eTail Palm Springs 2025
February 24 - 27, 2025
JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Springs, CA
Transform TECH Summit
February 19th, 2019
An Exploration Of Innovative Tech For Implementation:
AI, Voice Enabled Commerce, Payments, Extended Reality
8:40 am - 9:15 am
Networking Breakfast & Registration Sponsored By Zaius
Time to fuel up for a great day of in-depth learning on innovative technology!
9:15 am - 9:25 am
Welcome Remarks
9:25 am - 9:40 am
Chairperson's Opening Remarks
Linh Ho -
Co-Founder and CMO,
conDati
9:40 am - 10:05 am
Keynote: Obsessing Over CX With Machine Learning (And A Great Engineering Culture)
Chris Homer -
Co-Founder & CTO,
thredUP
Chris Homer and his team strive to understand what their customers are actually experiencing—so much that they have designed multiple ML models that drive personalization of the shopping experience both on site and off (email, push, etc.). Discover Chris’ process to leverage ThredUp’s data to supercharge the conversion funnel:
• Turning powerful data into action for top ML digital interactions
• Where in the purchase funnel to push accurate content, on the right channel
• The KPIs the team established to benchmark progress
10:05 am - 10:25 am
Now You’re Talking: Using Effective Conversational AI to Create a Better CX
John Pisarek -
Director of Retail,
Interactions
Today’s automated systems have trained us to frantically press 0 and shout “agent”—leading to frustrating brand experiences before we’ve even started a conversation. Research shows that people demand the convenience of self-service...but only if the technology works!
Conversational AI, when successfully applied to customer care channels, can deliver a personalized and more efficient experience while at the same time improving CSAT, brand loyalty, and agent productivity.
In this session, hear case study examples and learn how you can create a competitive differentiator for your brand by implementing an Intelligent Virtual Assistant that can help you:
• Provide a true omnichannel experience, including persistence, across your care channels
• Harness and use data to deliver a more personalized and efficient experience
• Automate transactions so agents can focus on revenue generating opportunities
• Efficiently manage seasonal peaks and unexpected volume
10:25 am - 10:50 am
Keynote: How Tarzhay Got Its (Tech) Cachet Back
Andy Cerio -
Senior Director, Product Management, Personalization & Search,
Target
Travis Klinker -
Director, Agile & Engineering Enablement,
Target
The road to enterprise business agility is paved with long-term investments in areas such as architecture, engineering, and product management; combined with ongoing investment and training in lean-agile practices and empowered teams. Come learn about Target’s journey and hear a story about how these investments paid off in the grocery space with the national launch of Target Restock. (A true Digital Transformation story).
Key Takeaways:
• Understand how core investments are necessary to drive enterprise business agility
• The importance of ongoing investments to increase organizational acumen on new ways of working
• How you can dramatically increase your speed to market and low-risk learning leveraging these practices
• A few easy steps to get started in your own organization
10:50 am - 11:20 am
Morning Coffee & Refreshments
Your mind is buzzing with ideas so grab some coffee and keep it going!
11:20 am - 11:50 am
Keynote Panel Remix: Defining Omni-Channel Experiences That You Need Today
Andy Gorski -
Sr. Director of Marketing,
Best Buy
Shana Seubert -
Director, Mobile,
Foot Locker
Parul Sharma -
Director of Professional Services,
ThreatMetrix
Omni is an obvious! The executives on this panel review what your big check marks should be and quick wins to implement tech that is changing the retail environment:
• Ensuring sales consultants can place an order in-store via web when products are not available
• Training sales consultants to have a more effective method for collecting CRM data, and are conversely empowered with CRM data to help in-store sales
• Enabling connected commerce to build data for a top customer journey
• Exploring and testing new tech at scale to ensure the experience maps back to your core customer
11:50 am - 12:10 pm
Set Yourself Apart. Utilize Rideshare Technology To Create A Better Customer Experience
Thomas Mackel -
Co-Founder,
Luxmo
Tom explores retail sales and delivery opportunities within disruptive technology. Get the latest insights into how rideshare, last mile, and third-party transportation services can positively impact your business.
Learn how to start a customer’s journey before they leave their house. Differentiate the customer experience for those who will reward you for your actions. Enjoy the ongoing viral benefits when you surprise and delight VIP customers with sponsored rides provided by you. Are you ready to enable dispatched courtesy rides through the mobile device of a front line employee? Or will you reserve this tool for contingency marketing to drive promotional engagement and event attendance? Tom will showcase the risks and rewards of multiple use case implementations.
