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GROWTHHAPPENS
The #1 eCommerce conference for enterprise & mid-size brand leaders.
Presented by
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WHY GROW?
Most retail conferences miss the mark - overwhelming networking, generic content and pushy vendors. GROW is built differently.
Here’s how we make it actually worth your time:
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IT’S INTENTIONAL.
GROW delivers a thoughtfully curated experience - limited vendor presence, and high-impact content from the brands you want to learn from. You hear directly from leaders at major brands like Vuori, Good American, Glossier & Ritual - and walk away with real lessons to apply immediately.
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IT’S APPLICABLE.
Being surrounded by brands at a similar stage - or just ahead of you - means every session hits home. And everyone you meet is relevant: C-suite, operators, decision-makers & real peers who understand what you’re working on. You always leave GROW with a real "to-do" list & strategies you can put to work immediately.
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IT’S REAL.
The conversations at GROW go deeper than surface-level intros or elevator pitches. There’s plenty of time to connect with other brand leaders & tech providers in a way that feels natural - not forced. You walk away with fresh perspective & trusted connections that you can lean on long after the conference - for feedback, ideas, support and real growth.
JOIN USIN NEW YORK
GROW NY
Join 900+ eCommerce leaders for a full day of valuable learning & networking at Center 415, Midtown Manhattan, NY.
EXPERT SPEAKERS
Hear from proven leaders across online growth, retention, CX, operations & much more - sharing what’s actually working (and not working) at today’s best brands.
LEARN.
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PURPOSEFUL, HIGH-IMPACT NETWORKING
Meet senior operators from brands like yours. With hundreds of hand-picked-attendees & curated experiences built for real conversations, GROW makes it easier - and faster - than ever to build meaningful connections that last.
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1-1 MEETINGS
Thoughtfully matched, 1-1 meetings that directly connect you with other brand leaders & relevant vendors too - No random pitches or pushy sales tactics. Just short intros with the right people, tailored to your current tech stack priorities.
CONNECT.
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ROUNDTABLES
Our interactive, small-group sessions cover topics like paid ads, attribution, retention, post-purchase experience, conversion optimization, and AI-driven workflows. Expect fresh perspectives & practical takeaways
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EXHIBIT HALL
Our reimagined exhibit space brings you face-to-face with the top SaaS tools & agencies in the space - recommended by our attendees. Hear their current client success stories & build relationships that go beyond the sales pitch.
EXPERIENCE.
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WHERE RETAIL MEETS FUN
Often imitated, never matched - GROW has been known for its high-energy atmosphere and the most fun retail conference experience since 2019. Enjoy our legendary pre-parties, afterparties, and open bar, all paired with great food and even better conversation.
HAVE FUN.
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A+++NETWORKING
At GROW, networking is always natural and meaningful - free from awkward handshakes or forced small talk. Everyone here is approachable, knowledgeable, and ready to engage - that's a guarantee.
BY COMPANY
BY REVENUE
BY TITLE
BY VERTICAL
SPEAKERS
GROW Speakers have been there, done that. During main stage talks, panels & interactive workshops, you’ll hear from senior executives & operators from:
Lisi Manriquez
Scaling Category Expansion: Turning Growth Signals into Repeatable Revenue - As brands scale, growth gets more complex with more channels, more data, and more noise. In this session, Lisi will break down how Fabletics approaches category expansion into scrubs, identifying the signals that matter and translating them into repeatable growth plays. She will share how the team has built momentum in a new category by focusing on product-market fit, customer insight, and disciplined scaling of early wins. From entering the market to expanding assortment and reach, this session focuses on how to take a strong initial foothold and turn it into sustained category growth.
Allyson Reiner
Turning First-Time Buyers into Lifelong Customers - Most brands still chase the first purchase — but in 2026, growth is won on what happens next. In this session, you’ll hear from three leaders on how they’re turning one-time buyers into loyal, repeat customers. We’ll break down how AI is reshaping retention — from predictive insights and personalized journeys to automated CX that still feels human. From post-purchase experience to habit-building, expect real tactics and what’s actually working now — not theory.
Hannah Parry
Creative Systems That Scale: Building a Performance Creative Engine - Most brands still treat creative as a bottleneck. The fastest-growing teams treat it as a system. In this session, you’ll hear how one performance creative leader built a “tiger team” into a cross-functional engine producing thousands of assets each month across social, display, CTV, and YouTube. Learn how AI-powered production, modular creative templates, and disciplined testing frameworks dramatically increased output without increasing headcount. You’ll see how creative teams are evolving from content producers into revenue drivers — translating complex business goals into measurable performance across the full funnel. Walk away with practical frameworks for building a creative organization designed for speed, experimentation, and growth.
Domonique Brown
Inside Liquid I.V.: Turning Culture, Creators and Community Into Revenue - Liquid I.V. has become one of the fastest-growing wellness brands by turning cultural relevance and creator partnerships into real commercial growth. In this session, you’ll hear how the team approaches brand storytelling, collaborations, and community engagement to drive both awareness and sales. From creator partnerships and cultural moments to retail activation and social-first campaigns, learn how Liquid I.V. builds marketing that resonates with audiences while delivering measurable business impact. Walk away with practical insights on how modern brands can blend culture, content, and community to create momentum that translates into sustained revenue growth.
