NEW YORK, June 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Shoptalk, the leading global event for retail innovation, today announces the return of Shoptalk Fall 2025, taking place September 17-19 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.
As retail executives navigate a volatile landscape shaped by new market pressures and evolving customer expectations, this year’s event theme is Retail Alchemy: the fusion of analytical rigor, human insight, and creative vision to transform today’s challenges into lasting competitive advantage. Building on last year’s momentum, which welcomed over 4,000 executives from more than 70 countries, Shoptalk Fall 2025 will offer a high-impact agenda focused on real-world application and peer-driven insight.
Shoptalk Fall offers a reimagined experience built directly from the feedback of senior leaders at the world’s most influential retailers and consumer brands. While Shoptalk Spring in March showcases the full spectrum of global retail innovation, Shoptalk Fall is designed for leaders ready to roll up their sleeves and refine their strategies through peer exchange, focused content, and immersive experiences. With a more intimate format and expanding programming like Shopwalks—guided tours of Chicago’s most forward-looking retail spaces—Shoptalk Fall gives senior executives and their teams the space to challenge assumptions, pressure-test ideas, and sharpen their competitive edge.
Premier Speaker Lineup and Content Programming
Shoptalk Fall will feature four dynamic content stages, each exploring the essential elements driving modern commerce transformation. Confirmed speakers include C-suite executives from Walmart, Home Depot, Papa John’s, Primark, H&M, REI, and SHEIN, with additional industry leaders to be announced at a later date.
Each stage will address critical themes including AI-driven retail intelligence, agile product innovation, brand resilience, and customer experience optimization – providing senior retail leaders with battle-tested strategies for turning market volatility into growth opportunities.
Anchoring the four stages will be Shoptalk Fall’s new Leadership Track – an invitation-only series designed specifically for retailers and consumer brand executives. This premium programming features 40-minute fireside conversations pairing visionary C-suite leaders from different companies to explore complex industry challenges.
“Today’s retail leaders are essentially modern alchemists, transforming ordinary shopping moments into valuable customer relationships while navigating unprecedented market shifts,” said Mike Antonecchia, Event Director, Shoptalk Fall. “Our Leadership Track creates an intimate forum for these leaders to share the strategies that are proving most effective.”
The Leadership Track includes:
- Interactive live polling during sessions
- Dedicated Q&A periods with speakers
- Exclusive post-event strategy report for participants
- Enhanced networking opportunities between sessions
Shopwalks
Returning at Shoptalk Fall 2025, Shopwalks offer expertly led, behind-the-scenes tours of Chicago’s most innovative retail spaces. These immersive experiences give retailer and brand attendees an inside look at how industry leaders are reimagining the in-store experience to meet today’s evolving consumer expectations. The first of five confirmed tours will feature Wayfair’s cutting-edge physical retail concept, with additional Shopwalks to be announced soon. Designed exclusively for retailers and consumer brands, Shopwalks turn Chicago into a living case study of the best in retail transformation.
Signature Meetup Programming
Complementing these experiential learning opportunities, Shoptalk’s renowned Meetup platform – a signature feature across all Shoptalk events – returns with expanded programming designed to facilitate meaningful professional connections. Over 20,000 pre-planned, one-to-one meetings took place at Shoptalk Fall 2024 via the Meetup platform, with 94% of attendees rating their meetings as good or excellent. Additional returning networking opportunities include:
Meetup for Women: Enhanced programming featuring a dedicated breakfast session and multiple networking blocks throughout the event. Open to all women attendees, the program uses Shoptalk’s advanced scheduling platform to facilitate curated double opt-in meetings for building professional networks, finding mentors, and creating new business opportunities.
Tabletalks: Interactive lunch discussions bringing together small groups of retailers and consumer brands to share insights and explore current industry challenges in an intimate peer-to-peer setting.
Registration for Shoptalk Fall 2025 is now open. For more information about the event, speakers, and registration, please visit fall.shoptalk.com.
About Shoptalk
A Hyve Group event, Shoptalk is widely known for organizing retail’s best and fastest-growing events and bringing together thousands of industry changemakers to collaborate at unparalleled scale across a broad range of online and offline use cases and innovative new formats, including Tabletalks, Hosted Meetings and Meetups. Since 2016, Shoptalk has defined the retail industry’s community of innovators by bringing established retailers and consumer brands together with direct-to-consumer and tech startups, large tech and Internet companies, venture capital investors, real estate developers, equity analysts, media and others. For more information, visit Shoptalk.com.
Media Contact:
George Morin
Director, Press and Partnerships, Shoptalk
pr@shoptalk.com
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