2026 Global Trend Report: First Half Insights. Plan Q4. Win Holiday.

September 23rd from 1:00 – 3:00 PM EDT: 2 Hour Virtual Event

Recording Available upon purchase of Ticket for remaining In-Person or Virtual event. Contact janderson@cew.org for access.

The U.S. Consumer & the Wellness Economy

• Drawing on BCG‘s latest consumer research, this presentation explores the resiliency of U.S. consumers and their increasingly intentional approach to spending, and how this directly correlates to the rise of the wellness economy and its impact on consumer behavior — including the growing influence of GLP-1s, longevity, and AI-enabled personalization.

Where Growth, Innovation, & Consumer Demand Converge

• As one of the financial community’s most respected beauty and retail analysts, TD Cowen‘s Oliver Chen unpacks what forces will define beauty’s next 12 months. He covers the macro trends transforming the category, the competitive landscape through the lens of investment, retail, and consumer behavior, and the headwinds and tailwinds facing beauty’s biggest players: Ulta Beauty, The Estée Lauder Companies, and e.l.f. Beauty.

The Validation Stage: Where Reviews, Comments, and Creator Content Decide the Sale

• Building on Iced Media’s 2026 predictions from earlier this year, this session will examine what the first half of the year revealed, the platform and consumer shifts shaping what comes next, and how brands can prepare for Holiday by strengthening their visibility, credibility, and shoppability across social, generative search, and emerging agentic commerce experiences.

The Power of Gen Alpha

• NielsenIQ unveils exclusive research curated for CEW that challenges a major industry assumption: despite the buzz around prestige, Gen Alpha’s purchasing behavior remains firmly rooted in mass brands and value-driven retailers. For this emerging consumer, affordability and accessibility still outweigh aspiration—an especially important insight heading into holiday.

Beauty 2026: 1H First Look & What’s to Come

• For the first time, Circana is pulling back the curtain on never-before-seen market intelligence spanning skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair — revealing both the enduring strengths and shifting undercurrents of the beauty category. What makes this data set truly exclusive are the surprises no one saw coming, i.e., e-commerce gaining importance in skin care. Looking to Holiday 2026, this never-before-seen intelligence points to the breakout category of the season.

September 30th from 8:30 – 10:30 AM EDT, Meta Farley Building, NYC

The Future of Brand Discovery: Building Visibility in an AI-Powered, Creator-Led World

• Kristen Wiley explores the new discovery flywheel, why creator content is becoming a critical signal of trust and authority, and how beauty leaders can build a discovery strategy that drives visibility across social, AI, and traditional search —long after a campaign ends.

Panel Discussion: How Beauty Gets Found, Trusted, & Bought

• Experts discuss how the new discovery flywheel works across the consumer, creator, and brand journey.

October 1st from 1:00 – 2:30 PM EDT: 1.5 Hour Virtual Event

The Future is Here: How Generation Alpha is Rewriting the Rules of Consumer Behavior

• Drawing from Symrise’s proprietary research platform, Symrise’s proprietary SYMALPHA™ Think Tank, Symrise will share exclusive insights into how Generation Alpha approaches self-expression, personal care rituals, family influence, and product discovery. Attendees will explore the emerging behaviors, values, and expectations defining this generation and learn how brands can adapt to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving consumer landscape.

The Next Beauty Battleground: Winning Gen Alpha

• New research from Ulta Beauty and NielsenIQ reveals how Gen Alpha really discovers and shops for beauty—and some of the findings may surprise you. Learn about their relationship with AI, trust, product discovery, and spending, and how beauty’s most influential retailer is engaging this emerging generation.