Retail Brew sets the stage with a look at how the modern customer journey has evolved and why the line between physical and digital is disappearing faster than ever.

As peak season approaches, brands face more pressure than ever to drive growth across a fragmented and competitive commerce landscape. The challenge isn’t just where to invest, it’s how to operate in a world where retail moments happen everywhere.

In this session, Katie DeNero, Senior Sales Director, Commerce at StackAdapt, will share a new framework for winning in modern commerce. From aligning on outcomes and unlocking the right data signals to activating across channels and operating more cohesively across teams and partners, she’ll break down what it takes to compete when the path to purchase is no longer linear.

This session will set the stage for deeper discussions on discovery, conversion, and measurement, equipping commerce leaders with a clear perspective heading into peak season.

For any brand, but especially emerging CPG brands, getting found is half the battle and the playbook is being rewritten in real time. Nate Rosen and Jenna Movsowitz of Express Checkout join Little Spoon Chief Brand Officer Caryn Wasser to break down how consumer brands are creating demand in a fragmented landscape and where the strongest discovery signals are actually coming from.

Tecovas, Coterie, and Lowe's talk through what physical retail is actually responsible for today and how they're designing for a customer whose journey started long before they walked through the door. Each brand brings a different footprint and a different answer to the same question: when a customer arrives having already found you online, what does the store owe them?

The beauty counter has always been a place people go to discover something whether it’s a new shade, a new brand, or a new routine. What's changed is everything that happens before they get there. Customers arrive at Ulta having already scrolled, saved, and shortlisted. The store's job isn't to introduce them to beauty anymore. It's to be the best possible version of a decision they've already started making.

In this conversation, Paul Loux, Ulta Beauty’s VP of Store Design & Experience, unpacks how the brand is rethinking physical space from the ground up: what stays, what's been cut, and what a store needs to do today that it didn't need to do five years ago. From format experimentation to the role of services and experience in driving loyalty, this is a look at what it actually takes to design a store for a customer who found you online first.

A deep dive into how Nate’s Honey has extended strong in-store performance into digital discovery and repeat purchase. We’ll explore how product innovation, creator-driven content, and retail strategy come together to meet consumers across moments and channels.

Format: Fireside Chat (1:1 Conversation)

With customers engaging across platforms, attribution remains one of retail’s biggest challenges. Leaders share how they’re measuring success, identifying meaningful signals, and deciding where to invest.

Disconnected systems can make seamless experiences nearly impossible. This panel explores how brands are integrating data, tools, and teams to create a more unified approach to commerce.

We’re bringing real retail challenges to the stage. A panel of experts will workshop audience-submitted problems in real time, offering tactical advice on everything from acquisition to conversion to retention.

Format: Interactive live workshop