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NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Shoptalk, widely regarded as retail's best show and where industry innovators come to collaborate at scale, today released its final 2019 agenda. Shoptalk also announced groundbreaking new onsite initiatives, including programs that facilitate unparalleled and curated collaboration and networking. Shoptalk will be held on March 3-6 at the Venetian in Las Vegas and more than 8,000 attendees are expected.

"Massive changes are taking place that will upend everything about how we discover, shop and buy," said Zia Daniell Wigder, Shoptalk's chief global content officer. "While shopping and stores are clearly here to stay, the industry is going through tectonic shifts that cannot be underestimated. These shifts range from changes in consumer preferences and behavior to advances in technology that are transforming both retail economics and experiences. Since 2015, we've led the industry dialogue by bringing together every part of the retail ecosystem, and we look forward to doing the same with Shoptalk 2019."

2019 Final Agenda Released and Speaker Lineup Announced

Shoptalk today released its final 2019 agenda, which continues to lead the retail industry's innovation narrative, and announced its final set of more than 250 speakers. Now in its fourth year, Shoptalk has once again compiled the industry's most senior and diverse speaker lineup which is comprised of:

• 46% CEOs,
• 22% other C-level officers, and
• 28% VP-level executives.

Additionally, 34% of Shoptalk speakers are women and 16% are from outside the US. A complete list of confirmed speakers is available at http://shoptalk.com/speakers, and includes:

• Ahold Delhaize - Frans Muller, President & CEO
• Albertsons - Jim Donald, President & CEO; Narayan Iyengar, SVP, Digital & eCommerce
• Alibaba - Justine Chao, Head of Fashion & Luxury, North America
• Amazon - David Isbitski, Chief Evangelist, Alexa & Echo
• Barneys - Daniella Vitale, CEO
• Brandless - Tina Sharkey, Co-Founder & CEO
• Canada Goose - Dani Reiss, CEO
• Crate and Barrel - Neela Montgomery, CEO
• eBay - Suzy Deering, Chief Marketing Officer, North America
• Facebook - Mark Rabkin, VP Ads & Business Platform
• Gap Inc. - Art Peck, President & CEO
• Glamsquad - Amy Shecter, CEO
• Google - Daniel Alegre, President, Retail Shopping & Payments
• Hudson's Bay Company - Helena Foulkes, CEO
• Instacart - Nilam Ganenthiran, Chief Business Officer
• ipsy - Jennifer Goldfarb, Co-Founder & Executive Chairwoman of the Board
• Lowe's - Marvin Ellison, President & CEO; Jocelyn Wong, Chief Marketing Officer
• Macy's - Paula Price, Chief Financial Officer; Jill Ramsey, Chief Product & Digital Revenue Officer; Shawn Outler, EVP & Chief Diversity Officer
• Mattel - Richard Dickson, President & Chief Operating Officer
• National Retail Federation (NRF) - Matthew R. Shay, CEO
• Nickelodeon - Andrea Fasulo, SVP, Consumer Products Marketing & Home Entertainment
• Nike - Cathy Sparks, VP/GM, Global Nike Direct Stores & Service; Daniel Heaf, VP/GM,  Global Nike Direct Digital Commerce; Michael Martin, VP Digital Products
• Nordstrom - Erik Nordstrom, Co-President
• Pinterest - Ben Silbermann, Co-Founder & CEO
• REI - Eric Artz, Chief Operating Officer
• Samsonite - Charlie Cole, Chief Ecommerce Officer
• Sephora - Amy Eschliman, SVP/GM of Ecommerce
• Tapestry - Victor Luis, CEO
• Walmart - Ben Hassing, SVP of eCommerce & Technology, Walmart China; Tom Ward, SVP of Digital Operations
• Zola - Shan-Lyn Ma, Co-Founder & CEO

In addition to these incredible retailers and consumer brands, the Shoptalk speaker lineup includes a long list of technology leaders, including the founders and CEOs of over 50 startup tech companies. The agenda also features almost 30 founders and CEOs of direct-to-consumer startups, as well as over 20 venture capital and private equity investors. Shoptalk's final agenda can be viewed and downloaded at https://shoptalk.com/agenda.

