By Rob Rivenburgh, Publicis Commerce
When you’ve attended as many commerce industry events as I have, discovering an entirely new concept doesn’t happen very often. You usually need to dig a little deeper into the discussions to consider how existing concepts are evolving.
Naturally, artificial intelligence was the hottest subject at this year’s Groceryshop, as the primary topic of numerous sessions and at least a sidenote in nearly all others. And there was plenty of new information shared from the stage about the effect that AI is having on both internal operations and external shopper engagement, especially around the rapidly growing impact of agentic AI on product discovery. (I’ll let some of the other Publicis Commerce thought leaders featured in this report get into those details.)
Beyond AI, I noticed four recurring themes that, while certainly not new, appear to be evolving in the right ways, based on the discussions I heard from the stage and the conversations I had with clients and colleagues throughout the event.
The first is the commerce industry’s attitude toward the economic uncertainty we’ve been dealing with this year, which has changed significantly since we gathered at CES back in January. I think people now better understand the situation, have accepted that uncertainty is the new normal, and are moving forward with that mindset.
The second is what appears to be a stronger focus on the need for organizational redesign. It feels like we’ve been talking forever at industry events about the lack of internal integration, the need to break down functional silos and streamline organizations and go-to-market strategies. Based on what I heard at Groceryshop, it might finally be happening in earnest, as companies work to build the new capabilities needed to keep pace with marketplace change. We’ve realized how important it is to synchronize the business internally so you can effectively deliver the seamless experiences that customers and shoppers now require.
The third is what’s clearly a growing passion for agility and speed to market, a greater emphasis on test & learns and iteration, adapting and adjusting as needed. There was a lot of energy around this topic, and plenty of examples about how it’s being applied to gain insights, guide strategy, and improve results. Perfect can be the enemy of good, and as an industry we’re becoming more willing to “fail fast” in the short term so we can achieve even greater success — or avoid failing even worse — down the road.
And finally, I see many organizations becoming more methodical with their shopper planning. They’re getting more structured about setting guidelines, establishing clear KPIs, coordinating various tactics within the plan and assigning specific objectives for each, and fully understanding the business results they want to achieve. And if the plan isn’t proving out, they’re applying some of that passion for agility and pivoting quickly.
So, while I may not have experienced anything entirely new at Groceryshop, I did leave the show with renewed confidence in the future of commerce.
About the Author
A 35-year commerce marketing veteran, Rob has worked with and alongside Fortune 500 companies across the corporate, client and agency sides of the industry. In his 20-plus years at Mars United Commerce, he held multiple positions of increasing scope before becoming Global CEO, initially leading the development and deployment of the industry’s first field-based network of retail consultancy hubs — starting with an office in Bentonville, Arkansas, where he built a deep, game-changing relationship with Walmart. Before joining Mars United, he served in various marketing and sales roles at Nestlé USA and Diageo.
Rob has long been recognized as a leader in commerce marketing through his efforts to establish industry best practices by working with organizations such as Path to Purchase Institute, Effie Worldwide and the ANA.
