With each passing year, the bar for consumer engagement steadily gets higher and higher. Shoppers are moving between digital, in-store, and social without missing a beat, and they expect brands to keep up. That’s forcing marketing teams to rethink how they operate, how they collect and use data, and how they build loyalty in a retail-first world.

In this post, we unpack the key takeaways from a panel discussion with consumer products industry experts, Cristina Marinucci (Mondelez International) and Melda Hamarat (Unilever), at the SAP Emarsys Festival Personalization Masterclass. The conversation covered everything from breaking down internal silos to scaling personalization, working with limited data access, and applying AI in ways that actually make a difference.

Brands generate 46% higher affiliate-based sales out of their total e-commerce sales when working with affiliates and influencers vs those who only work with affiliates. How? By targeting every stage of the buyer’s journey: covering awareness, education, and promo codes.

While CMOs are pressured to deliver the same growth yearly with fewer resources, many are combining the power of affiliates and influencers to:

As you know, foot traffic is the lifeblood of a physical retail store. No matter how fantastic your products or exceptional your service, none of it matters if customers aren’t walking through your door. If you’ve been looking around your quiet store, wondering how to get people off the sidewalk and inside your shop, you’re in good company. And while there’s no secret manual, per se, there are several proven things you can do to boost foot traffic and turn casual passers-by into enthusiastic shoppers.

Our new AI Mode experience is built for every part of shopping — from finding inspiration to buying at the right moment. Plus, our virtual try-on tool now works with your own photos. Shopping comes with lots of questions: How do I choose a pair of hiking boots? Will these pants look good on me? If I buy this today, will the price just drop tomorrow?

Today we introduced our new shopping experience in AI Mode with inspiring visuals, smart guidance and reliable product data. We’re even giving shoppers a virtual dressing room and a new agentic checkout experience, so you can act quickly to make a purchase when the price is right for you.

What happens when the traditional levers of consumer products marketing stop working? For decades, brand recognition, mass media, and retailer relationships were enough to sustain growth. But in 2025, we find ourselves in a far more volatile and fragmented landscape. Loyalty is shrinking. Consumers are more selective, more price-sensitive, and more empowered than ever. Channels are multiplying, and digital expectations are escalating.

New research reveals the attribution challenge of 2025: While 83.8% of retail dollars are spent in-store, consumers typically engage with brands 3+ times across digital channels before purchase. For high-earning consumers ($250k+), this number jumps to 5+ touchpoints.

Today’s consumer journey is complex, with consumers discovering and researching on- and offline, and across digital channels. Our new report explores insights from 1,000 US-based adults on what drives consumers to purchase, and offers strategic guidance for marketers.

Imagine a customer support agent who never sleeps, learns faster than any employee, and can juggle dozens of complex tasks at once. Sounds like science fiction, right? It’s not. Welcome to the world of agentic artificial intelligence — a new frontier in retail innovation.

AI was a major theme at the NRF Big Show this year in New York. Many retailers shared their experiences about how they had started to use AI tools to drive business growth, while vendors were keen to show off new and innovative AI solutions. But unlike last year, when the new use cases were around generative AI, agentic AI was the buzz phrase in 2025.

Loyalty programs have long been a cornerstone of customer retention strategies. However, many still fall short of delivering the personalized experiences customers expect. Traditional loyalty programs often rely on static rules and broad segmentation, offering generic rewards that fail to inspire true loyalty.

Predictive artificial intelligence is changing that. It enables brands to build smarter loyalty programs that adapt in real time to customer behaviors, using data-driven insights to deliver more accurate and personalized rewards at scale.