Content Breakfast: Unpacking the 2026 State of Agentic Commerce Report
Location: Track C
The data is in: brands and digital leaders have moved beyond simple automation and into the Agentic Era. But what does it actually take to lead in a market where agents are a key part of your team and customer experience? In this session, we go under the hood of the 2026 State of Agentic Commerce Report and host a panel discussion with brands to reveal the shifting benchmarks and buyer behaviors defining this year.

Keynote: How AI Search and Agentic Commerce Are Reshaping Retail
Location: Main stage
In this keynote, Kartik Hosanagar, Faculty Co-Director of the Wharton Human-AI Research Center, explores how AI-powered search and agentic commerce are reshaping retail. As intelligent systems take a more active role in product discovery and purchasing decisions, traditional customer journeys are rapidly evolving. Kartik will share insights into how these shifts are impacting business models, customer experience, and competitive strategy—and what retailers and brands must do to adapt and lead in this new era of AI-driven commerce.

Retailer Discussion: The Future of Personalization Is Physical, Human and Immersive
Location: Main stage
"Physical retail isn’t disappearing—it’s evolving. As digital channels dominate discovery and transactions, stores are being reimagined as high-impact experience hubs and measurable performance drivers. This session explores how brands are transforming stores from pure sales environments into engines for acquisition, engagement, fulfillment, and brand storytelling. Learn how “experience is the new foot traffic,” and how leading retailers are designing spaces that influence online conversion, loyalty, and lifetime value. We’ll also examine how stores can be measured and optimized like any other performance channel, using data to connect in-store activity to total customer value. Discover how to future-proof your store strategy in an era where physical and digital are no longer separate."

Content Lunch: The Growth Playbook: Where First-Party Data Meets Innovation
Location: Track C
Unlocking the full potential of first-party data for fueling improved marketing outcomes requires a culture of innovation. This panel features retail leaders who will share strategies, successes, and lessons learned in their pursuit of data-fueled marketing success. Hosted by Iridio by RRD℠, this panel explores the intersection of data and innovation, offering fresh insights on mastering activation, scaling personalization, and boosting loyalty. Attendees will walk away with input for modernizing their own retail marketing playbook to overcome common data challenges and future-proof their growth initiatives.

Panel: Lessons from High-Growth Scale-Ups
Location: Main stage
What really drives breakout growth in today’s retail landscape—and what does it take to sustain it? In this fast-paced fireside conversation, leaders behind some of the most compelling direct-to-consumer brands unpack how they’ve built momentum at scale without losing what made their brands special in the first place. From architecting commercial growth engines to crafting best-in-class digital and customer experiences, they’ll share how every decision—from acquisition to retention to brand storytelling—connects to long-term success. Expect a candid look at the inflection points that matter most: when to double down, when to evolve, and how to balance performance with brand. This session will deliver practical insights on scaling intelligently, building enduring customer relationships, and staying relevant as expectations—and competition—continue to rise.

Panel: Everyone Owns the Customer. So Why Is Growth Still So Hard?
Location: Main stage
Customer journeys are more fragmented than ever, spanning channels, teams, and partners that rarely connect the way customers expect. Even with major investments in data, AI, and personalization, many brands still struggle to turn customer insight into measurable growth. In this session, leaders across retail, data, and transformation will unpack where execution breaks down—and how to activate first-party data, align teams, and make customer strategy executable at scale.

Panel: AI-Powered CX: Turning First-Party Data Into Profit
Location: Main stage
Customer experience is one of the most powerful drivers of revenue, margin and customer lifetime value. In this session, retail leaders will share how they’re using AI and first-party data to turn CX into a measurable growth engine. Learn how brands are building AI-powered feedback loops that connect insights from marketing, ecommerce and post-purchase behavior to smarter media, merchandising and messaging decisions. Hear how predictive models help teams identify high-value customers earlier, adjust offers and spend in real time and reduce costly returns. The conversation will also explore how leading organizations measure the business impact of CX and communicate results to the C-suite in terms of revenue, profitability and long-term customer value.

Panel: From Digital Natives to Legacy Institutions: Omnichannel’s Next Era
Location: Main stage
Omnichannel is no longer just about presence across touchpoints, it’s about delivering connected, context-aware experiences that move seamlessly with the customer. As digital-native brands scale and legacy institutions accelerate transformation, the definition of omnichannel is rapidly evolving. In this session, leaders across retail, technology and customer experience will share how they’re building connected ecosystems across physical, digital and emerging channels while navigating operational and market complexity. Through real-world examples, you’ll learn how organizations use loyalty, community and experiential touchpoints to drive acquisition, retention and long-term value.

Courageous Leadership for What's Next (invite-only)
Location: Executive Lounge
In this inspiring keynote, Cindy Solomon challenges retail leaders to redefine courage as a daily leadership practice. Drawing on real-world experiences, emerging consumer expectations, and the accelerating pace of change, she reveals how courageous leaders build trust, navigate uncertainty, and create cultures that fuel innovation. Attendees will gain practical strategies for making bold decisions, leading through disruption, empowering teams, and turning setbacks into momentum. Designed for today’s retail environment, this session delivers actionable insights that help organizations strengthen resilience, deepen customer connections, drive growth, and inspire impact across every level of the business, while fostering confidence, accountability, purpose, and adaptability.

Keynote: How AS Beauty and Coterie Turned AI Hype Into Real Results
Location: Main stage
Most commerce leaders know AI matters. Fewer have figured out how to make it part of how their teams actually work. In this fireside chat, Shopify sits down with brand leaders from AS Beauty (Laura Geller) and Coterie to share how AI is running in their day-to-day operations — from using Shopify Sidekick to handle customer service queries faster, to analyzing subscription cohorts and sales data in ways that used to take days. The conversation will cover how they introduced AI inside their organizations, how they built team confidence and what the practical payoff has looked like.

Closing Keynote: Decoding the DNA of Enduring Brands
Location: Main stage
In an era of fleeting trends and algorithm-driven hype, what actually makes a brand last? Few people have stronger opinions—or a better track record—than Mickey Drexler. As Chairman of Alex Mill and the force behind defining eras at J.Crew and Gap, Drexler helped shape modern retail by trusting instinct, obsessing over product, and refusing to follow the crowd. In this candid keynote interview Drexler pulls back the curtain on what separates brands that endure from those that flame out. Expect sharp takes on merchandising, leadership, and why most brands lose their edge the moment they start listening to too many opinions. Part masterclass, part reality check, this conversation will dive into the gut instincts, relentless standards, and occasional rule-breaking required to build brands people actually care about—and keep them relevant long after the hype cycle fades.