Keynote Session

The future of unified commerce will evolve through advanced technology, integrating AI, IoT, and data analytics for deeper customer insights and personalized experiences. Learn how the next generation of unified commerce promises to redefine shopping experiences by creating more seamless, real-time transactions across multiple touchpoints, combined with fast-evolving technologies like augmented reality and voice commerce.

Know your consumers and stay ahead of lifestyle shifts with unrivaled insight into the way they’ll think, feel and behave for years to come. Through detailed and accurate consumer forecasts, hear how consumer behaviors, interests and tastes will shape how consumers live, work and play. Understand how to anticipate big lifestyle shifts within and between generation groups and develop products and services that meet consumer needs.

The rapid advancements in AI technology over the past two years are leading to growth in potential AI use cases for retailers, supporting a variety of business functions. These new capabilities create tremendous opportunities to improve customer engagement and operational efficiency, but also can lead to new risks, creating the need for consistent company-wide governance.

This panel discusses the recent trend in strategic investing wherein retailers invest in start-up businesses. It answers questions, such as: why is it that large retailers from Walmart to Dollar General and Kroger are making investments in start-ups and tech companies? How can founders harness these opportunities as opposed to traditional venture capital? What are the benefits and downsides?

A notable leadership transformation is underway as information technology, digital/ecommerce, and marketing teams find themselves working together more closely, and in some respects now have overlapping roles and responsibilities. Leaders across these domains need to embrace a new era of integration and collaboration to drive new growth strategies. How can leaders prepare to manage cross-functional teams that encompass tech, digital and marketing expertise?

Recent advancements in Augmented Reality (AR)and Virtual Reality (VR) technology have the potential to reshape the retail landscape. Enhanced AR applications enable virtual try-on experiences, allowing customers to visualize products in their environment. Hear how these evolving technologies are helping to bridge the gap between physical and digital retail, offering novel and customized shopping experiences.