eTail Palm Springs 2025
February 24 - 27, 2025
JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Springs, CA
Transform UX + MERCHANDISING SUMMIT
February 24, 2020
Optimize Your Merchandising And UX Strategies Now - Retailer Only
Give your customer what they want. And make the shopping experience easy for them. With a balance of art and science, there is a need for frictionless buying from discovery to checkout to move the product into the cart. We cover both merchandising and UX topics in this summit to really boost your bottom line. As a bonus we have roundtables designed to get you talking with your peers.
8:20 am - 9:10 am
Networking Breakfast & Registration
Time to fuel up for a great day of in-depth learning on how to continue to optimize your UX and Merchandising strategies.
9:10 am - 9:20 am
Welcome Remarks
9:20 am - 9:35 am
Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Tamara Gaffney -
VP, Decision Strategy,
Quantum Metric
9:35 am - 10:05 am
Keynote Panel: Maximizing Your Online Merchandising: Unifying Search And Product Recommendations
Charis Marquez -
VP, Wholesale.com & Digital Ops,
Levi Strauss & Co
Rebecca J. Becker -
Director, Digital Merchandising & Operations,
Lands’ End
Alex Banys -
Sr. Director, Global eCommerce Digital Marketing,
Specialized Bicycle Components
Peter Curran -
GM Digital Commerce,
Lucidworks
How can you use a customer’s search behavior to inform your merchandising? What are the ways that retailers are personalizing their product offerings based on browsing patterns and data? This panel answers these questions and presents actionable, detailed ways to maximize your online merchandising strategies. Receive take-aways from Levi Strauss and Lands’ End as they present ideas for:
- Ensuring preview search has the most relevant products and content to draw in the browsing customer
- Programming natural language processing for specific inquiries for top products to surface
- Using AI to generate accurate merchandising opportunities for customers’ individual preferences
- Funneling through products to ensure surfaced products become more tailored as customers browse
10:05 am - 10:20 am
eTail Best In Class Award For Site Redesign Of The Year
10:20 am - 11:00 am
Coffee & Refreshments
Your mind is buzzing with ideas so grab some coffee and keep it going!
11:00 am - 11:40 am
Keynote Panel Remix: Keeping The Customer First: Customer-Centric UX & Design Best Practices For Retail
Luke Cardoni -
Lead User Experience Designer,
REI
Haley Nemann -
Sr. Manager, Shopper Insights & Experience,
VF Corp.
Ryan Breslow -
Founder & CEO,
Bolt
Bruna Calheiros -
Director, User Experience,
Estée Lauder Companies
It’s no accident that UX is often called CX as brands must approach UX with a human-centered approach that understands user pain points and needs. Hear how companies such as REI think about customer-centric design and apply this to their retail organizations in this keynote panel.
- Knowing your audience and creating relevant and compelling content
- Providing adequate customer support through chat, video, FAQ’s, etc.
- Understanding UX on your mobile site and the priorities for mobile users
- Testing continuously to ensure ease of navigation and a frictionless UX
11:40 am - 12:05 pm
Keynote: Customer-Focused Product Design: Leveraging Customer Connections And Community To Build A Business That Delights
Sandra Oh Lin -
Founder & CEO,
KiwiCo
Hear from the CEO & Founder of KiwiCo how her company, a leader in the D2C space, has collected and leveraged customer feedback since its inception to continuously improve its products, customer loyalty and profit margins. This session will look at how they are leveraging their customer base, building a community and infusing customer-centric design into their product development.
12:05 pm - 1:05 pm
Lunch & Networking For All Attendees
1:05 pm - 1:30 pm
Your Customers Are Craving Convenience: What Omni Optimization Factors You Need To Know
Alison Schmitz -
Director, Product Delivery & Digital Experience,
Jo-Ann Stores, Inc.
Today’s customer wants what they want when they want it. How are you accommodating them and understanding how to make their omni-channel experience frictionless? Alison Schmitz of Jo-Ann Stores will walk you through some of the work they are doing to improve CX and drive sales. Discuss:
- Reducing pick-up time by having designated areas in-store for online orders
- Expanding SKU assortment online and on m sites
- Incentivizing store associates to assist with omni orders
- Being competitive with pricing
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
eTail Tonight: How To Turn A Product Into A Phenomenon
Katherine Danneberg Mattey -
Chief Merchandising Officer,
Uncommon Goods
Jeff Watton -
Co-CEO,
Yandy.com
Mat Franken -
CEO,
Aunt Fannie’s
Adam Callinan -
Co-Founder & CEO,
BottleKeeper
With so many choices available to today’s customer, how are you truly differentiating with your products? How are you creating the next big thing? A diverse group of companies will walk you through their secrets to success in a fun, Tonight Style panel discussion. You’ll hear from The Chief Merchandising Officer at Uncommon Goods, the co-CEO at Yandy and the CEO of Aunt Fannie’s as they discuss how they’ve turned their brands into customer sensation!
- Breaking through the merchandising clutter and standing out with a product that makes a statement
- Ensuring the item has a descriptive product name for easy search, ensuring visibility to shoppers on the hunt
- Promoting reviews to show instant feedback for buyers
- Getting your products sold quickly
2:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Conclusion Of The Transform UX & Merchandising Summit
4:15 pm - 5:00 pm
Cocktails & Conversations (Retailer-Only): Connect With Retail Peers From Similar Sized Organizations
Martin Gendron -
President - General Manager,
blackcircles.ca
Gabriela Cruz -
Sr. Manager, Digital Marketing,
Bliss
Sue Cho -
Head of Lifecycle Marketing,
Calm
Jean-Marx Mantilla -
Digital Marketing Director,
Lands' End
Relax with a cocktail and chat with other retailers in your vertical who share your pain points. You’ll meet the peers who can give you tons of advice and technology recommendations.
1. 0-25 Million in online revenues
Hosted By: Hosted By: Martin Gendron, President, blackcircles.ca
2. 25 – 100 Million in online revenues
Hosted By: Gabriela Cruz, Senior Manager, Digital Marketing, Bliss
3. 100 – 500 Million in online revenues
Hosted By: Sue Cho, Head of Lifecycle Marketing, Calm
4. 500 Million+ in online revenues
Hosted By: Jean-Marx Mantilla, Digital Marketing Director, Lands’ End
5:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Conclusion Of Cocktails & Conversations
5:15 pm - 6:30 pm
eTail Seize The Seasons Receptions!
Pick one of four parties to join!
1. APRES SKI - Costas Nightclub
No skiing experience required to enjoy this apres hot spot. Warm up at Costas Nightclub!
2. SPRING CHERRY BLOSSOMS - Mikado Restaurant
Spring is nature’s way of saying let’s party! Head on over to Mikado Restaurant for refreshing cocktails and apps.
3. SUMMER SOLSTICE - The Pointe
Put a little sizzle in your step at the Pointe and enjoy all things summer!
4. FALL OKTOBERFEST - Rockwood Grill
No worries, you can leave your dirndl and lederhosen at home and just enjoy a nice bier by the fire at the Rockwood Grill!