Customer-centricity. That was the one, central idea that kept occurring to me as I walked the floors at Shoptalk, attended sessions, and spoke with attendees.
And fortunately, that big focus was represented in four main pillars: smooth experiences, value, inspiration, and relevance. In fact, their introduction of The New Market segment for their 2025 event crucially highlighted how brands are adjusting to the changing attention economy and responding to shifts in consumer behaviors.
But for all the innovation proudly on display, a few key conversations were missing.
Social media’s role in brand-building and emerging platforms
Social media is the primary channel where consumers are spending their time now. It’s even surpassed TV in global ad spend. So it was surprising to me that it didn’t capture as much attention in Las Vegas as it should have. While AI, CRM, and ecommerce took center stage, strategies around social media, like TikTok search, social commerce, and influencer marketing, seemed to take a backseat.
The reality remains that brands are sitting on a goldmine of consumer insights because of social media, and yet marketers aren’t consistently using this valuable data to shape their broader marketing strategies. These conversations need to be a priority for our industry.
In this same vein, I kept expecting to hear more about emerging social commerce platforms—all those up-and-comers who are going to steal attention from the likes of X, Instagram, and TikTok. While the big players—specifically Meta and TikTok—were discussed ad nauseam, there was minimal conversation about the rising class of platforms that could offer distinct opportunities for targeted marketing and sales.
I—like many of my peers, I’m sure—don’t necessarily want to hear about what’s now; we need to hear about what’s next. After all, it’s a time- and resource-heavy commitment to cross the country for an event like Shoptalk, and I expect to be shown things I hadn’t known to ask about yet.
The power of community building and engagement
While there was an emphasis on customer needs, customer acquisition and transactional strategies (ROAS and CAC were talked to in every moment), the focus on building communities seemed to take a backseat. And to put it simply, this felt like a missed opportunity.