New Onsite Initiatives Announced That Will Help Attendees Work Together to Create the Future of Retail

Known for introducing new and groundbreaking programs and experiences at each event, Shoptalk also announced the following onsite initiatives that are new for the upcoming 2019 event, which are collectively designed to help retailers, brands and other attendees collaborate and network as well as secure new insights and ideas:

• Tabletalks. Tabletalks are interactive peer-to-peer 45-minute roundtables that enable deep dive discussions and learnings. Tabletalks bring together groups of 5-8 individuals from retailers and brands to share insights, address issues and generate actionable takeaways that help drive their businesses forward. Each Tabletalk covers one of 10 topics, all of which are based on the industry's most pressing challenges and opportunities. Details are at https://shoptalk.com/networking-program/tabletalks.
• Participants can join any number of Tabletalks (up to four) and can also select their time slots from the following:
• Sunday, March 3 at 4:00-4:45 pm
• Monday, March 4 at 7:30-8:15 am
• Tuesday, March 5 at 1:50-2:35 pm
• Wednesday, March 6 at 8:45-9:30 am
• Pre-show enrollment is required to join Tabletalks and invitations will be sent to qualifying registered retailer and brand attendees in mid February.
• Drinks with Speakers. On Sunday evening, all attendees will have the opportunity to meet and interact with dozens of Shoptalk speakers who will be available for conversation in designated areas. A list of participating speakers is available at https://shoptalk.com/agenda/drinks-with-speakers.
• Drinks with Speakers is open to all and will take place on Sunday, March 3 at 6:15-7:00 pm during the Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall.
• No pre-registration required.
• Shophop. Best described as a high-end "pub crawl" which takes place at several of the best onsite venues at the Venetian, Shophop is designed to bring hundreds of retailers and brands together in a fun, social environment conducive to creating new peer connections as well as deepening existing relationships--vendor attendance is limited to a small number of supporting sponsors.
• Shophop will take place on Tuesday, March 5 at 6:30-8:00 pm.
• No pre-registration required--retailers and brands simply pick up a wristband at the Shophop desk located outside the Exhibit Hall.
• Annual Retail Education Certificate. Shoptalk has launched an Annual Retail Education Certificate which is awarded to everyone who completes at least 10 credits of continuing education at Shoptalk. Post-show, Shoptalk will automatically award certificates to every attendee who completed 10 credits. Details, including how to earn credits, are available here: https://shoptalk.com/certificate.
• No pre-registration required.
• Core Curriculum. Starting with 2019, Shoptalk has created a standardized set of sessions called the Core Curriculum that includes many of the fundamentals of a changing retail landscape. Approximately half of Shoptalk's sessions will form this new Core Curriculum and will be repeated annually with updated perspectives and examples to ensure attendees stay on top of ongoing trends.
• No pre-registration required for any Shoptalk agenda sessions, including Core Curriculum sessions.

"While other events generally stay stagnant from year to year, we at Shoptalk consistently add new experiences and opportunities for our attendees that facilitate education and collaboration," said Anil D. Aggarwal, founder and chief executive officer of Shoptalk. "In 2018, we added programs such as Techtalks and our incredibly successful Hosted Retailers & Brands Program, which is now the industry's largest meetings program worldwide, and we're thrilled to add five new initiatives for 2019."

"Much of what we do is only possible because of the precision achievable with our proprietary technology and matching algorithms. We're excited to help move the industry forward at a large scale, and to shift it away from the unhealthy cliques that have plagued it for so long–including those based on outdated definitions of ecommerce and digital."

About Shoptalk
Shoptalk is widely regarded as retail's best show and where industry innovators come to collaborate at scale. With over 8,000 attendees, including more than 750 CEOs, and the world's best speaker lineup and agenda, we help you get smart about the innovation and trends that continue to transform the sector globally. For four years, we've defined the industry's new digital community by bringing established retailers and 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. Be part of the conversation and community on March 3-6, 2019 at the Venetian in Las Vegas.

For more information, visit www.shoptalk.com. Follow @shoptalk. Get tickets for Shoptalk here: http://shoptalk.com/register.

Contact:
Rob Wells
Media Relations
rob@shoptalk.com

SOURCE Shoptalk