CommerceNext Insights

Inside Estée Lauder’s Winning Marketing Strategy

Vanessa Dang July 29, 2025

At our annual NYC conference, top retail marketers reveal how they stay ahead. Estée Lauder, a consistent presence, proves legacy doesn’t mean stagnation. They blend core brand identity, modern storytelling and cutting-edge tech to create emotional, effective marketing that moves at culture’s speed. Here’s how Estée Lauder remains iconic and relevant despite being an 80 year old brand. Micro-Storytelling: Maintaining Brand Identity with Every Decision Micro-storytelling distills a company’s narrative to its core, conveying a brand’s essence in a single image, sentence or video clip. It grabs attention and leaves a lasting impression. Estée Lauder’s micro-stories stem from its founder’s legacy: the

The 6 Most Important Gen Z Shopping Habits for Retail Brands

Corey Peters July 28, 2025

6 Gen Z Shopping Habits Shaping Retail Trends Gen Z’s shopping habits were a popular topic at this year’s CommerceNext Growth Show, highlighting how they discover, compare and buy products all at once, often while scrolling social media. Their expectations are high, attention spans short and loyalty tough to earn, but brands that get it right see big rewards. Catch the replay of the CommerceNext panel “From Gen Z to Alpha: Redefining Acquisition for Emerging Audiences” here, and read on for more insights on how this generation is reshaping retail. Gen Z Behaviors & Characteristics Gen Z, born roughly between 1997 and 2012,

Busting Performance Marketing Myths: The Hidden Drivers of Incremental Sales

Jenna Shaps July 28, 2025

With confusing funnels and conflicting metrics, performance marketing often feels like a guessing game. In this CommerceNext webinar, leaders from Catalyst Brands, JEGS, TickPick and RTB House came together to separate myth from reality and reveal the strategies that actually drive incremental growth. What We Learned: Attribution isn’t incrementality. True performance comes from measuring impact, not just credit. Broken tags and messy product feeds can quietly tank campaign performance without warning. Performance plateaus are signals to evolve your tech stack, not signs to scale back. More partners can mean more scale if each brings something different to the table. Maximizing conversions is just

How Retail Brands Can Win on TikTok Shop

Corey Peters July 24, 2025

How Retail Brands Can Win on TikTok Shop In 2025 alone, U.S. sales on TikTok Shop jumped by 120% year-over-year, and over 83% of shoppers say they’ve discovered a new brand via the platform. TikTok Shop has elevated the platform beyond just a place for awareness or inspiration. Consumers can now discover, evaluate and buy products without ever leaving the app. This experience effectively collapses the traditional marketing funnel, blending content, consideration and conversion into a single scroll. With millions tuning in to TikTok Shop daily, it now represents the future of “discovery commerce,” merging the appeal of influencers with instant buying capabilities.

Decoding Gen Z: Shopping Habits, Brand Loyalty and Workplace Values

Jenna Shaps July 8, 2025

At the 2025 CommerceNext Growth Show, two standout sessions put Gen Z students and professionals in the spotlight, as they shared how this generation shops, what influences their decisions and what earns their long-term loyalty. WHAT WE LEARNED: How Gen Z Discovers and Researches Products Gen Z’s Shopping Preferences & Brand Loyalty Gen Z’s Non-Negotiables Gen Z in the Workforce Their Advice to Brands and Employers How Gen Z Discovers and Researches Products For Gen Z, social media isn’t just entertainment; it’s where product discovery happens. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are their go-to sources for finding what’s new and next. Influencers

CommerceNext Steps: Top Takeaways from the 2025 Growth Show

Corey Peters July 2, 2025

CommerceNext Steps: Top Takeaways from the 2025 Growth Show At the 2025 CommerceNext Growth Show, we asked our industry-leading speakers to leave the audience with clear, actionable takeaways: CommerceNext Steps. These insights are designed to guide your next moves, helping turn big ideas into real-world impact. Sorted by each day’s theme, you’ll find strategies designed to help you lead through retail’s most pressing challenges. Day 1: The Future of Customer Experiences Adapting with Purpose: How Sam’s Club Embraces Consumer Trends and Challenges Adapt with purpose. Evolve with a clear vision, not just reactive urgency. Align teams, strategy and innovation around a shared goal.

CommerceNext Announces 2025 Winners of the Annual CommerceNexty Awards

Maya Chalil June 30, 2025

Coach, Patagonia, Bliss, Bath & Body Works, Paula’s Choice, M&M’s and Shutterfly honored for marketing and ecommerce innovation New York, NY – June 26, 2026 – CommerceNext announced the winners of its 2025 CommerceNexty Awards on June 25 at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York City. The annual awards program honors and celebrates the year’s best and most innovative marketing and ecommerce programs. Recipients are selected through a combination of votes from a panel of industry leaders and an equally weighted popular vote from the community. “The caliber of submissions this year was extraordinary”, said Veronika Sonsev, Co-Founder of CommerceNext. “What struck

How E.L.F. Cosmetics Captured the Gen Z Target Market

Corey Peters May 30, 2025

Breaking Down the E.L.F. Cosmetics Target Market In response to Gen Z’s need for heightened brand values and interactive marketing and campaigns, e.l.f. (Eyes. Lips. Face.) has created a brand that delivers bold authenticity, inclusive messaging and engaging digital experiences that foster community and drive cultural relevance. In doing so, the brand has cemented itself as the #1 Favorite Gen Z Beauty Brand and earned a CommerceNexty award in the process. From $1 Makeup to a Gen Z Favorite Founded in 2004 by Joseph Shamah and Scott Vincent Borba, e.l.f. Cosmetics disrupted the beauty industry by introducing high-quality products at just $1, quickly

Top 5 Reasons to Attend CommerceNext

Jenna Shaps May 20, 2025

In the rapidly evolving retail landscape of 2025, staying ahead is essential to success. Here are the top reasons why your fellow retail peers attend the CommerceNext Growth Show: Take back actionable insights from top industry leaders. Build valuable connections to grow your brand and career. Explore the heart of commerce, NYC. Keep your finger on the pulse of industry trends and emerging technologies. Uplevel your skills, professional and personally. 1. Learn Real Strategies to Help You Move Your Brand Forward with Confidence The 2025 CommerceNext Growth Show offers sessions from leading brands such as American Eagle, Tapestry, Amazon, The Vitamin Shoppe,

Conversational Commerce & CX: Turning Real-Time Engagement Into Revenue

Maya Chalil May 16, 2025

In a digital world shaped by convenience and connection, the customer journey has evolved into a two-way conversation. In this CommerceNext webinar, leaders from Boot Barn, Billabong/Quiksilver, Sideshow and iAdvize explored how conversational commerce is transforming product discovery, driving conversions and helping brands build long-term customer relationships through smarter engagement. Moderated by Allan Dick, Co-Founder of CommerceNext, the discussion covered everything from the power of real-time AI to the evolution of chat tools, customer expectations and building customer connection at scale. What We Learned: Rethink the role of chat—don’t limit AI to a chatbot. Use conversational tools to simplify complex product decisions. Layer

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