Main Day 3: Thursday, March 2 Navigating The New Retail and Consumer Reality

Prices are up, demand is down. Inflation has driven a significant spike in costs, whether it be advertising, raw materials, or shipping. To make matters worse, the economic downturn has cooled customer demand. Consumers are demanding discounts because necessities like groceries and gas are more expensive now than ever before. 

After two years of intermittent lockdowns because of the pandemic, consumers are headed back to the stores - just after retailers made heavy investments in their digital strategies. 

Retailers are constantly having to recalibrate to this new normal - and are finding it difficult to remain profitable

In this session, SoundCommerce CEO and Co-Founder Eric Best will outline why organizations must re-evaluate operations and why success will be predicated on making the shift from revenue to profit as the core KPI to drive sustainability through fluctuations in business, whether it be because of a global pandemic or recession. 

Carly Zhang

VP, Partnerships
SoundCommerce

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It's our FINAL day at eTail! While the EXPO is closed, we've got another fantastic full day of content happening in our general session ballroom. Join us!

Today’s customer is looking to buy from brands who are authentic and transparent, so this should be at the forefront of marketing messages and other customer engagement methods. Further, Generation Z is very in tune with this kind of messaging, and they know when a brand is behaving inauthentically. Bottom line: there needs to be new ways of thinking about content for connection and keeping it real…and keeping it real means having an authentic voice that connects with the core customer. Join this fireside with Patagonia, a company that not only talks the talk, but walks the walk when it comes to brand values and transparency. Expect to hear about:  

• Embracing authenticity and simplicity for an entire product lifecycle 
• Expressing values throughout the customer journey to invite and build a community 
• Using meaningful messages to connect with value-driven customers 
• Assessing how to showcase your brand and value proposition, and which channels work best 
• Ensuring your entire organization is on board with your brand mission and vision 

Elizabeth Segran

Staff Writer
Fast Company

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Angela Clark

Head of Digital Studio
Patagonia

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There has never been a time when retailers needed to differentiate themselves from incredibly stiff competition more than today. Now is the time for your company to stop playing it safe and take a little bit of risk in order to innovate and keep ahead of the competition. Join our heavy hitter panel of C-Level executives from top online brands as they talk us through how they instill an innovative spirit from the top down. They will discuss: 

• Understanding how innovation will set your organization apart from the competition
• Understanding the types of innovation and digital tools you should invest in to differentiate
• Fostering internal behaviors that promote creativity and innovation
• Giving your team the room to be curious, creative, agile and autonomous
• Creating internal conditions that are conducive to innovation

Alexa Ritacco

CMO
Jenni Kayne

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Diane Aylsworth

COO
Auntie Fannie's

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Shawn David Nelson

Founder & CEO
Lovesac

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Gerard Sullivan

Founder/CEO Of Adquench Representing Shirofune At The Event
Adquench/Shirofune

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Carly Zhang

VP, Partnerships
SoundCommerce

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Hear Tina Shim, SVP, Brand Marketing at Ipsy & Boxy Charm, talk about their playbook" for how they have successfully evolved with the changing social media landscape to connect with more people than ever before, growing their community and sales. They are now the #2 beauty brand on Tik Tok and are a top EMV brand in beauty.

Phil Jackson

Co-Founder
Future Commerce

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Tina Shim

SVP, Brand Marketing
IPSY

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Faced with low consumer confidence and persistent inflation, retailers are facing more unpredictability than ever and being forced to get creative in order to acquire customers, retain employees, and keep investors happy. How can brands innovate to deliver purpose and profits in an unpredictable world? In this fireside chat, thredUP President Anthony Marino will discuss why the most valuable companies in the world are the ones who have purpose at their core and share tangible tips around how brands can generate profits by doing good and innovating around the tradeoffs that put profits and purpose at odds.

Elizabeth Segran

Staff Writer
Fast Company

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Anthony Marino

President
ThredUp Inc

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It's been another morning packed full of ideas and inspiration- grab a coffee to keep energized!

The direct-to-consumer market continues to grow rapidly and there are no signs of a let up anytime soon. Along with the increase in the number of D2C brands in the market, customer expectations are also at an all-time high, so competition amongst those brands is fierce. During this panel, a group of executives from several powerhouse D2C brands will discuss how they are approaching their plans for 2023, how they intend to scale, tackling physical retail space and more. Expect to hear discussion around:  

• Exploring strategies unique to DTC brands for acquisition, retention and loyalty   
• Scaling up and replicating your targeting capabilities to a broader audience  
• Moving from one type of environment to a broad market  
• Pulling learnings from an affinity audience and applying them to a broader audience  
• Building on your strategy of finding affinity groups