Justin Kassan
Agentic Commerce Is Here: What It Means for Your Brand, Your Revenue, and Your Relevance - AI agents are already shopping on behalf of your customers — comparing products, negotiating prices, and completing purchases without ever visiting your website. This isn’t a future scenario; it’s happening now. In this keynote, leaders from brands navigating this shift will share what they’ve learned: how discovery is changing, what it means for product data and pricing strategy, and the steps they’re taking to stay visible when the buyer is a bot. You’ll leave with a clear framework for preparing your business before this wave passes you by.
Katherine-Margaux Longest
The Digital Playbook: Scaling Commerce Without Losing Your MissionReplace description: In this session, Katherine-Margaux Longest, AVP, Digital, at Naturium / e.l.f Beauty, will share how the company approaches digital transformation while staying true to its values. Drawing on experience leading digital strategy across brands like Levi Strauss, eBay and True Religion, Katherine will explain how e.l.f Beauty connects storytelling, technology, and customer experience across its digital ecosystem. You’ll learn how mission-driven brands build loyalty online, how digital teams align commerce with culture, and the frameworks they use to turn purpose into long-term growth.
Nick Lamothe
Turning First-Time Buyers into Lifelong Customers - Most brands still chase the first purchase — but in 2026, growth is won on what happens next. In this session, you’ll hear from three leaders on how they’re turning one-time buyers into loyal, repeat customers. We’ll break down how AI is reshaping retention — from predictive insights and personalized journeys to automated CX that still feels human. From post-purchase experience to habit-building, expect real tactics and what’s actually working now — not theory.
Sean Christman
The Rise of Agentic eCommerce - Commerce is evolving from static websites to agentic storefronts. Instead of clicking through pages, shoppers interact with intelligent agents that guide them from discovery to try-on to checkout in one seamless experience. This isn’t just a new feature — it’s a new interface for commerce, built on unified data, global infrastructure, and fully merchant-controlled systems. In this session, we’ll explore why agentic storefronts are emerging now, what performance gains early adopters are seeing, and how this shift has lead to the launch of the first agentic storefront.
Daniel Graupensperger
Measurement That Matters: Incrementality, MMM, and MTA in a Single Playbook - For years, marketers have debated which measurement model actually drives growth. Leading mid-market brands have stopped debating and started combining incrementality testing, media mix modelling, and multi-touch attribution into one practical framework. In this session, their leaders will break down what’s worked, what’s failed, and how they’ve turned conflicting data into clarity. You’ll leave with real-world benchmarks and frameworks you can take back to your team to cut waste, double down on what performs, and finally tie marketing activity to true profitability.
Phil Suarez
The Rise of Agentic eCommerce - Commerce is evolving from static websites to agentic storefronts. Instead of clicking through pages, shoppers interact with intelligent agents that guide them from discovery to try-on to checkout in one seamless experience. This isn’t just a new feature — it’s a new interface for commerce, built on unified data, global infrastructure, and fully merchant-controlled systems. In this session, we’ll explore why agentic storefronts are emerging now, what performance gains early adopters are seeing, and how this shift has lead to the launch of the first agentic storefront.
MEET YOUR SPEAKERS
GROW Speakers have been there, done that. During main stage talks, panels & interactive workshops, you’ll hear from senior executives & operators from:
Lisi Manriquez
Scaling Category Expansion: Turning Growth Signals into Repeatable Revenue - As brands scale, growth gets more complex with more channels, more data, and more noise. In this session, Lisi will break down how Fabletics approaches category expansion into scrubs, identifying the signals that matter and translating them into repeatable growth plays. She will share how the team has built momentum in a new category by focusing on product-market fit, customer insight, and disciplined scaling of early wins. From entering the market to expanding assortment and reach, this session focuses on how to take a strong initial foothold and turn it into sustained category growth.
Allyson Reiner
Turning First-Time Buyers into Lifelong Customers - Most brands still chase the first purchase — but in 2026, growth is won on what happens next. In this session, you’ll hear from three leaders on how they’re turning one-time buyers into loyal, repeat customers. We’ll break down how AI is reshaping retention — from predictive insights and personalized journeys to automated CX that still feels human. From post-purchase experience to habit-building, expect real tactics and what’s actually working now — not theory.
Hannah Parry
Creative Systems That Scale: Building a Performance Creative Engine - Most brands still treat creative as a bottleneck. The fastest-growing teams treat it as a system. In this session, you’ll hear how one performance creative leader built a “tiger team” into a cross-functional engine producing thousands of assets each month across social, display, CTV, and YouTube. Learn how AI-powered production, modular creative templates, and disciplined testing frameworks dramatically increased output without increasing headcount. You’ll see how creative teams are evolving from content producers into revenue drivers — translating complex business goals into measurable performance across the full funnel. Walk away with practical frameworks for building a creative organization designed for speed, experimentation, and growth.
Domonique Brown
Inside Liquid I.V.: Turning Culture, Creators and Community Into Revenue - Liquid I.V. has become one of the fastest-growing wellness brands by turning cultural relevance and creator partnerships into real commercial growth. In this session, you’ll hear how the team approaches brand storytelling, collaborations, and community engagement to drive both awareness and sales. From creator partnerships and cultural moments to retail activation and social-first campaigns, learn how Liquid I.V. builds marketing that resonates with audiences while delivering measurable business impact. Walk away with practical insights on how modern brands can blend culture, content, and community to create momentum that translates into sustained revenue growth.
