Retail Reinvented: 7 Trends at Shoptalk Europe 2025 You Can’t Ignore

At Shoptalk Europe 2025, it was clear: this is not a moment for iteration, but it’s a moment for reinvention. From AI redefining personalization to consumers demanding purpose over polish, the rules of retail are shifting fast. The brands that thrive next won’t be the biggest or loudest, but the ones that are most adaptable, authentic, and aligned with what today’s shoppers truly value.

Here are my 7 takeaways from Barcelona that aren’t just trends, they’re signals for what’s next.

Retail media was one of the buzziest topics in Barcelona. At Shoptalk’s “The New Market” stage – where I also had the pleasure to speak this year -, Best Buy’s ad president Lisa Valentino emphasized the power of multichannel retail media ads—boosting results by 15–30% on average.

CMOs are being urged to lead the charge in this space, escalating it beyond shopper marketing. As Valentino noted, retail media is a “secret sauce” other formats haven’t matched.

This ties into our newest product myAthena which simplifies the creation and optimization of shoppable videos for retail media and more. Our AI-powered tools let brands turn longer content, like livestreams or demos, to bite-sized, high-converting video snippets. Download our newest complete guidebook to discover how shoppable video fits into your retail media strategy and how myAthena can help you maximize its impact.

Att Shoptalk I spoke about the future of live and video commerce. My panel tackled how retailers can turn entertainment into shoppable experiences, and how creators are reshaping the digital shelf. Watch my panel here.

Retailers are done experimenting—AI is now a core part of retail operations, from influencer selection to product recommendations.

• American Eagle is using AI to scale from 700 influencers per season to thousands by evaluating alignment in style and values.
• Tillys reported better conversion and zero “no results” pages thanks to AI-powered search.
• At Danone, AI has driven operational efficiency and helped sustain 16 consecutive quarters of growth.

“You can’t have artificial intelligence without actual human intelligence.” – Reddit.

Gen Z might have popularized the demand for authenticity, but the desire for transparency, relatability, and real voices now spans every demographic. At Shoptalk, Lawless Beauty emphasized that user-generated content (UGC) isn’t just a Gen Z magnet, but it consistently outperforms high-production branded content across channels. 

“Real people and real stories deliver real results”. UGC taps into the growing appetite for trust and relatability, offering what glossy ads often can’t: emotional resonance. Whether it’s a first impression, a review, or a makeup tutorial, authentic content is the marketing currency that continues to build lasting loyalty.

If 2020 taught retailers how to survive chaos, 2025 is teaching them how to thrive in uncertainty. Whether it’s the looming fate of TikTok, inflation fluctuations, or the ripple effects of tariffs, uncertainty is the only constant. At Shoptalk Europe, Danone stood out as a case study in strategic agility: diversifying supply chains, integrating AI across field operations, and upskilling employees to handle rapid shifts. Other brands are adopting a “wait-and-react” posture, keeping plans flexible to navigate a volatile landscape. But the takeaway is clear: resilience beats reactivity. Those who build operational muscle and contingency pathways now will have the upper hand when the next disruption inevitably comes.

Retailers who turn shopping into an experience are winning hearts and wallets. At LEGO’s new Barcelona flagship, shoppers celebrated the city’s iconic artist Gaudí with a giant LEGO mosaic made of thousands of bricks, just one of many hyper-local activations bringing magic back to the store floor. Their “make and take” events let customers build exclusive sets and walk away with more than just a product, but they take home a story. Meanwhile, Harrods is redefining luxury retail through deep personalization and advanced AI-backed inventory planning. From themed store launches to customized product offerings and loyalty-driven personalization, the focus is shifting: retail isn’t about transactions anymore, but it’s about transformation.

Sustainability has officially moved from a marketing buzzword to a business imperative. At Shoptalk Europe, Danone’s Ayla Ziz articulated the tightrope walk perfectly: “If we focus only on sustainability without performance, we will have no impact. But if we go for performance without sustainability, we’ll have no future.” Leading brands are embedding sustainable models into their DNA—from circular resale programs to responsible sourcing and energy-efficient operations. Even wellness partnerships like John Lewis x Randox Health signal a shift toward broader, lifestyle-focused sustainability. These efforts aren’t just moral wins, they’re market differentiators for a consumer base increasingly unwilling to compromise on ethics, health, or value.

Today’s European shoppers are doing more than price-checking, they’re value hunting with purpose. As WGSN CEO Carla Buzasi put it, “Commerce now isn’t just chasing the lowest price. European consumers are thinking really smartly about the choices that they’re making.” That means evaluating sustainability, ethics, and provenance. Brands like Sandro are embracing circularity with resale programs, while others are moving away from mass discounting toward cultural resonance, emotional loyalty, and long-term brand trust. Buzasi’s challenge to retailers: “Design destinations, not stores. Prioritize connection over conversion.” In other words, build experiences people want to return to – physically and emotionally.