Shoptalk 2025: That’s a Wrap
Your Day 3 download: measurement, personalization, and what’s next for retail.
Sophie Bruxner-Randall
March 28, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes
Hi there,
Three days. Thousands of retail leaders. Enough acronyms, AI takes, and attribution debates to last us until 2026. But before the casino lights dim, we’re closing out with the biggest voices of the day—and what they told us about the future of commerce.
✨ Cult Status, Cross-Generational Strategy: Inside Sunday Riley’s Growth Playbook
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In one of the most compelling keynotes of the final day, Sunday Riley—founder and CEO of the eponymous skincare brand—revealed how she’s built a beauty empire that speaks authentically to everyone from Gen Z to Boomers. Her secret? Radical empathy, platform-specific nuance, and ruthless product discipline. |
From subtle font changes and age-appropriate model choices, to product claims tailored by demographic, Sunday detailed how her brand personalizes everything—without losing cohesion. A single hero product might be pitched as glow-boosting to a 17-year-old and wrinkle-reducing to a 62-year-old. Both are true. What changes is the narrative.
On QVC, she emphasized the opportunity to educate directly. “It’s never just about the product,” she said. “They’re buying into confidence, into connection.”
Other standout insights:
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Core products over churn: Sunday Riley avoids constant product drops. “Inventory is expensive. New products can crush you,” she explained.
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Real-time feedback matters: From live QVC sessions to customer service emails, Riley treats feedback as gospel. A beloved eye cream was relaunched only after hundreds of customer requests.
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Platform experimentation is alive and well: She’s excited by everything from Instagram broadcast channels to Substack—so long as it helps foster community and connection.
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No fake founder story required: Riley was candid about hating the “I couldn’t find it, so I made it” trope. What matters to her is not how you start—but what keeps you going.
“I was wrong to stay behind the curtain at first,” she admitted. “People crave connection.”
Sunday Riley
And with millions of fans across platforms and generations, it’s clear they’ve found it.
From Community to Cult Brand: BÉIS CEO Adeela Hussain Johnson on Scaling with Soul
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In a standout keynote, Adeela Hussain Johnson, CEO of BÉIS, unpacked how the DTC travel brand is scaling from buzzy upstart to $300M+ powerhouse—without losing the authenticity that fueled its rise. |
The big takeaway? Customer closeness is the growth engine—and BÉIS isn’t guessing what people want. They’re asking.
“It’s a novel concept, I know,” she joked. “We talk to our customers. A lot.”
From product color decisions to in-person activations like the much-hyped giant claw machine, BÉIS treats community engagement as strategy, not sentiment. That means listening, adjusting, and innovating with its audience every step of the way.
Insight to Action
BÉIS combines trend forecasting with live consumer feedback loops. Johnson emphasized designing for “use case + lifestyle,” whether it’s a Gen Z traveler or a department store shopper. The product experience adapts to the customer—not the other way around.
Expanding the Audience Without Diluting the Brand
While the brand’s core remains millennial women, growth is accelerating with older consumers, men, and previously underrepresented audiences. Rather than reinventing itself, BÉIS is doubling down on function, fashion, and attainability—the brand’s three key pillars.
️ Omnichannel, with Purpose
Though BÉIS launched as a DTC brand, it’s now embracing retail selectively through partnerships with Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Revolve. The goal? Meet customers where they want to shop—without compromising on brand integrity.
Channel-Specific Content
Johnson highlighted how BÉIS tailors creative by platform—what resonates on TikTok doesn’t fly on Pinterest, and vice versa. Social is for storytelling and community; paid is for acquisition; retention happens through email, SMS, and post-purchase flows.
Scaling Smart, Not Just Fast
As BÉIS eyes international markets and future wholesale opportunities, the focus is on infrastructure, not just expansion. “Moving a $300M ship is different from moving a $10M one,” she noted. From sourcing to supply chain tweaks, every decision ties back to keeping the brand attainable without sacrificing margin.
Yahoo’s Vision: Choice, Control, and Commerce Everywhere
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In an exclusive ClickZ interview, Beth Nussbaum Gross, Global Commerce Media Partnerships Lead at Yahoo, gave us a rare inside look at how Yahoo is powering the next phase of commerce media. |
“We’re built for choice and control—not just for retailers, but for non-traditional commerce players like Planet Fitness and Costco,” said Gross.
Key takeaways:
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Yahoo’s DSP and identity graph help retail partners activate first-party data across channels, including off-site media.
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Their “Backstage” program enables supply path optimization across hundreds of premium publishers.
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Measurement is a top priority: tools like in-flight sales analysis help partners shift spend in real-time based on POS data.
