Shoptalk Spring 2025 Takeaways

Another Shoptalk in the rearview mirror. After a busy and productive week in Las Vegas, here are my takeaways from one of the most important shows in the retail calendar. I organized my thoughts based the factors that are important to our consulting and our global ecommerce conference businesses

Buzz and overall mood of the industry: Shoptalk continues to solidify its position as the must-attend event for digital retail leaders — and increasingly, for the broader retail ecosystem. Attendance was strong, and the show floor was buzzing with activity.

We confirmed what we already knew – that the overall outlook for retailers is one of cautious spending and growth expectations, and a great deal of uncertainty ahead, but we heard success stories among retailers and tech partners alike that more than offsets the tepid macro-outlook.

Insights and Ideas: The success stories shared by retail executives were inspiring and full of clues as to opportunities for others to emulate.

• Michelle Gass, President & CEO of Levi’s, shared its comeback story and the DTC future for the iconic brand, along with its pivot from a men’s bottoms business to become a lifestyle apparel company for men and women. A strong partnership and hit song with Beyonce doesn’t hurt either.
• Leigh Manheim Levine, President North America, Coach shared the role of stores in driving their strong performance, and how deep insight programs targeting Millennials was paid off by Coach’s “expressive luxury” strategy that includes their Play concept and broad price points; both were outcomes of redefining values and emotions for their target shopper.
• Lands’ End’s CEO, Andrew Maclean shared the power of personalized product, the “Sheinification“ of their supply chain and the arbitrage opportunity as search and paid media shift to AI agents. Their catalog history gives rise to their broadening GTM approach that includes new revenue channels.
• Zia Wigder, eMarketer gave us a glimpse of the future with forecasts for DTC saturation among brands, rapidly growing social commerce led by TikTok Shop and a global snapshot of the biggest ecommerce economies that includes Mexico and Indonesia, along with usual-suspect countries
• Rebranding stories from David’s Bridal and Galderama (Cetafil) that drew from their heritage, while broadening their market and educating their consumers.

Networking and Relationships: As always, Shoptalk delivered on the community front. From the massive one-on-one Meetup program to coffee-fueled lounges and that iconic oversized Shoptalk sign as the de facto meeting point — it was easy (and fun) to connect.

A big shoutout to the entire Shoptalk team for fostering an environment where meaningful connections thrive. We left with new partnerships, deeper relationships, and fresh perspectives.

What were your Shoptalk takeaways this year?
We’d love to hear them — and we’re always up for a conversation about the trends we’re tracking and what they mean for retailers, brands, and solution providers. See you at Shoptalk Fall 2025 in our hometown of Chicago! And if you’re interested in the Shopwalks, McMillanDoolittle helps organize, sign up early — spots go fast.