Three Shoptalk 2025 trends you can start implementing today

Shoptalk US is the world’s biggest conference at the intersection of retail, technology and innovation. In 2025, the message was clear: retail technology has moved from speculation to application. AI is no longer theoretical, loyalty is being redefined, and emotional connection is as critical as ever before. 

Our team attended the event alongside thousands of international retailers, platforms, and technology leaders. Across hundreds of sessions, demos and conversations, three themes consistently rose to the surface of the latest in eCommerce. This article highlights what innovative US retailers are doing now, and what Australian and New Zealand brands should take away from it.

Practical AI adoption in action

AI is no longer a speculative investment, it’s a critical part of the retail operating model. Retail leaders at Shoptalk reported a shift from “AI washing” – the practice of empty AI-powered messaging without meaningful use – to the real deployment of intelligent tools across back- and even front-end operations.

Expecting teams to use Gen AI to find day-to-day efficiencies is now ‘table stakes’ for US retailers, with some expanding its use to customer-facing tasks, although this requires greater care and consideration. For example, US intimates retailer, Hanky Panky, has automated 50% of their customer service tickets with AI after six months of training, transitioning customer service teams into strategic retention roles.

Agentic AI – the next evolution of AI that can take autonomous actions on a user’s behalf, based on understanding their preferences, context, and goals – was an even hotter topic, with ethics and consumer adoption up for debate. Lifestyle apparel retailer, Tillys, is advancing conversational search using the emerging technology to create a more natural, intent-driven discovery experience; a trending application that many other US retailers are working towards adopting.

How to implement:

• Look for practical AI use cases in your business. Start with team efficiencies, progress to support automation or investigate AI-driven search.
• Begin testing now, even within limited environments to build internal confidence and capability.
• Assure teams that AI is an enhancement tool. Here to enable them, not replace them. 

Tailored experiences require quality data

Personalisation and loyalty were unsurprisingly both dominant themes, but Shoptalk 2025 marked an interesting shift away from a focus on tech solutions and towards urging retailers to look at the quality of their data. Transcending topics and sessions, panellists repeatedly returned to the point that tailored experiences depend on clean and reliable data above all else.

Klaviyo, offering marketing, service and analytics in one place, suggests that unifying fragmented customer data is the best path to achieving true personalisation. American tea company, Harney & Sons, used internal audits of customer data, followed by intelligent segmentation, such as RFM segmentation, to materially lift average order value, up 21% year on year in its case. 

As for loyalty, many brands are moving away from traditional points-based programs or margin-eroding discounts, instead shifting focus to long-term customer value and behavioural engagement, using this data to inform decision making. Here in Australia, Meshki uses segmentation to identify truly loyal customers, outside of formal loyalty programs, and tailoring experiences accordingly. 

How to implement:

• Discover the gaps, opportunities and overall quality of your data now. 
• Build personalisation strategies according to your data, not your platform.
• Reframe loyalty strategy around behaviours of your customers, not just program participation.

Building brand connection and fostering discovery

With so much innovation, the purchase journey has the potential to become more efficient than ever before, but this isn’t always a good thing. At Shoptalk, the experts urged brands to not neglect brand storytelling, highlighting the importance of fostering emotional bonds and explorative discovery to build connections that go beyond transactions.

Jewellery retailer, Pandora, explains the value of brand-led storytelling throughout its online experience, discussing how emotional connection can outperform functional messaging, especially in the long-term. With improved search technology, eBay’s team advocates for finding the balance between serving customers what they’ve requested and providing opportunity for discovery and exploration of their own – an irreplaceable, joy-sparking element of the shopping experience.

What’s more: building lasting brand connections today demands alignment between brand and digital execution. Hanes’ radically transparent approach to launching its period underwear range is a reminder that it’s not just what you say, but how you deliver it, through campaigns, product experiences, and every digital touchpoint. Brands that weave authenticity consistently across channels are better positioned to earn trust, foster loyalty, and create meaningful engagement over time.

How to implement:

• Treat discovery as a moment to educate and inspire, not just convert.
• Use storytelling to differentiate, especially if your product is functionally similar to others.
• Prioritise authenticity and address customer wants and needs transparently.

Every trend points back to one thing: understanding your own brand, customers and data better than ever.

To help retailers understand your own data maturity curve, we're offering a complimentary Data Discovery workshop, designed to uncover where your next growth opportunity lives and create a clear plan to act on it.