We came, we saw, and now it’s time for a recap of our top takeaways from the Shoptalk 2024 sessions!
The Iterable team set up shop (the booth with the aura readings!) at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas from March 17th to March 20th to attend Shoptalk 2024—an event that provides a platform for brands of all shapes and sizes to learn, network, collaborate, and evolve.
The Iterable team at our booth. Peep the Aura Reading station behind us. 👀
I was on site as part of the Iterable team and got to attend some sessions. So, if you weren’t able to go, I’ve got you covered. Without further ado, let’s get into the takeaways.
Creating Frictionless and Continuous Store Experiences
Lauren Morr, SVP of Digital Engineering & Architecture at Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Patrick McIntyre, Head of Development at Krispy Kreme, and Fei Wang, Chief Technology Officer at Saks Off 5th—moderated by Steve Dennis, Founder & President, SageBerry Consulting—discussed the benefits of omnichannel experiences.
They highlighted that omnichannel customers shop nearly two times more often than single-channel shoppers, making it imperative for retailers to provide them with a seamless, unified experience across physical and digital channels. There are two critical components to delivering on this promise—creating a frictionless and continuous experience.
Key Takeaways
- Brands need to focus on being “customer-obsessed.” Consumers want brand love and want to feel seen and rewarded for being loyal brand advocates.
Morr emphasized that personalization will go very far in creating more brand advocacy in new and returning customers. - A unified experience—online, in-store, or in-app—is imperative in creating a positive customer experience. The key is to listen to what your customer says through their data and then deliver a product at the price that works for them for a higher conversion rate.
Legacy Brands Winning Over New Generations
Heidi Cooley, SVP & Chief Marketing Officer at Crocs, Winnie Park, CEO at Forever 21, and Scott Mezvinsky, North America & International President at Taco Bell—moderated by Sarah Engel, President ofJanuary Digital—chatted about how each new generation of consumers is defined by their distinct worldviews, preferences, and expectations that influence their purchase decisions.
Brands need to adapt and remain relevant to young consumers while also keeping their history and values top-of-mind to avoid being labeled inauthentic or alienating existing customers.
Key Takeaways
- For Crocs, the challenge was that the brand was very recognizable but irrelevant. The team decided to take a consumer-centric approach: they listened to the fans’ feedback on social media when it came to designs, collaborations, and restocks, and acted on those needs quickly.
- Crocs saw a connection between their brand mission and the attitude of Gen Z and leaned into this for their brand voice, especially on social media and when selecting authentic fan partnerships that ignited the brand.
- Forever 21 went from facing bankruptcy to becoming a part of the zeitgeist. They let customers, especially Gen Z customers, tell them what areas of pop culture were of interest and tapped the culture through collaborations like Cheetos, Barbie, Juicy Couture, and more.
- Collaborations are a key part of the Taco Bell strategy—they connect and partner with celebrities who are true fans of the brand and lean in. For example, singer Doja Cat tweeted about bringing back the Mexican Pizza and Taco Bell resurrected the previously-discontinued product and asked Doja Cat to announce the addition during her Coachella set.
Creating the Next Growth Wave With AI-Powered Commerce
Maria Renz, Global Head of Commerce at Google and moderator Chris Walton, Co-CEO at Omni Talk, talked about how staying essential to both merchants and consumers is paramount. Specifically, they covered how the transformative power of AI is shaping commerce strategy, revolutionizing the shopping experience, and supercharging personalized interactions at scale.
Key Takeaways
- AI will change shopping in three key ways: 1) more connections with customers, 2) creating an “assisted experience”, and 3) supercharging personalized experience at scale.
- AI has also caused an evolution in the commerce space. It can give customers confidence when ordering online through a new level of personalization (for example, Google virtual try-on).
Maintaining a Modern E-commerce Tech Stack
Jason Gowans, SVP & Chief Digital Officer at Levi Strauss & Co. and moderator Vikalp Tandon, Managing Director, Global Commerce Lead at Accenture did a deep dive into how organizations are deploying modern, flexible e-commerce tech stacks.
Key Takeaways
- Businesses need to develop a new way to manage channel complexity. Previously, brands began in a fragmented state by starting with channels they want to communicate through, building capabilities, and then investing in key foundations reactively on a need-to-have basis. Versus starting with the necessary foundations and building capabilities that can handle anticipated complexities for new and existing channels.
- Life centricity is key for building an effective modern tech stack. Being life-centric means that a brand must:
- Understand the full life of a customer—not just where your brand fits in.
- Avoid a one-size-fits-all mentality.
- Simplify for relevance—streamline internal loops and external customer experiences.
- Scale for growth by connecting data tech and talent for constant evolution.
Until Next Year, Shoptalk!
We hope you could stop by the Iterable booth to meet our team, discuss your business and marketing goals, and get your aura read. If not, make sure you catch us next year in the exhibitor’s hall!
If you’d like to learn more about how Iterable is helping marketers power world-class customer engagement, then schedule a demo of our platform today.