Shoptalk Fall

Shoptalk Fall is the second annual US edition of the Shoptalk retail and commerce conference, complementing the larger spring edition with a focused programme designed around the structured-meetings format that defines the Shoptalk franchise. It sits alongside Shoptalk Europe, NRF: Retail's Big Show and NRF: Retail's Big Show Europe as calendar anchors for the same audiences.

What happens

The programme combines main-stage keynotes from senior retail and commerce executives with a parallel meetings system that algorithmically schedules thousands of 15-minute meetings between retailers and vendors. Conference tracks cover commerce platforms, customer experience, marketing and media, payments, logistics and the operating realities of running US retail across categories. Exhibition space is integrated with the meetings programme. The fall edition is typically more focused than the spring edition, with the meetings density and content specialisation often appealing to attendees who find the spring event too large.

Who attends

The audience is deliberately split between retail buyers and technology vendors with structured matchmaking designed to maximise productive bilateral conversations. Retailer attendees come from across US retail and include senior commerce, marketing, customer-experience and technology leadership. Vendor attendees include the major retail and e-commerce technology providers alongside fast-growing startups. Investor presence is meaningful given the active retail-tech VC environment. International visitors come from European and Asian retailers and vendors evaluating US market opportunities.

Dominant themes

The US retail agenda emphasises the continuing evolution of US e-commerce, the role of marketplaces in US consumer behaviour, omnichannel maturity across diverse retailer footprints, AI applications in merchandising, content and customer service, the rapidly evolving landscape of social commerce and creator-driven commerce, supply chain resilience following recent disruption, sustainability considerations under evolving consumer and investor pressure, and the practical mechanics of customer-data strategy under tightening US state-level privacy regulation. Payments coverage emphasises tokenisation, instant-payment acceptance and Buy Now Pay Later.

Planning to attend

Venue selection rotates among major US conference cities; confirm specific logistics for the edition being attended. The structured meetings programme requires substantial pre-event time to configure preferences and accept meeting requests. Without active participation in the meetings system, attendees miss most of the value. International visitors should plan for the cumulative impact of intensive back-to-back meeting blocks. The conference language is English.

Use the expense calculator below to estimate the total cost of attending — registration, flights, hotels, meals, and ground transport.