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Yahoo sees the future in aggregated access—unifying fragmented RMNs so brands don’t need to manage 20 different partnerships.
“He who figures out the front door of aggregating these partners… wins,” Gross told us.
Kat Cole on Brand Building in the Age of AI
Keynote | CEO, AG1 (Athletic Greens)
Kat Cole brought the house down with a refreshing message: AI may be changing the tools, but the fundamentals of brand love and trust remain the same.
Cole’s blueprint:
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Obsess over real-time feedback loops from customers.
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Use AI to accelerate insights, not replace intuition.
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Move fast—but keep brand integrity front and center.
“Every click, every pause, every cancel reason is a gift,” she said.
️ Sean Scott on What’s Next for Google Shopping
Keynote | VP & GM, Google Shopping
Google’s Sean Scott gave us a peek at the future of product discovery—and it’s more visual, social, and personalized than ever.
Highlights:
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Search is evolving beyond keywords to visual-first exploration.
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Google is investing in shoppable video formats and creator integrations.
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The key to standing out? Rich product content and first-party data to fuel relevance.
✈️ Adeela Hussain Johnson: From Luggage to Lifestyle
Keynote | President, BÉIS
For DTC darling BÉIS, emotional utility is everything. President Adeela Hussain Johnson shared how the brand has scaled by pairing aspirational storytelling with functional design.
Big lessons:
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Don’t just sell a product—sell a journey.
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Retail expansion has been intentional, not reactive: “We go where our community already is.”
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Their biggest channel for new customers? Still organic social and influencer word-of-mouth.
ClickZ x Fospha Exclusive Resources
Missed the masterclasses? We’ve got you covered.
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How Snapchat Became a Full-Funnel Powerhouse Read the Snap Masterclass Wrap-Up
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Cracking the Amazon Halo Effect Read the Halo Masterclass Wrap-Up
@clickz_official Can you guess what Colin Duethorn’s biggest takeaway from the Fospha x Snap Masterclass at @Shoptalk? #snapchat #snap #fospha #clickz #sho… See more
The Small Biz Power-U
While the Shoptalk floor buzzed with retail giants and AI rollouts, the real MVPs of commerce—the small businesses—got their own moment to shine.
This week, we spotlighted Liberis, the embedded finance platform helping small businesses access flexible funding right when they need it. Whether it’s a seasonal stock surge or a storefront expansion, Liberis empowers retailers with simple, revenue-based financing that moves at the speed of ecommerce.
No pitch. No pressure. Just a nod to the tech that’s powering the backbone of the retail economy.
ClickZ Hot Takes: Real Talk from Retail Insiders
Between keynotes and coffee breaks, we caught up with industry leaders to get their raw, unfiltered takes on Shoptalk 2025—and the future of retail. Here’s what they had to say:
Fallon Archambault, La Vie en Rose
It’s all about AI enablement in 2025. Fallon’s team is rolling out a new chatbot and digital experience, and says Shoptalk was the perfect place to vet the tech partners helping them make it happen.
Katie Woodruff, Sur La Table
Coming from the merch planning side, Katie admitted she wasn’t sure if Shoptalk was “her space.” But the takeaway? Endless inspiration. “The real-life conversations help you learn what no website can explain.”
Joseph Kavanagh, Jazwares
A Shoptalk veteran, Joseph highlighted how the event powers a year’s worth of innovation. One standout? A new tool that distributes commercial content across channels with surprising ease. “So elegant, I was shocked it didn’t already exist.”
Mary Catherine Dusing, Michael Kors
Michael Kors’ Global Social Lead is rethinking how the brand shows up in the world. Her focus? Social listening and self-awareness. “We see ourselves as luxury, but the consumer might see us as outdated. It’s time to really listen.”
Dennis Yao Yu, The Other Group
Dennis offered a strategic lens on the omnichannel imperative. DTC isn’t enough—2025 is about retail-ready brands, unified strategy, and “operational discipline in a high-cost environment.”
David Morin, Narvar
What’s hot? Hyper-personalization that’s actually executed. David says AI hype is maturing into measurable outcomes. “Retailers aren’t just testing—they’re demanding ROI and loyalty gains.”
Nick Meister, Huckberry
Huckberry’s VP Ops saw real AI maturity for the first time this year: “It finally feels safe to try it without compromising CX.” He’s also eyeing international expansion, where ad spend still holds promise.
Stay Tuned
We’ll be back in your inbox soon with more post-event coverage, exclusive interviews, and deep dives into the trends shaping performance marketing.
In the meantime—whether you’re headed to the airport or the blackjack table—thanks for joining us at Shoptalk 2025.
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