Beauty retail is in innovation overdrive, accelerating advancements more over the past year than in the past decade. And, as restrictions loosen in many parts of the United States, consumers are leaning more into brick-and-mortar shopping, while also keeping their online buying habits strong. To make navigating this ever-changing landscape a bit less daunting, CEW has gathered the leading experts—from retailers to tech to brands—to share their winning strategies, and what this means for the future of beauty shopping in a virtual half-day event in partnership with Afterpay, titled: State of the Industry: Retail Acceleration to Transformation, on May 13 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Networking is from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.)  Additional event supporters include: Perfect Corp., Arcade Beauty, Condé Nast, bareMinerals, Beauty Inc, Fairchild Media Group,  MOSS, Cosmoprof North America and Kaplow Communications.

The virtual event will kick off with a Keynote by McKinsey & Company’s Emma Spagnuolo, Management Consultant, and Sophie Marchessou, Partner, titled, “Retail Revolution: How Covid had Changed Retail for Good.” Hear about the explosive growth of e-commerce, increased consumer expectations on omni retail experiences, the digitization of Travel Retail and the rise of social selling in this presentation that will set the stage for the content featured throughout the day.

Following will be a virtual retail tour, “Immersive Social Shopping, by industry retail expert, Wendy Liebmann, CEO & Chief Shopper, WSL, which will show the beauty retailers that are creating bold, immersive experiences in both the physical and digital worlds across the globe.

One of the newest beauty retail stores set to launch this summer in Soho’s Manhattan neighborhood is from the team behind Allure magazine. The Allure store will be led by curated editorial content, while virtual reality will demonstrate product benefits. The store looks to embody the future of retail with smart mirrors with face scanning, immersive LED screens, and QR-enhanced technology for contactless shopping. Hear about the effort during Allure’s New Venture into Retail” featuring Michelle Lee, Editor in Chief, Allure, and Tricia Ruane, Global Head of eCommerce Merchandise and Branded Property at Conde Nast, who will talk about the how store plans to make shopping easier and more engaging following the global pandemic.

Touching and feeling product is as important to buying in-person as the store itself.  Larry Berman, Arcade Beauty SVP Sales, will address contactless sampling, in “Sampling in a Post-Covid Environment.” Larry will share insights and data on contact-free sampling and how brands and retailers are pivoting post pandemic.

Separately, Katie Rosen Kitchens, Co-founder, FabFitFun, will talk about another form of “Contactless Shopping,” and how she has led her subscription box to success over the past 12 months.

Talking retail would not be complete without a conversation about clean beauty. In “Clean Retail Behind the Scenes, CEW has gathered leaders in the clean beauty retail space to talk about what’s next for the fastest growing segment in beauty. Tune in to hear from Romain Gaillard, CEO and Founder, The Detox Market; Annie Jackson, Co-Founder and COO, Credo Beauty; and Amy Jargo, Global Senior Category Merchant, Beauty, Whole Foods Market.

Continuing on the clean beauty theme, circularity is one of the concepts gaining ground in the beauty space. And the recent launch of Loop x Ulta Beauty brought it mainstream. In a presentation titled, “Loop x Ulta: A Sustainable Partnership, hear from Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle & Loop, and Laura Beres, Senior Director at Ulta Beauty, about how the sustainability pioneer partnered with the nation’s largest beauty retailer to kickstart the future of beauty packaging.

Afterpay, the event’s sponsor, will lead a discussion called “Biossance on Sustainable Growth, featuring Geraldine Wharry, Fashion Futurist, Afterpay, interviewing Kai Matsunami, Vice President, eCommerce, Biossance. In this session, Kai and Geraldine will discuss how Biossance maintains its sustainability ethos in a world of heavy consumption, and how mindful consumerism and sustainable consumer habits are balanced with overall business growth.

One of the few retailers allowed to stay open during lockdown was Target, and their beauty aisles felt the benefit. Discussing “Target’s Beauty Strategy” is Cassandra Jones, VP, GM Beauty & Cosmetics, which will include insights behind the retailer’s curated beauty assortment and the future shopping experience at Ulta Beauty for Target shop-in-shops. Also, learn about Target’s industry-leading Black-owned and diverse-owned beauty offerings as part of their commitment to uplift diverse voices within the industry.

Talking about retail would be incomplete without spotlighting Black-owned retail sites, which are redefining inclusion. In a panel titled, “Black-Owned Retail Sites Set the Bar for Inclusion, Dr. Kristian Edwards, Founder, BLK & GRN, and Nyakio Grieco, Co-Founder, Thirteen Lune, talk about what spurred them to create their sites, and how they look to champion Black- and Brown-founded brands to meet the beauty and personal care needs for all.

Livestreaming, a channel that was made popular in China, has recently made waves among U.S. brands and retailers as a new avenue to build consumer engagement and drive e-commerce. In a presentation titled, “Coresight Livestreaming Beauty Playbook: Trends, Best Practices and Success Stories, Deborah Weinswig, Founder and CEO of Coresight Research, will present a playbook for U.S. beauty brands and retailers on how to leverage livestreaming e-commerce effectively, covering key trends and technologies; examples of livestreaming success; and best practices for hosting sessions in-house or working with influencers.

While retail has gained significant ground in implementing augmented reality to engage consumers, a presentation by Snapchat’s Carolina Arguelles Navas, Head of Product Marketing, titled, “The Future of AR Beauty Commerce, will share how Snapchat is building the future of AR commerce. Learn how the world’s leading beauty companies are leveraging the power of AR to go beyond product try-on to offer beauty consumers a new way to discover, engage, and shop beauty all through the power of the Snapchat camera.

While at Twitch, an interactive livestreaming service owned by Amazon, Jenny Qian saw firsthand how livestreaming brought the gaming community together, and how it forged long distance friendships that ultimately blossomed into real life ones. In “The Future of Live Community-Based Commerce, join the NEWNESS Founder and CEO as she discusses why livestreaming is the future of shopping for the beauty community—and beyond.

In addition to all of this content, attendees will receive a virtual gift bag, and will be invited to participate in live networking with other attendees and speakers. Attendees can supplement the day’s content with white papers and presentation content that will be shared via a digital portal. And of course, attendees will be able to engage in audience Q&A and the event’s interactive activities during breaks. To purchase a ticket, please click here.