FANMAIL
The connections you make at GROW lead to opportunities you didn’t even know were out there. But don’t just take our word for it - here’s what our attendees say:
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- Andrei Najjar
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- CASEY GRUELICH
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- NATE BENNER
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- SARAH THERRIEN
- Andrei Najjar
- CASEY GRUELICH
- NATE BENNER
- SARAH THERRIEN
- Andrei Najjar
- CASEY GRUELICH
- NATE BENNER
- SARAH THERRIEN
THE GROWAGENDA
Missed our last show in LA? Check out our 50+ speakers and 70+ sessions below. GROW NY agenda coming soon! We’ll cover:
DAY 1
Check in & Breakfast
Breakfast ends at 8:55 AM
Step inside for our first day of powerful insights, game-changing strategies & networking.
Morning Kick-Off with Todd Gilchrist, Retail Analyst, GROW
Everything about how we grow brands is changing — fast. AI is buying on behalf of customers, discovery is shifting away from search, and profitability is harder than ever to protect. This morning, we’re diving straight into what’s real: how leading brands are adapting, where they’re winning, and what you need to do now to stay ahead.
AI PANEL: Agentic Commerce at Scale - From Pilot to Infrastructure
Twelve months ago, agentic commerce was a talking point. Today, AI agents are completing purchases, comparing SKUs, and bypassing brand websites entirely — and the brands that treated it as an experiment are already behind. In this panel, leaders who've moved from pilot to production share what agentic commerce actually looks like inside their organisations: how they've restructured data, what it's done to their conversion economics, and the decisions they're having to make about pricing, brand visibility, and channel strategy as the buying journey moves off their own platforms. Leave with a clear picture of what 'agent-ready' means for a brand like yours as we get closer to BFCM 2026.
Harry yRoth, Director, eCommerce, CRO & Customer Journeys, AS Beauty Group + Juan Pellerano-Rendón, CMO, Swap Commerce + Suzy Davidkhanian, VP, Content, EMARKETER
How the Best Brands Build a Payment Strategy for Scale
As brands grow, payment strategy becomes a critical lever for unlocking scale. In this fireside conversation, Annie Soderstrom, Head of Product Operations & Strategy, PayPal and Jackson Tse, Sr. Director of Product – Venmo, PayPal join Sky Canaves, Principal Analyst, Retail & Ecommerce, eMarketer to explore how leading retailers are building payment infrastructures that support long-term growth. From optimizing conversion at checkout to expanding wallet adoption and leveraging AI for personalization and fraud prevention, this session will break down what actually drives performance. Learn how PayPal and Venmo are helping brands scale smarter—and what to prioritize in your own roadmap.
Annie Soderstrom, Head of Product Operations & Strategy, PayPal + Jackson Tse, Sr. Director of Product - Venmo, PayPal + Sky Canaves, Principal Analyst, Retail & eCommerce, eMarketer
Beyond the Feed: How Top Brands Are Scaling with Direct Mail
As digital acquisition costs climb and inbox fatigue sets in, leading brands are rediscovering a high-ROI channel hiding in plain sight: the mailbox. In this fireside chat, PostPilot CEO Michael Epstein joins top ecomm executives to discuss how direct mail has become a meaningful part of their growth playbook. From winback campaigns to new customer acquisition, they'll share real results, lessons learned, and how direct mail integrates with the modern omnichannel stack. Walk away with a practical framework for testing, or scaling, physical mail for your own brand.
Dave Heaton, Founder, Steel Horse Leather + Michael Epstein, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, PostPilot + Todd Gilchrist, Retail Analyst, GROW
The AI Experimentation Stack: Don't Guess at Your Growth
No brand wants to guess at growth. The problem has never been a lack of testing tools or ambition. It's bandwidth. In this fireside chat, Drew Marconi sits down with Cody Plofker to break down how he built a high-output experimentation practice, using AI to do the heavy lifting. Cody shares exactly how he's wired together Intelligems, Claude, and a handful of connected tools into a system that ideates faster, ships tests without waiting on a developer, and reports in real time. If you want to discover and validate your growth paths with AI, this session is for you.
Cody Plofker, CMO, Jones Road Beauty + Drew Marconi, CEO & Co-Founder, Intelligems
CRO PANEL: Moving at the Speed of AI
AI has collapsed the time it takes to generate hypotheses, build variants, and analyze results — but faster testing isn't the same as better testing. This panel brings together conversion leaders who are navigating what it actually means to run a rigorous CRO program when the pace of experimentation has fundamentally changed: which decisions still require human judgment, where AI is creating noise as much as signal, and how to build a testing culture that scales without losing discipline.
Jacqs Carroll, Director, Digital, Reebok | GUESS | Lucky Brand + Mike Jacobs, Chief Growth Officer, Jonathan Adler | Draper James | Outdoor Voices + Mike Potter, Co-founder & CEO, Rewind + Lou Cohen, Chief Digital Officer, Ernst & Young
Turning Klaviyo Segments into Streaming TV Performance | Vibe.co x Klaviyo
CPMs keep climbing and everyone's retargeting the same 3% of shoppers. More performance marketers are turning to streaming TV for real growth.Vibe.co and Klaviyo work together in the same stack. This session gets into exactly how. A Klaviyo growth expert grills Vibe.co's Rachel McGovern and Shinesty's Head of Growth, Danny Hershey, on how Shinesty synced segments like cart abandoners, VIPs, and lapsed customers straight into premium CTV inventory. No managed service, no black-box reporting, no minimums. Campaigns launch in 24 hours, on channels people actually watch.
Get the real play-by-play: what they synced, what converted, what's next.
