Welcome to Unofficially eTail – your insider guide to the biggest trends, insights, and conversations at eTail West 2025. For live event clips, speaker soundbites, and exclusive interviews, follow us on TikTok and Instagram!
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📸 On the Ground at eTail West
Day 1 at eTail West 2025 kicked off with big ideas, bold strategies, and actionable insights from the biggest names in retail and e-commerce.
From AI-driven marketing to customer retention strategies, here’s what went down at the JW Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Springs today.
👀 AI, Attribution & Personalization: The Big Themes
Day 1 of eTail West 2025 set the tone for the rest of the event, with AI dominating the conversation, performance marketing evolving beyond ROAS, and brands searching for smarter ways to personalize the customer journey.
One of the standout sessions came from Jason Grunberg, CMO at Bluecore, who highlighted a critical challenge for retailers:
How do brands move beyond conversion optimization and create a digital shopping experience that actually mirrors how people love to shop?
🔹 AI is leading the charge – but brands need to be strategic about where they invest.
🔹 Retailers are still struggling with personalization – but AI-powered tools like shopping assistants are beginning to shift the landscape.
🔹 Customer retention & LTV are more important than ever – brands must find ways to turn one-time buyers into repeat customers.
Grunberg revealed how Bluecore’s AI shopping assistant, Alby, is already delivering a 1.5% increase in product detail page revenue and engaging 6.2% of all PDP traffic. Unlike many AI discussions that are future-looking, Bluecore is showing real-world, deployed results at scale.
eTail West is buzzing both on the ground and online—and we’re keeping an eye on the best behind-the-scenes moments, key insights, and viral clips.
@etailnews Summit Day is off to a great start! Follow along for updates☀️ #etail #etailer #retail #etailpalmsprings #etailwest
🔥 What’s Coming Up on Day 1?
Day 2 of eTail West 2025 is packed with insights from top brands and industry leaders. Here’s what to look out for:
Creative is the New Ad Targeting – Getting Cut-Through in an Age of Declining ROAS
Time: 9:00 AM – 9:40 AM
Speakers: Robert Cardiff, CEO & Co-Founder, Laundry Sauce; Dejan Rankovic, SVP of Digital, Salt and Stone; Meghan Holzhauer, CMO, STATE Bags; Stephen Bailey, CMO, Fluevog Shoes; Mandy Rassi, CMO, The Michaels Companies
🔍 Key Insight: With ad costs rising and cookie-based targeting fading, brands are rethinking creative strategies to capture and convert audiences effectively.
C-Suite Synergy – Achieving Cross-Functional Collaboration & Organizational Growth
Time: 10:30 AM – 11:10 AM
Speakers: Andrei Rebrov, CTO, Scentbird; Nick Unkovic, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, EG Group; Micki Howl, Chief Revenue Officer, Marigold; Sophia Tsao, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer, Fashionphile; Sabrina Cherubini, SVP, Brand & Digital, Hanky Panky
🔍 Key Insight: Collaboration between C-suite executives is essential for growth, and this panel will explore how aligning marketing, finance, and technology can lead to better decision-making.
Retail Media in 2025 – How Brands Can Win in the Next Era of Retail Advertising
Time: 2:00 PM – 2:40 PM
Speakers: TBA
🔍 Key Insight: Retail media is one of the fastest-growing ad channels. Learn how brands can effectively allocate budgets across platforms and measure success.
Winning Strategies for Customer Retention & LTV Growth
Time: 3:30 PM – 4:10 PM
Speakers: Doug Hwang, VP, Head of Digital Commerce, Harry’s Inc.; Mimi Swain, Chief Commercial Officer, Ring & Blink; Jeffrey Warren, VP, Selling & Customer Experience, Macy’s
🔍 Key Insight: As customer acquisition costs rise, retention strategies are more crucial than ever. This session will dive into loyalty programs, personalization, and predictive analytics.
📍The Big Question: Are Brands Measuring What Matters?
Across sessions and side conversations, one theme keeps coming up: marketers lack the tools to measure full-funnel impact
As channels fragment and platforms guard their data, brands need better ways to understand what’s working—whether that’s attribution, predictive modelling, or AI-driven measurement.
🚀 We’ll be digging deeper into this all week, so stay tuned.
💡 Want to chat about it? Let’s meet at eTail.
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