’t say that,” said Craig Brommers, chief marketing officer at apparel brand American Eagle Outfitters during his session.
American Eagle works with about 700 influencers every season, and it is now using AI-enabled tools to help its team select even more influencers to grow this number. The tool will evaluate if an influencer has the style sense and values that align with American Eagle.
“The game that we’re going to be playing is thousands of influencers every season,” Brommers said.
Apparel brand Tillys is using artificial intelligence to help power its on-site search and product recommendations. Gone are the days of shoppers received no search results on a page, said, Erik Quade, chief information officer at Tillys.
Of course, all of these tools need humans to train and teach them.
“You can’t have artificial intelligence without actual human intelligence,” said Roxy Young, chief marketing and consumer experience officer at Reddit.
2. CMO’s need to make retail media a top priority
Retail media networks have gained retailers’ attention for the past few years and the marketing platforms are only going to continue to increase in their level of importance.
Shoptalk had its own “show within a show” experience called “The New Market” with a separate stage off the exhibit floor which featured content focused on retail media networks.
Chief marketing officers need to be the drivers in the fast-growing retail media space as these ads can unlock incredible return on ad spend and incrementality, said Lisa Valentino, president of ads at Best Buy. Plus, when brands add in in multichannel to retail media ad spend, results go up 15-30% on average, she said.
“There’s definitely a secret sauce to retail media that other media had not delivered,” Valentino said.
But, the conversation needs to be elevated up in the business.
“We spend a lot of time in retail media talking to shopper marketing management at companies,” she said. “That conversation has to escalate because every CMO wants to deliver ROAS, incrementality and drive that upper funnel; you’ve got to fill the top of the funnel to deliver the bottom of the funnel.”
3. TV marketing’s evolving importance
At the start of the show, Best Buy’s Valentino came out swinging at TV advertising: Marketers spend billions without clear performance.
“The dirty little secret is the majority of the television business is still traded on reach and frequency,” she said. “That’s billions of dollars that are still being purchased on demos, reach and frequency.”
Of course, Valentino’s role as leading the chain’s burgeoning retail media network influences her rhetoric. But she’s not wrong, as the path to purchase after a shopper sees a linear TV ad can be murky, especially when contrasted to an on-site, sponsored product ad.
Advertising on retail media networks are attractive as the ad is reaching consumers as they are actually shopping for the desired products. Online, these ads often have direct attribution.
While a “death to TV ad spend” is hyperbolic, said retail consultant Steve Dennis, dollars are shifting. Marketers are going to follow where consumers are. And more and more that’s less on linear TV and more on digital platforms, such as social media and podcasts, De,nis said.
And because of this, social media ad costs have increased and TV ads can be an affordable option, said venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary — also known as “Mr. Wonderful” from the TV series Shark Tank — in his keynote address. He campaigns for brands to continue advertising on TV, both streaming and linear.
“Television in many ways is better than social media,” O’Leary said. “The person’s captive. It’s that lump sitting on the sofa. You’re not competing with scrolling up and down.”
Brands that are interested in TV advertising should test their message with 15-, 30- and 60-second ads, O’Leary said. Often, its gritty ads shot on a cellphone, that outperform high-production, scripted ads that are expensive.
4. Authenticity appeals to more than just Gen Z
Marketers know that Gen Z cares about authenticity for a brand and its message. But this concept is popular beyond just the younger consumers. Heck, even Mr. Wonderful said he only invests in brands with an authentic story.
Amanda Tong, senior vice president of marketing at cosmetics brand Lawless Beauty, said user generated content contributes to its authenticity and marketing success.
“People believe people a real honest review, a first impression,” Tong said. “That content performs so much better than branded content because it feels more real.”
Lawless Beauty then uses that UGC across its marketing channels. “Real people and real stories deliver real results,” Tong said.
5. Merchants need to be ready to pivot in these ‘uncertain’ times
While brands have delt with the “unprecedented” times of 2020 and 2021, what’s at the forefront of retailers’ minds in 2025 is just how uncertain everything is.
What will be the impact of all these tariffs? What will be the fate of TikTok? Will inflation stabilize? Is the U.S. heading into a recession?
A number of businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach to see what actually happens and adjustif necessary. Other brands have started diversifying supply chains or coming up with contingency plans.
The takeaway is to be ready to pivot quickly. Brands need to be exercising nimbleness in other areas of their businesses so that when there is a disruption, teams can react and make the necessary changes to keep their business running.
Bonus: 6. Strong conference hoopla
Shoptalk, which is run by Hyve, knows how to put on a good show, and the spring 2025 edition was no different. The disco balls were glittering, the fog machines rolling and espresso martinis flowing. Rapper Lil Jon performed. And let’s not forgot all the lasers.
Cut out all the hoopla, attendees likely took away lots of new contacts, enriched their current business relationships and gained new insights for their businesses. But perhaps what keeps Shoptalk as a thriving retail event is all the fun.
The post 5 key takeaways from Shoptalk 2025 appeared first on Chief Marketer.
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