Danny Hershey, Growth Marketing, Shinesty + Rachel McGovern, VP Sales, Vibe.co + Corey Balint, Principal Product Lead, Partnerships, Klaviyo
From Strategy to Store Floor: What Radical Alignment Actually Looks Like
The first question was whether AI could unlock growth. Mugsy answered it. Now comes the harder one: can that intelligence reach every corner of the business? Join Chris Happ and Mugsy's Director of Stores & Inventory, Mike McGee, for the next chapter — how BAIO's aligned intelligence moved from the boardroom to the buy floor, turning inventory decisions into a direct expression of company strategy. This is Radical Alignment in practice: where intent and execution are locked together so tightly that your stores, your stock, and your margins all pull in the same direction.
Mike McGee, Director, Stores & Operations, Mugsy + Chris Happ, CEO, VirtuousAI
An AI Agent Took Over My Google and Campaigns. Here's What Happened Next
What happens when you give AI full control of your ad budgets? George Kelly, Director of eCommerce at Vintage Tub & Bath, a DTC retailer of home fixtures, did exactly that. Facing ambitious growth goals with a small team, he gave a MAI agent full control to plan, optimize, and scale his Google and campaigns for maximum profitability. Rocket ship or bumpy ride? George shares the real results, surprises, and lessons. Hosted by Mark McMaster, Head of Partnerships at MAI and former eCommerce leader at Google and Snapchat.
George Kelly, E-com, Retail Marketing Director, Vintage Tub & Bath + Mark McMaster, Head of Partnerships, MAI Agents
Peak Performance Prep Session
Do you get nervous when you think about peak season? Do you have horror stories from BFCMs past? You're not alone. The goal for every Q4 is: Marketing loud. Ops quiet. Thankfully, there's still time to stress test your plans for BFCM. In this interactive session, we'll talk about peak season success stories, 'watch outs', and lessons learned to help you breeze through peak with confidence.
Leighton Powell, Sr. Account Executive, Shipfusion + Mark Lozada, Sr. Account Executive, Shipfusion
The Community Flywheel: How a Loyalty Program Can Turn Customers Into Repeat Buyers
Points alone won't get you there. Matias Marquez (CEO, ethos) sits down with Client Name to show how a loyalty program can become a community flywheel: customers become members, members enjoy early access, birthday rewards, and member-only perks, and those members turn into repeat buyers, advocates, and creators of UGC that fuels your marketing. We'll dig into the retention math behind community-led loyalty and the practical steps any Shopify brand can take to succeed. Leave with a playbook you can put to work immediately.
Matias Marquez, CEO, ethos
Loyalty That Learns: Building Emotional Retention That Compounds
Loyalty programs aren’t what they used to be. Today’s leaders are testing AI-driven strategies that learn, adapt, and deepen emotional connections with customers in real time. This roundtable will give you a front-row seat to what’s working—and what’s not—in using predictive modeling, dynamic rewards, and behavioral signals to keep customers coming back. If retaining customers is mission-critical for your business, this is where you’ll get unfiltered peer insights, practical frameworks, and real stories of success and failure you can put into play immediately
Alessandro Desantis, Partner, Nebulab
Your Automation Rate is Wrong. What Can You Do About it?
Most DTC brands deploying AI in CX are promised automation rates of 60–80% but running around 15% in production. My goal is to get operators to diagnose that gap. The thesis: the issue lies in the lack of human involvement in AI deployment and upkeep. From there, the conversation moves toward what closing that gap looks like in practice: what human agents do differently, and how they are supported beyond the ticket queue. Participants should leave with one question: not "do we need better AI?" but "do we have the right human model around the AI we already have?"
Rachel Thaw-Steindel, VP, Customer Success & Advocacy, kim.cc
Why Good Subscribers Go Cold: The Hidden Drivers of DTC List Degradation
Noticeable drops in open rates, rising spam complaints, and falling revenue per send usually trigger one instinct: add more segmentation. But slicing your list into complex sub-segments just creates more data maintenance for your team.The real fix isn't more rules—it’s a fundamental shift in audience management. In this short roundtable, we’re sharing the exact strategies we use to optimize high-growth and turnaround Klaviyo accounts.
Michael Zung, Advisor, CustomersAI + Arda Bulak, Director, Retention, Create Wellness
Your Cheapest Acquisition Channel Is Also Your Best Retention Play
Why referral deserves a real line in the acquisition plan - and what signals suggest about advocates as a retention segment, not just a discount coupon.
MSara Kunin, Sr. Retention Marketing Manager, Petite Plume + Haleigh Byrnes, Enterprise Account Executive, Friendbuy
Is Your Payment Stack Ready for Agentic Commerce?
Agentic commerce is evolving rapidly. New AI shopping assistants, autonomous purchasing agents, emerging protocols, and collaborations between technology providers are reshaping how consumers discover and buy products. With so much innovation happening at once, it can be difficult to know where to start. As AI increasingly becomes part of the purchasing journey, retailers will need to rethink their e-commerce strategies and optimize for agent-driven transactions. But what does that mean practically for payment infrastructure? How can merchants verify that agents are who they claim to be? Who is authorized to make a purchase on a consumer's behalf? And when something goes wrong, where does liability reside? Join your peers and industry thought leaders for an interactive discussion on the evolving agentic commerce landscape. Together, we'll cut through the hype, examine the implications for retail payments, and discuss practical ways merchants can prepare for AI-driven commerce without overhauling their existing payment infrastructure.
