Featured Session

Today, your brand is your content. In a world where consumers seek to be entertained, how can retailers and brands innovate, spark excitement and drive purchasing? We’ll chat with the experts and explore how they’re telling brand stories with purpose, personality and plenty of panache. 

Exploring the latest trends and innovations in retail store design, focusing on aesthetics, functionality, and customer experience. Join us for a virtual tour of new NYC shops with a spotlight on design.

In this session, we explore how Disney Consumer Products retains its authenticity while seeking to meet the complex, multi-layered expectations of the modern consumer. We will discuss how heritage brands stay relevant for today’s audiences through innovative and personalized retail experiences and products.

Fluent in technology and social media, these two distinct generations lean into internet culture, prioritize authenticity, are eco-conscious and serious about saving money. For retailers, merging digital and physical assets is table stakes. What’s next? What do companies need to know?   

Retailers with the strongest success implementing sustainability-focused projects have embedded circularity into core traditional business value drivers. In doing so they are opening new revenue streams, reducing waste and minimizing the environmental footprint of retail operations. Hear from several retailers who are leading the charge by integrating circular principles into their business models to promote sustainability and meet consumer demand.

Join us for an exclusive fireside chat with Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer at Whole Foods Market, as we dive into the dynamic journey of this retail powerhouse. Discover how Whole Foods Market revolutionized the natural and organic food landscape, setting the pace for innovation both in-store and across digital platforms. Learn how the national grocer stays ahead of industry trends through relentless focus on customer needs, from creating excitement around supplier and product innovation to cutting-edge distribution strategies.

In a world where pressing the buy button results in items delivered in 24 hours or less, how do stores compete? It turns out there are several levers they can pull that truly matters to shoppers. Don’t miss this deep dive into consumer research that explores what gets shoppers off the couch and into the store.  

Join us as we explore retail innovation from around the world, getting inspired by groundbreaking strategies, business models, technologies and concepts that are reshaping the global retail landscape. We also get an insider perspective on Foot Lockers pioneering approach to seamless online-to-offline experiences, immersive store design and next-level customer engagement.

What’s the next big thing in tech? Are shopping malls making a comeback? Is blockchain really buzzy? Expect the unexpected as two retail sharks go head-to-head discussing the hottest predictions for the retail industry in 2025.

Join industry leaders for an insightful discussion on emerging consumer trends reshaping the retail and restaurant sectors. This panel will explore how businesses are adapting to changing customer expectations and leveraging technology to stay competitive. Gain valuable insights into the strategies driving success in today's rapidly evolving marketplace.

Some think that artificial intelligence will lead us toward a future of techno-retail, one of bots and algorithms, and agents selling and shopping with nary a human in sight. Others see a future where AI supports and deepens human-to-human interaction that has always been at the heart of retail.