What Changed in Retail Between eTail Palm Springs 2025 and 2026
When eTail Palm Springs convened in February 2025, the mood was cautious optimism. AI dominated almost every stage and hallway conversation, but the questions were tentative. Can we trust it with customers? How do we measure what it actually does? Is this a line item or a strategy?
Twelve months later, as retail and e-commerce leaders prepare for eTail Palm Springs 2026 (February 23–26), the agenda reads less like a tech showcase and more like a boardroom strategy session. The questions have matured, and a handful of new ones have muscled their way onto the program.
Last year’s keynotes positioned AI as a powerful assistant. It personalized site navigation, powered chatbots, optimized ad creative before launch. Hanky Panky’s SVP of Brand & Digital, Sabrina Cherubini, described how 50% of their customer service interactions had moved to AI, freeing human agents for higher-value work. Bluecore and Monetate showed how machine learning was reshaping customer engagement. The conversation centered on AI as an efficiency lever.
The 2026 agenda tells a different story. A Tuesday keynote titled “From Personalization to Agentic Commerce” features leaders from Cozy Earth, HeyDude/Crocs, and Attentive. It signals something bigger than incremental improvement. A follow-up panel digs into agentic AI use cases with executives from Lowe’s, Mejuri, and PlushBeds. By Wednesday, Klaviyo’s VP of Product Marketing takes the stage for a session on autonomous consumer relationships.
In 2025, brands asked how AI could help their teams work faster. In 2026, they’re asking what happens when AI starts making decisions on behalf of customers.
One of the starkest differences between the two programs is the arrival of macroeconomics as a main-stage topic. Last year, rising CPCs and tightening ad budgets surfaced in passing. Cherubini noted that brands were “doubling down on first-party data and owned media” to protect margins. But tariff policy and market volatility stayed in the hallways.
Not anymore. A Tuesday keynote panel, “Retail Resilience Unlocked,” features C-suite leaders from Art of Tea, COS North America, Raw Sugar Living, and Francesca’s discussing tariffs, market volatility, and industry transformation. Thursday continues the thread with “Anchoring Teams in Uncertain Times.” The tariff question has become unavoidable for any brand with a global supply chain.
In 2025, social commerce was one of eTail’s clearest emerging themes. TikTok Shop and Pinterest were becoming critical commerce platforms. Brands like Henkel and Kopari were shifting TikTok strategies from engagement to conversion. The “TikTok Halo Effect” was a recurring talking point, describing how campaigns lifted sales across Amazon and Shopify.
This year, social commerce has graduated to a dedicated programming track. Wednesday features a full Social Commerce track alongside sessions like “What TikTok Shop is Teaching Us about the Future of Multichannel Commerce.” A Tuesday keynote covers how QVC is reinventing live selling for TikTok. The shift from “should we be on TikTok Shop?” to “how do we operationalize it?” mirrors the broader maturation of the channel.
The 2025 event leaned hard into performance. Measurement dominated the agenda. Fixing attribution. Proving retail media ROI. Tracking full-funnel impact. Those conversations persist in 2026, with a Performance Marketing track and sessions on rethinking ROAS.
But there’s a notable counterweight. A new Brand & Community Building track runs on Tuesday. Wednesday’s keynote lineup includes a panel with leaders from Ipsy, Zumiez, GOODDLES, and ButcherBox on turning engagement into advocacy. Thursday opens with BEIS CEO Adeela Hussain Johnson on how storytelling drove the luggage brand’s $200 million growth, moderated by Modern Retail. A closing keynote explores brand partnerships with leaders from Blenders Eyewear, John Fluevog Shoes, and SMAC Entertainment.
Performance marketing got retailers through 2024’s efficiency squeeze. Brand is what will sustain them through 2026.
Two additions to the 2026 agenda signal where eTail sees its next frontier. A Wednesday keynote, “Redefining Retail in 2026,” puts Gen Z and Gen Alpha strategy on the main stage. And Thursday’s “Investing in the Next Big Thing” brings investor perspective to an event traditionally dominated by operators and vendors. Retail’s future depends on understanding where capital flows next.
eTail 2025 was about discovering AI’s potential and scrambling to measure everything. eTail 2026 is about operationalizing what works and confronting what’s changed. Agentic AI has replaced chatbot demos. Tariff resilience has joined ROAS on the priority list. Social commerce is no longer experimental. And the industry is rediscovering that brand still matters.
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