Jill Willard, Chief Technology Officer, IXOPAY
You have SuperFans. How Are You Using Them To Grow?
Your most loyal customers can become your cheapest growth channel. Come ready to discuss data and trends, actions you've taken, or thought about taking, impediments to execution, and walk away with some ideas on using quizzes, challenges, and UGC, brands turn SuperFans into advocates.
David Torres, Director of America Sales, Brevo
What Separates High-Performing Shopify Brands From The Rest?
Join Domaine for an interactive roundtable exploring the strategies leading commerce brands are using to drive growth. We'll discuss how to create product pages that convert, increase average order value through merchandising and bundles, improve site speed and mobile performance, capture more high-intent traffic through SEO, and build long-term customer loyalty with lifecycle marketing. Bring your questions, challenges, and experiences for a collaborative discussion focused on practical takeaways you can apply to your own business.
Kim Samuelsen, Director, Delivery, Domaine Studio + Amanda Sannella, Sr. Solutions Engineer, Shopify
What's Actually Working: A Growth Marketer's Roundtable
An informal conversation for senior growth and marketing leads to compare notes on what's actually working in their partner strategy, and what CTV can learn from it. We'll chat through tradeoffs, blind spots, and the stuff nobody's solved yet.
Benjamin Hardy, Sales Manager, Roku Ads + Soraya Davari, Partnerships Manager, Ads Manager, Roku Ads
EVOLUTION PANEL: Customer and Media Mix Realignment
The channels that drove growth three years ago aren't the channels driving it today. Paid social costs have risen, search behavior is shifting with AI, and brands are being forced to rethink where and how they reach customers — and which customers are actually worth reaching. This panel examines how leading brands are rebalancing their media mix in real time: where budgets are moving, how customer segmentation is evolving, and what a sustainable acquisition strategy looks like when the old playbook no longer applies.
Samuel Sternberg, Chief Growth Officer, Jomashop + Michelle Carrara, VP, Growth & Analytics, Boll & Branch + Rebecca Fitts, Founder, The Wild West of Retail
Transform Linear Strategy into an AI Discovery Framework
How to take your traditional Organic roadmap (SEO, Owned Content, 3rd Party Outreach) and transform it into a flywheel Discovery Framework that feeds back into itself for continued iteration and LLM visibility.
Eric Hoover, Sr. Director, Organic Strategy, Journey Further
Uninterrupted: How Brands Reach Customers in Moments Where Attention Already Exists
Customer acquisition has traditionally been built around interruption: stopping the scroll, breaking into the feed or competing for another click. But the most valuable attention may already exist. Leaders from ButcherBox, Swirl Wine Shop and Nift will explore how brands can reach new customers inside trusted, positive moments—when people are already engaged and open to discovery.
Ricky Grenis, VP & General Manager, Swirl Wine Shop + Jennifer Aronow, Sr. Growth Marketing Specialist, ButcherBox + Saket Mehta, CRO, Nift + Todd Gilchrist, Retail Analyst, GROW
The Agent Placed the Order. Here's What Happens Next.
In this fireside chat, ESW explores why the next phase of agentic commerce won't be defined by who owns discovery. The brands that win will be the ones that can stand behind the order after the agent clicks "buy" - with the confidence that it will be fulfilled correctly, delivered as promised, and supported end-to-end.
Jordan Thompson, AI Commerce Product Leader, ESW + Suzy Davidkhanian, VP, Content, EMARKETER
OPS PANEL: The New Era of Retail Operations
The back end of retail has never been under more pressure. Consumer expectations for speed, flexibility, and transparency have outpaced the infrastructure many brands were built on — and the cost of getting it wrong shows up immediately in returns, reviews, and churn. This panel digs into how operators are modernizing fulfillment, inventory, and logistics in a landscape where margin is thin and execution is everything.
Jordan White, Innovation Manager, Customer Success, GS1 + Lisa Lane, Shark Tanker & Founder, Rinseroo + Lou Cohen, Chief Digital Officer, Ernst & Young
Your Budget Can't Buy Distribution in AI Search: How Challenger Brands Win the Answer Anyway
Nearly every channel DTC was built on is an auction of sorts, and the brand with more money won more of it. AI search is built differently. No bid, budget lever, or arbitrage. Then the part nobody discusses: the answer in most categories is built from a small set of documents written before your brand existed. Influencing whether you show up changing costs a few well-placed sources instead of a media budget. Right now, a nine-figure competitor cannot outspend you into the consideration set. What to do about it, and why that window is closing.
Peter Sloterdyk, Chief Marketing Officer, Gist
RETENTION PANEL: Turning First-Time Buyers into Lifelong Customers
Acquiring a customer is the beginning, not the win. The brands growing most efficiently today are the ones converting first purchases into second, third, and tenth — through better onboarding, smarter lifecycle programs, and loyalty mechanics that actually change behavior. This panel explores what retention looks like in practice: how to identify high-LTV customers early, what keeps people coming back, and where most brands are leaving money on the table after the first sale.
Suzie Waller, Sr. Director, Growth Marketing, Peloton + Kelly Walter, VP, eCommerce - North America, Medik8 + Ali Donaldson, Retail Reporter, Inc.
Ask Me Anything: LLMs, Agentic AI, and What Business Leaders Actually Need to Know
AI hype is everywhere — but what do growth and commerce leaders really need to know to separate signal from noise? In this candid AMA, Daniel unpacks the fundamentals of generative, agentic and classical AI in plain English — no data science degree required. You’ll get straight answers to the questions leaders are often too busy or too hesitant to ask, plus practical guidance on how to evaluate risks, spot limitations, and make smart calls on real use cases. Leave with the clarity and confidence to lead AI conversations inside your organisation.
