Inside Shoptalk Spring – Las Vegas: A Leading Retail Conference

We recently attended Shoptalk Spring, “the world heavyweight champion of retail and commerce innovation,” at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. 10,000 of the industry’s biggest names (1 in 3 from the C-suite retail, consumer brand, and tech landscape) came together to talk AI and emerging technologies, new trends, tools, and more.

If you’re a retailer or brand (3,000 of which attended this spring) and can’t decide if you should attend the next edition of Shoptalk, check our takeaways and stand-out moments from the expo floor to keynote panels, and brand events/activations! Next up on the calendar is Shoptalk Europe, taking place in Barcelona, Spain, June 9th -11th, followed by Shoptalk Fall happening September 29th – October 1st, in Nashville, Tennessee, then Shoptalk Luxe, February 2nd – 4th, 2027, location TBA. For 2026, it was in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

First things first, your badge gives you access to all the content sessions, networking opportunities, tech showcases, and parties of Shoptalk. When it comes to meals, you can tack on networking breakfasts and lunches, with food and beverages provided throughout the day. Here is a breakdown of some of these experiences.

Expo Floor

The expo floor is where we spent a lot of our time, and where you can find:

Exhibitors/Sponsors: More than 300 booths lined the expo floor, tackling some of the industry’s top business needs and solutions. You can check out a few of those companies here. Note, not all sponsors from this list had a booth.

Breakout Stages: Encompassing the Customer Engagement Stage, Marketing and Media Stage, Technology Stage, and AI Stage, covering actionable insights, real ROI, and fresh connections. The Main Stage was on another floor. You can find the full agenda here!

Shoptalk Spring’s 180+ speakers represented the industry’s boldest leaders, spanning established retailers, consumer brands, startups, tech providers, consultants, agencies, analysts, and investors.

2026 speakers included: Barbie Cameron, the Chief Stores Officer for Macy’s; Nicola Mendelsohn, the Head of Global Business Group for Meta; Niraj Shah, the CEO & Co-Chair for Wayfair; Tana Davila, the Chief Marketing Officer for Dutch Bros. Coffee; Kamanasish Kundu, the SVP of Head of Digital and Ecommerce for Kendra Scott; Bradley Breuer, the SVP of Marketing for PetSmart; and Matt Baer, the CEO of Stitch Fix, just to name a few. Full Speaker List Here.

Meetup: Featuring access to pre-scheduled networking and collaborative one-on-one meetings. You were able to connect with new partners, prospects, and industry peers; strengthen relationships with existing clients; discover innovative products, services, emerging startups, and more. As the world’s biggest and most efficient retail meetings program, more than 50,000 meetings took place this year!

The expo floor also included dedicated lounges, like the Wellness Lounge sponsored by Zebdesk and Headshot Lounge by Adroll, a Food Court and Grab & Go, where attendees grabbed lunch daily, and the Shop Talk Swag Store, where you could snag merch from sponsors and other brands from the show.

Standout Expo Booths

A few expo booths stood out to us based on their immersive components, build-out, and overall presence. Tap the links for each company to learn more about how they can service your brand!

Shopify – E-commerce Solutions

Showcased their Magic Mirror + Checkout Process with product takeaways. Demoed how you can better utilize your Shopify storefront.

Dotdigital – Cross-Channel Marketing

Hosted Charm Making and Custom Accessory Stations. Showed examples of how you can design campaigns and marketing strategies with their software.

Fetch – Shopping Rewards App- download here!

A favorite app of ours. Gave you the chance to win up to 100,00 points and spoke of what is new and on the horizon for the app when it comes to brands!

Recharge – Subscription Platform

Embroidered personalized toiletry bags filled with their subscription partner products. Want to create a subscription service for your brand but don’t know where to start? They can help!

Optimizely – AI-Powered Digital Experiences

Curated Custom Fragrance Bar powered by AI. Showcased how you can take content ideas and scale it using customer personalization.

Tech Company Activations

Some companies took their presence outside of the expo floor, from the plethora of restaurants, bars, and suites in Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino to the thrilling experiences found throughout Las Vegas. All for a chance to connect and network in a more relaxed setting. Here are a few snapshots from those we attended.

Post Pilot Ultimate Vegas VIP Penthouse

Hangover Hangout at In-N-Out Presented by NoFraud x Kustomer

Commerce Next Topgolf Reception

Shoptalk Cabana Happy Hour with AO2, Levanta, Inevitable Agency, and Mirakl

Notable mentions include Salsify Networking Happy Hour at Mandalay Bay House of Blues; Retail Influencer Network at The Wizard of Oz Experience at Sphere; Speed Vegas Supercar Experience with Loop, Ryder, FAV Solution, and EcomExperts.

Shoptalk Beach Party

Shoptalk Spring annually holds a can’t-miss party on Mandalay Bay Beach, their most-attended experience. Previous year’s headline acts included Flo Rida, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Lil Jon, and others. This year, while also celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Shoptalk, NE-YO took the stage and had us dancing to all his hits all night long! This year, Bloomreach was also the main party sponsor and hosted a Private Beach Club with an aerial view.

Breaking News

There was also some breaking news that came out of the Shoptalk Spring Press Room, which included:

• Sephora App in ChatGPT Brings a New Personalized Beauty Experience
• FedEx To Offer Faster Delivery with Launch of FedEx SameDay® Local
• Shipt Unveils Sponsored Substitutions at Shoptalk, the Latest Retail Media Solution from its Innovation Lab
• Gap Inc. Elevates Online Shopping with AI-Powered Fit and Conversational Checkout
• Introducing More Ways to Tap into Shopping on Reddit
• Meta adds more tools to help businesses drive in-app Sales

Overall, Shoptalk is a beneficial conference for brands and retailers of all levels (from start-up to established) to attend if you are looking to connect with the industry’s top decision-makers, for new and upcoming tech (especially in this age of AI), solutions for your e-commerce or in-store retail obstacles, and networking opportunities to expand your business, team, or circle. You can express interest for Shoptalk Spring 2027 (back in Las Vegas) here and the other editions here.