Key Themes:
• Incremental Sales to That Customer
• Increased Loyalty
• Increased Customer Referrals
12:10 pm - 12:35 pm
Keynote: Designing For Delight - Incorporating Real-Time Customer Feedback Into Your Customer Funnel
Bogdan Constantin -
Co-Founder,
Menguin
We live in a world where 91% of customers that have a negative experience with your product/brand don’t ever tell you directly, they just negatively review you on the web and don’t ever come back. When you’re a DTC brand these negative interactions and points of friction along your customer journey can have a detrimental effect on your customer lifetime value. You need a process that proactively solicits and incorporates real-time feedback across your funnel to further inform and improve your acquisition and retention models before these friction points becoming critical and begin degrading your unit economics. Menguin optimizes for LTV and delighted customers (avg NPS of 72 last 18 months) by embracing the following mindsets:
• 1-to-1 Interactions: Proactively create natural places in the funnel to query and solicit feedback from users that abandon cart or do not convert to understand why and how to overcome any barriers to purchase they may have
• Building For Long Term: Incorporating the customers likes/dislikes into acquisition marketing (Google/Facebook) as well as retention marketing (email/SMS/on-site chat) in an ROI positive way
• Right Customer, Right Carrot: Pairing the right incentive structure for both customer service reps and leads, detractors, and promoters to maximize desired goals
• Marginal Revenue = Marginal Cost: Providing customers with their desired level of interactions online and in-person to drive optimal path to purchase and repeat business on a cohort by cohort basis
12:35 pm - 1:35 pm
Lunch & Networking
Take this time to chat and chew with someone you may not have met yet!
1:35 pm - 2:05 pm
From The Treetop: How Business Owners’ Personal Characteristics Impact Their Business
Morri Chowaiki -
Head of Sales and Retail,
The Shark Group
The story of Morri Chowaiki, from the glamour of Hollywood, to dark alleys and smelly kitchens to the pinnacle of success, and his funding on Shark Tank. Riches to rags to riches, Daymond John gave him a real deal, not only licensing the Hanukah Tree Topper®, but placing him as the Head of Sales and Retail of the Shark Group.
Morri shares his own life story as a framework for entrepreneurs everywhere. From young to not-so-young, inventors, retirees, wannapreneurs, start-ups, or even others trying to get on Shark Tank, From The Treetop is a fascinating education in sales and hustle —it’s a great story!
A lot of people have asked him, “How did you get here from there?” This is how.
2:05 pm - 2:45 pm
Game Changer Tech Presentations: The eTail Tech Tank
Argentina Moise -
CEO & Founder,
Bleexy
Jewel Li -
COO,
AutoX
Chelsie Lee -
Co-Founder & CEO,
Shipsi
Alon Leibovich -
Co-Founder & CEO,
BrandTotal
Pete Daly -
Co-Founder,
GettinLocal
Cutting edge tech presentations that will change the future of immersive retail. Best tech voted on by the audience on the conference app.
2:45 pm - 3:15 pm
Afternoon Coffee & Refreshments
The day is winding down but there are still great learnings ahead! Fuel up during this time.
3:15 pm - 3:45 pm
Panel Discussion: The Importance Of Internal Collaboration To Thrive In Today's Retail Environment
Megan Kohout -
VP, eCommerce,
Kendra Scott
Sarika Puri -
Vice President, Digital Commerce Platform,
Dell
Jordan Bass -
Senior Director, eCommerce,
The Wonderful Company
Rocky Sharma -
Sr. Director, Product Management, eCommerce,
Builddirect
For years, we have talked about breaking down silos. Fingers crossed, your business has achieved this, but what’s next? Be inspired by this panel as they discuss how their teamwork makes the dream work:
• Building and embracing collaborative product teams to ensure quality is top
• Measuring threshold for experimentation to ensure you are building the right product that truly enables a top customer experience
• Taking the guesswork out of experimentation for collaboration to deliver hard (and successful!) results
3:45 pm - 4:25 pm
Buzzword Bingo! Panel: Trends Shaping The Future Of Retail
Heather Blachowski -
Director, Digital Content Operations,
Kohl's
Ingrid Milman -
Director, Digital Strategy,
Ann Inc.
Mike Zuccato -
Director Online Marketing,
Sourcebooks
Shawn Myers -
Director of Product Marketing,
Oracle Marketing Cloud
Executives give their quick thoughts, raw feelings (hates and loves!) on a buzzword that the moderator throws out at them. And yes, there will be a Bingo board and prizes!
4:25 pm - 4:25 pm
Conclusion Of Transform TECH Summit
5:00 pm - 5:45 pm
Cocktails & Conversations (Retailers-Only): Connect With Retail Peers From Similar Sized Organizations
Zach Zelner -
CEO,
PupSocks
Ted Baker -
CEO/Cofounder,
QALO Inc.
Stacy Carpenter -
Director of Customer Experience,
TOMS
Erin Vitero -
CRM Manager,
JustFab
Grab a cold beer or a glass of wine and join your new peers at informal conversations organized by online revenue. Kick off the evening right by meeting people with similar challenges and walk away with new ideas to take back to your office.
1. 0-25 Million in online revenues
Zach Zelner, CEO, PupSocks
2. 25 – 100 Million in online revenues
Ted Baker, CEO, QALO
3. 100 – 500 Million in online revenues
Stacy Carpenter, Director of Customer Experience, TOMS
4. 500 Million+ in online revenues
Erin Vitero, CRM Manager, JustFab
5:45 pm - 7:00 pm
eTail Casino Royale Reception Hosted By Certona & FuelX
Play your cards right at our Casino Royale Grand Opening Reception! Sit around the table and play poker, blackjack, roulette and much more with your new friends.