Daniel Graupensperger, Director, Product Management, Caraway
Customer Intelligence in 2026: Faster, Sharper, and Built for Real Time
Surveys and focus groups can't keep up with today's shopper. AI is giving retailers a faster, sharper way to generate insights — from simulating consumer behaviour with synthetic data to analysing live sentiment at scale. In this workshop, you'll learn how brands across beauty, fashion, and homeware are using these tools to uncover what customers really want, test ideas before launch, and pivot campaigns in real time. Expect concrete examples of wins, failures, and practical playbooks for turning insight into action before your competitors do.
Derek Sellhausen, Sr. Manager, Relationship Marketing, Athletic Brewing Company
Retention in Uncertain Times: Loyalty Strategies That Survive Economic Pressure
When consumers are cautious and acquisition costs are climbing, retention isn’t just a strategy - it’s survival. In this session, you’ll hear how Dr. Squatch has kept customers close through tariff-driven price increases, shifting consumer confidence, and tighter budgets. They’ll share what’s actually working when it comes to rethinking loyalty programmes, testing new engagement models, and keeping trust intact when prices go up. Walk away with examples of how to reframe value, adapt messaging, and deploy AI-driven retention tactics that protect repeat revenue when it matters most.
Melinda Roberts, Sr. Manager, Customer Experience, Dr. Squatch + Tess Awal, Sr. Customer Experience Associate, Dr. Squatch
AI in the Trenches: What Are You Using, Daily?
Everyone’s talking about AI - but what’s actually getting used day-to-day? This is a free, open roundtable with no host - just a group of operators sharing what’s working in real time. We’ll get into the tools, prompts, and workflows people are relying on across marketing, eCommerce, creative, and operations - from quick wins that save hours each week to deeper use cases that are starting to reshape how teams work. What’s genuinely useful? What’s overhyped? Where are you seeing real impact vs. just experimenting? Come ready to share, ask questions, and swap ideas - the goal is to leave with a few practical things you can start using immediately.
Open Discussion - Bring your own questions for the group!
Navigating Supply Chain Volatility: The CarParts Playbook
Margins are under pressure, global trade is unpredictable, and sourcing decisions that made sense six months ago may not hold today. In this roundtable, supply chain and operations leaders will share how they’re using scenario planning, supplier diversification, and AI-powered demand signals to navigate tariff exposure across fashion, homeware, beauty, and electronics. Expect candid conversation about what’s working, where the biggest cost traps hide, and practical frameworks for building a more resilient, agile operation that can protect profitability in volatile markets.
Stanislav Tatarzuk, SVP, Supply Chain, CarParts
DAY 2
Registration and Check in Breakfast Hosted by Junip
Join us for the second day of powerful insights, game-changing strategies & networking.
Morning Kick-Off
Our expert host sets the tone for an action-packed Day Two with opening insights and key industry trends. Let's go!
Aligning Operations with Customer's Sustainability Expectations
This panel brings together three influential leaders—Svanika Balasubramanian, CEO of rePurpose Global; Leah Mann from Thrive Market's Mission & Partnerships team; and Ryan Zimmerman, Director of Communications & Partnerships at Grove Collaborative—who will share actionable strategies for transforming business operations to meet today's heightened customer expectations around sustainability and social impact. Attendees will discover how to identify and prioritize the operational changes that matter most to their customers, learn frameworks for measuring and communicating impact authentically, and gain practical insights on building partnerships and internal processes that deliver on brand promises while maintaining profitability. The session will provide concrete takeaways on navigating the balance between customer demands for transparency and sustainability with operational realities, offering attendees a roadmap for aligning their own organizations with the values-driven expectations that increasingly define customer loyalty and market success.
Leah Mann, Mission & Partnerships, Thrive Market + Ryan Zimmerman, Director, Communications & Partnerships, Grove Collaborative + Svanika Balasubramanian, CEO, rePurpose Global
Beyond the Click: How AI Is Powering the Next Era of Funnel Performance
In today’s performance-driven environment, high-growth brands are moving fast, not by spending more, but by personalizing faster. In this session, we’ll break down how brands like DRMTLGY are turning paid media, creators, and campaign insights into fully personalized landing experiences across the funnel. You’ll get a look at how Replo uses AI to generate entire funnels from ad creative, influencer lists, and product catalogs, helping marketers launch smarter, test faster, and convert more. Walk away with a practical playbook for scaling personalization, and a clear benchmark for where your team stands in the next wave of performance marketing.
Joe Wool, Director, eCommerce, DRMTLGY + Sanjay Jenkins, GTM Lead, Replo
Incremental, Impactful, Creative: Rethinking Advertising for Retail Growth
As retail marketing grows more complex with CTV, Snap, TikTok, OOH, and retail media, understanding true incremental impact has become the backbone of measurement. But as channels multiply, so do the challenges of keeping analytics simple, actionable, and connected to real growth. In this session, Triple Whale and Vibe.co will explore how modern brands can combine incrementality, creativity, and performance branding to measure what really matters. We’ll share how retailers can cut through complexity, prove impact across channels, and unlock smarter paths to growth.