Clinton Suh

Head of eCommerce, NA
On Running

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Jake Kalick

Co-Founder + President
Made in Cookware

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Joe Cannon

SVP, Business Development
Hyperice

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Carly Zhang

VP, Partnerships
SoundCommerce

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• Strategy due to the changing digital marketing ecosystem  
• Creating a consumer experience that rivals Amazon
• Consumer experience and interactions after purchase 
• Extending lifetime value from existing customers
• Order/shipping issue resolution
• Consumer visibility into the supply chain and logistics 
• Sustainability 

Kinsey Seidel

Director, Strategy & Operations
Route

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Clinton Suh

Head of eCommerce, NA
On Running

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Corinne Crocket

SVP, Marketing
Outer

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Joe Anhalt

VP, Marketing
Koio

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For more than a century, local Goodwills around the country have been a cornerstone of workforce development, providing critical job training and mentorship programs that break the cycle of poverty. Goodwill has built a legacy of serving communities with measurable impact, and is one of the most recognized brands.

Goodwill is powered by generous donations from its local communities that are then re-sold through retail stores. Proceeds from those in-store sales fuel Goodwill’s critical social service programs. As thrift shopping has continued to grow in popularity, scaling the reach of those stores presented a tremendous opportunity to benefit the mission.

In October of 2022, GoodwillFinds.com debuted to the world as a modern, recommerce platform that delivers an elevated shopping experience, with the same “feel good” experience Goodwill is known for in-store, but now online at a national scale. GoodwillFinds brings the thrill of thrift shopping 100 percent online. 

All proceeds from purchases on GoodwillFinds.com go to support the social services programs that provide training, resources and employment opportunities for those in need of an opportunity, and ultimately, to live happier, fuller lives. 

Support generated through GoodwillFinds.com comes at a critical time for the American economy. With unemployment and inflation soaring across the country, and a recession looming in the backdrop, shoppers are looking to get more and spend less. The cost savings GoodwillFinds unlocks for everyday consumers, combined with the impact of the social service programs it fuels, are more critical today than ever. 

And, with the next generation of shoppers ignited by shopping with purpose and fired up about the resale market, GoodwillFinds is bringing a new meaning – and mission – to shopping online.

In this keynote presentation, GoodwillFinds CMO Beth Monda will discuss the origin story of GoodwillFinds.com, its role in the ecommerce / resale landscape, and share what a digital, secondhand marketplace at a national scale will mean for the local community programs Goodwill continues to provide during these tumultuous times. 

Beth Monda

Chief Marketing Officer
Goodwillfinds.com

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Hear from Morgan Chemij, the Global Senior Director of Marketplaces at HP as he brings you up to speed on key topics around retail media and shopper marketing.  Learn about the growth of retail media as a marketing vehicle, who the players in the space are (Amazon, Walmart Connect, Target Roundel, Instacart and others) where to place your bets, what types of activations are likely to yield the most success and HP’s approach / learnings along their Retail Media journey.

By the end of this, talk you will better understand:

• The growth of retail media as a marketing vehicle and why it is critical to be a part of it
• How budgets are shifting from other media forms into retail / shopper marketing
• Who the larger players are in the space and how they are growing
• Types of activations available
• How HP is approaching and a few practical tips you can apply to your business 

Morgan Chemij

Global Marketplace Strategy
HP

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Today’s economy is… in flux. With inflation at 8% and surging prices for gas, groceries and other needs, how will customers respond? Will they switch brands to save money and start to emphasize value over convenience and loyalty? Or will the stick to the brands that make things the easiest for them as they navigate changing times? With all of these questions in mind, how are retailers supposed to respond to this economy? Join a panel of top VCs as they talk us through the current economic landscape and let us know what opportunities might exist as we head into more uncertain times. Expect to hear about:  

• Reviewing the current landscape and how VC investment tactics are changing 
• Identifying key growth opportunities in today’s retail environment 
• Becoming the next retail unicorn—What does it take to set your company apart? 
• Reviewing what VCs are looking for in the next generation of digital disruptors—from top line growth to retention, to sustainable business models 

Brian Lange

Host
Future Commerce FM

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Matthew Nichols

General Partner
Commerce Ventures

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Claire Chang

Founding Partner
igniteXL Ventures

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Brooke Kiley

Partner
VMG Catalyst

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Join this session with several of our retail speakers from the last four days they go over their key takeaways from the event. Retailers will be encouraged to post their remaining questions that didn't have answered during the event to the app and our panelists will try their best to answer the questions that remain. They will also pull out their crystal balls and share their predictions for the hottest eCommerce topics of 2024. This is a can't miss session!

Johnathan Price

Owner
DownForSound

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Lynn Power

CEO & Co-Founder
Masami

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Elizabeth Koshy

CEO
Empress Naturals

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Cheers! It’s the end of eTail and there is nothing better celebrating your new memories and business opportunities than sitting with a glass of wine overlooking the beautiful Palm Desert.  

This is it- the end of another fantastic eTail! Hope to see you in Boston in August or next year back here in sunny Palm Springs!