REI’s CEO Is Betting on Trust in an Age of Agentic Commerce

Retail has never been short on strategy decks promising transformation. What’s rare is a leader willing to slow down first, listen deeply, and then rebuild around trust.

That’s exactly what Mary Beth Lawton did in her first year as CEO of REI.

In an industry racing toward automation, AI-driven journeys, and agentic commerce, REI’s direction may seem counterintuitive. Its strategy is rooted not in speed or scale alone, but in human expertise, emotional connection, and a cooperative structure that allows for long-term thinking.

A co-op built for long-term decisions

REI’s 25 million-member co-op structure fundamentally changes how leadership decisions are made. Without public shareholders, the company can prioritize members, employees, and mission over quarterly earnings pressure.

For Lawton, that structure was both an attraction and a challenge. REI’s heritage is deeply loved, but legacy can also create resistance to change. Her mandate was clear: evolve the co-op without breaking its soul.

Listening before leading

Rather than arrive with a pre-packaged vision, Lawton spent her first three months on a listening tour across stores, distribution centers, vendors, and teams. She asked employees what must be preserved and where the business was at risk.

The feedback was revealing. People wanted the culture protected, but they also wanted clarity, focus, and future readiness. That tension became the foundation for REI’s three-year plan.

Trust as strategy, not slogan

The result was P28: Ascending Together, anchored in a clear positioning statement: REI as the most trusted retailer for people who love the outdoors.

Trust isn’t abstract at REI. It shows up in product quality, service, returns, environmental advocacy, and employee expertise. Lawton elevated trust from a brand attribute to a strategic lens through which all decisions are made.

Four pillars support that positioning: authentic assortment, elevated service, reinvented membership, and culture. Notably, culture comes first. Lawton is explicit that strategy fails without cultural alignment.

When values are tested

That philosophy was tested early. Shortly after Lawton’s arrival, REI faced backlash over an endorsement tied to the Secretary of the Interior. While the decision predated her tenure, she took responsibility, listened to members, and publicly reversed the endorsement.

The lesson wasn’t about perfection. It was about transparency. In values-driven brands, credibility is earned not by avoiding mistakes, but by responding honestly when they happen.

Green vests as the ultimate differentiator

As ecommerce and marketplaces make outdoor gear widely available, REI’s advantage isn’t access to product. It’s access to expertise.

The company’s green vest employees are trusted guides with lived outdoor experience. Lawton sees them as REI’s most defensible asset in an AI-powered retail future.

That expertise is now extending beyond stores. Green vests appear in product videos, testimonials, and digital campaigns, driving measurable conversion lift. Stores are also evolving into community hubs, hosting classes, events, and shared experiences that algorithms can’t replicate.

AI changes the journey, not the relationship

Lawton doesn’t dismiss AI or agentic commerce. She believes they will touch every part of retail. But she’s clear-eyed about what will differentiate brands once the technology becomes ubiquitous.

AI can optimize and personalize, but it cannot replicate lived experience, care, or trust. REI’s challenge is deciding where to participate in AI-driven ecosystems and where to preserve direct relationships on its own platforms.

Growth without dilution

REI’s audience now spans hardcore outdoor enthusiasts and newer participants who discovered nature during the pandemic. Rather than choosing between them, Lawton sees serving both as mission-aligned growth.

That same pragmatism guided the relaunch of REI’s travel experiences through a partnership model. Financial discipline made the business viable again, while member value remained intact.

The deeper takeaway

REI’s strategy isn’t about resisting the future. It’s about shaping it on its own terms.

In a retail world increasingly defined by automation, REI is betting that trust, human expertise, and emotional connection will matter more, not less. For marketers watching agentic commerce rise, the message is clear: technology may drive transactions, but relationships still drive brands.

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