Arthur Querou, CEO & Co-founder, Vibe + Bryant Garvin, Operator in Residence, Triple Whale
From Anonymous to Engaged: Shopper Enrichment for Efficient Top-of-Funnel Growth
Your analytics show thousands of visitors, but 70% are complete ghosts—no email, no purchase history, just expensive traffic that walks away forever. While you're obsessing over email capture pop-ups, smart retailers are using AI to instantly de-anonymize anonymous browsers and convert them into buyers within minutes of arrival. Real-time shopper enrichment technology is matching mysterious visitors to existing customers, creating personalized experiences for the majority of visitors, and turning your biggest revenue leak into your most profitable channel.
Ben Bolognin, VP, eCommerce, Olukai + Michael Diesu, Co-Founder & CEO, Tie
AI-Powered Micro-Influencer Matchmaking for BFCM Impact
In the BFCM countdown, every dollar and every impression counts, and while most brands are still throwing budgets at macro-influencers with questionable engagement rates, the smartest retailers are using machine learning to systematically identify micro-creators who deliver authentic influence and measurable conversions at a fraction of the cost. This intensive tactical session reveals exactly how leading brands are leveraging AI-powered creator discovery platforms to cut through millions of potential partnerships and pinpoint the right micro-influencers in days rather than months, using advanced sentiment analysis to evaluate audience quality, engagement authenticity, and brand alignment before outreach even begins. You'll discover the specific data points and algorithmic approaches these companies use to predict creator performance, from analyzing comment sentiment patterns and follower growth trajectories to identifying creators whose audiences overlap with your highest-value customer segments. Learn the proven frameworks for structuring performance-based partnerships that protect your budget while incentivizing creators to deliver results, including dynamic commission structures, milestone-based bonuses, and hybrid payment models that reward both reach and conversion metrics. You'll gain access to the automation tools and workflows that streamline creator onboarding, content approval, and performance tracking, plus the specific contract templates and negotiation strategies that prevent common pitfalls like content ownership disputes, exclusivity conflicts, and attribution challenges. Most importantly, you'll walk away with immediately actionable playbooks for rapid creator identification, outreach sequences that achieve 40%+ response rates, campaign optimization tactics that maximize ROI during peak shopping periods, and emergency pivot strategies for when partnerships underperform, ensuring your influencer strategy fires on all cylinders in time for the holiday surge.
Jean Dees, Head of Influencer Marketing, The Perfect Jean
AI-Enhanced A+ Content: Last-Minute Tweaks That Drive BFCM Conversions
When it comes to Black Friday, speed and precision matter more than perfection. In this session, you’ll see how leading brands are using AI to quickly test and optimize copy, imagery, and product descriptions in the final days before launch. From swapping out underperforming headlines to generating new visuals that align with shopper intent, you’ll hear real-world examples of what’s moved the needle for peers under BFCM pressure. Walk away with a playbook of AI-driven adjustments you can still make in the eleventh hour — to capture attention, increase conversions, and maximize revenue on the biggest weekend of the year.
Bryan Welker, Head of Marketing & Growth, L-Nutra + Lisa Bratkovich, Founding Partner & Fractional CMO, The CMO Syndicate + Josh Payne, CEO & Founder, Coframe interviewed by Poonam Goyal, Sector Head & Sr. eCommerce Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence
Brand as Your Strategic Advantage: How Authentic Brands Win Markets and AI Amplifies Victory
In an era where competitors can copy your product overnight, brand remains the one unassailable competitive moat. Join Donny Jensen, CMO of Black Rifle Coffee—who transformed a veteran-founded startup into a cultural phenomenon generating hundreds of millions in revenue—as he reveals why authentic brand building is your ultimate growth accelerator. Drawing from scaling one of America's most recognizable coffee brands, Jensen will show how mission-driven identity creates fanatically loyal customers who become unpaid evangelists. You'll discover how to craft brand narratives so compelling that price becomes irrelevant and competition becomes noise, plus cutting-edge tactics for leveraging AI to amplify messaging and personalize experiences without losing authentic human connection. Walk away with a proven framework for your brand's unfair advantage, strategies for turning customers into evangelists, and a roadmap for brand-first growth in the AI-powered future.
Donny Jensen, CMO, Black Rifle Coffee
AMA: Ad Strategies That Actually Convert: Real Tactics From High-Growth Brands
Ad costs are climbing across all platforms while customer acquisition gets more competitive, but the merchants hitting their growth targets have mastered the art of diversifying their marketing mix to control costs and reach customers wherever they spend time. Leading retailers are discovering emerging ad networks and promotional channels that complement their existing strategies, while building direct customer relationships that reduce overall acquisition costs and improve lifetime value. The biggest winners aren't just optimizing individual campaigns—they're creating integrated marketing experiences that turn every customer touchpoint into a revenue driver. Join Amanda Engleman (Product Director, Shopify) and Carney Nir (VP Global Ecommerce, Orveon) for a tactical deep-dive into where smart merchants are actually spending their ad dollars, which emerging channels are delivering measurable ROI right now, and how to build advertising resilience that protects your margins when the next platform shakeup hits.
Carney Nir, VP, Global eCommerce, Orveon + Amanda Engleman, Product Director, Shopify
AMA: How to Use Behavioral Data to Drive Repeat Revenue
Your data is full of clues about how to earn the next order — if you know how to use it. In this AI-focused roundtable, brands that have cracked the code will share exactly how they’re turning browsing behavior, purchase history, and engagement signals into repeat sales and higher lifetime value. This is your chance to hear the wins, mistakes, and tactical takeaways directly from peers who’ve done it — so you can walk away with proven strategies to plug into your own retention playbook right now.
Ahmed El Naggar, Co-founder & CEO + Jon Fox, Head of Education, GoAudience
AMA: From Spikes to Systems: Building Always-On Customer Journeys with AI
Seasonality creates massive demand spikes, but most brands struggle with the gaps—inconsistent planning, generic experiences, and performance dips between peak moments. Join this interactive AMA to discover how top retail brand Reef transformed their customer journey from reactive seasonal pushes to a sophisticated, always-on growth engine that delivers sustained results year-round. Through real-world case studies and open discussion, we'll explore how to identify early signals of customer intent before competitors notice, create seamless strategies that work across both DTC channels and major marketplaces, and leverage AI to shift from scrambling during peak seasons to optimizing in real-time every day. Whether you're battling holiday rushes, back-to-school chaos, or summer surges, you'll leave with actionable frameworks for building customer journeys that drive consistent growth—not just short-term wins when demand naturally peaks.
Elyse Shaefer, Sr. Director, Digital Marketing, Reef + Allie Newman, Sr. Account Manager, Realtime
AMA: The New Retention Playbook: Slash Klaviyo/ESP Costs by 65% While Boosting Deliverability and Email Revenue by 30%
Retention marketing should be the most profitable channel in eCommerce, yet escalating Email Service Provider (ESP) costs continue to erode margins month after month. This roundtable session reveals how CustomersAI discovered and eliminated hidden inefficiencies within their retention marketing stack through innovative AI-powered strategies. Participants will learn about deploying an AI "list transfusion" agent that systematically removes unengaged, lifeless contacts while simultaneously replenishing email lists with fresh, high-intent subscribers who are more likely to convert. The session covers proven tactics for growing email revenue by maximizing deliverability rates and improving inbox placement, ultimately creating a streamlined system that generates consistent orders with minimal manual intervention. Attendees will walk away with a repeatable roadmap that demonstrates how to reduce ESP costs by 50% while simultaneously boosting deliverability metrics and increasing email revenue by 30%, transforming retention marketing from a cost center into a true profit driver.
Phil Ross, DTC Operator, Catalyst Pet + Larry Kim, CEO & Founder, CustomersAI
AMA: How DUDE Wipes Built a 7 figure TikTok Shop (without Ads)
In this interactive session, you’ll learn how DUDE Wipes built a 7 figure TikTok Shop by enlisting 14,000+ unpaid hype people (aka affiliates), running 50+ hours a week of chaotic livestreams, and repurposing every weird video we could get our hands on. We’ll cover how AI helps us make content at scale, why we pay our ambassadors in gas money and good vibes, and how being an absolute menace in the comments has become our most effective growth hack. Come for the strategy, stay for the poop jokes.
Joey Thomas, VP, Sales, DUDE Wipes
AMA: The Authenticity Paradox: When AI Creates Your 'Authentic' Brand Story
Today's consumers crave authenticity more than ever, yet many brands are increasingly turning to AI to craft their "authentic" narratives. This creates a fascinating paradox: can a story generated by artificial intelligence truly be authentic? And does it matter if it resonates with your audience? Join Andie Swim's leadership team as they host this candid roundtable exploring the complex relationship between AI-generated content and brand authenticity. Through real case studies from DTC brands that have successfully integrated AI storytelling while maintaining customer trust, plus cautionary tales from those who learned hard lessons about transparency, we'll dive deep into how modern retailers are navigating this challenge. You'll walk away with a practical framework for evaluating when AI-generated content aligns with or undermines your brand values, actionable strategies for maintaining human connection in an AI-enhanced content strategy, clear guidelines for disclosure and transparency that build rather than erode customer trust, and tools to measure authentic brand perception versus AI efficiency gains. Drawing from Andie's own journey building an authentic swimwear brand in the digital age, this roundtable is perfect for brand marketers, content strategists, and founders wrestling with how to scale storytelling without losing their brand's soul, because this isn't about whether to use AI, it's about using it authentically.
Alda Leung, VP, Creative, Andie
Scaling Smarter: Budget Management Strategies for Sustainable Growth
Discover how to balance growth ambitions with financial discipline. This session explores practical approaches to managing budgets while scaling, identifying key metrics to track, and prioritizing investments that drive long-term, sustainable success.
Rick Cadotte, CMO, Legacybox
AMA: The Loyalty Loophole: How Smart Retailers Make Their Best Customers Spend More This BFCM
While you're discounting everything for everyone, your VIP customers are getting the same generic 25% off as random bargain hunters—and wondering why they bothered staying loyal all year. Leading retailers discovered that AI-triggered loyalty upgrades during peak shopping moments don't just reward customers, they create spending frenzies that generate massive incremental revenue in 72 hours or less. You'll walk away with the AI loyalty boost framework that automatically identifies your highest-potential customers mid-BFCM and surprises them with exclusive tier upgrades (driving one retailer's top segment to spend $2,400 more per customer in one weekend), the exact surprise reward triggers that create urgency without cheapening your brand—including the "48-hour VIP window" that generated 290% higher AOV, the automated perk stacking system that makes customers feel truly special while protecting your margins, and the critical timing algorithms that deploy upgrades at the precise moment customers are most likely to splurge big. Your competitors are treating their best customers like strangers during the biggest shopping weekend of the year—while you're turning loyalty into a profit multiplier that compounds long after BFCM ends.
Kerri Mason, CMO, CAMP
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