The Best Retail Events Start Before You Arrive
I have attended, spoken at and hosted a lot of retail events over the years.
One upcoming opportunity worth putting on your radar is RETHINK Retail and ZeroStone’s free executive AI workshop in Vancouver on September 25. With leaders from Lululemon, Earls, Kit and Ace, Ashley Furniture and John Fluevog Shoes already joining, it is a room worth preparing for. Request your invitation here, with more details below.
I have heard some incredible speakers and filled notebooks with ideas. A strong agenda can challenge how you think, introduce you to something new and give you practical nuggets to bring back to your team.
But the value of an event does not begin when the first speaker takes the stage.
It begins with how you prepare.
When I think about the events that have had the greatest impact on my career, the content created the opportunity. The conversations between sessions, over breakfast and around the dinner table helped turn those ideas into something more meaningful.
Sometimes it was simply someone pulling up a chair and helping me think through a problem.
In Retail Rewired, I share a story from the early days of my ecommerce career. I was trying to fix an issue with a store locator and could not figure out what had gone wrong. A supplier partner named Rahim Kassam noticed I was stuck. He pulled up a chair and spent hours helping me work through the code.
He did more than fix the problem. He taught me, encouraged me and helped build my confidence.
That experience stayed with me because it showed me what our retail community can be at its best. People sharing what they know. Leaders admitting what they do not know. Peers helping each other move forward.
A great agenda brings the right ideas and people together.
The magic happens when you arrive prepared to make the most of it.
Which Rooms Are Worth Being In?
Retail leaders are being invited to more events than ever. Conferences, dinners, webinars, workshops and networking nights all compete for space on already crowded calendars.
The question is not whether you should attend events.
The better question is: Which rooms are worth being in?
I believe the best events offer:
Access to people facing similar business challenges
Honest conversations about what is working and what is not
Ideas you can bring back and apply to your own business
Relationships that continue after the event ends
A massive conference can offer scale and access. A smaller workshop can create a level of honesty and participation that is harder to achieve in a large room.
Both can be valuable. You just need to know why you are going.
The Event Cannot Do All the Work
I often hear people return from an event and say they did not get what they were looking for.
Sometimes that criticism is fair. Not every event delivers on its promise.
But we also need to take some responsibility for how we show up.
Did we define what we wanted before we arrived? Did we identify the speakers and attendees we wanted to meet? Did we contact any of them beforehand? Or did we walk into a cold room and hope the right conversations would somehow happen?
The value of an event should begin before you enter the room.
Look at the agenda and speaker list. Identify a few people you genuinely want to meet. Send them a message. Tell a speaker you are looking forward to their session and share the question you hope they address. Ask another attendee if they would like to meet for coffee.
Do not wait until you are standing in a crowded reception to introduce yourself.
Have people excited to see you when you show up.
That preparation changes the entire experience. You are no longer walking into a room filled with strangers. You are continuing conversations that have already started.
Go In With a Goal
Before attending your next event, define what success looks like.
Are you trying to understand how other retailers are approaching AI? Are you looking for a partner? Do you want to compare your strategy with other retail leaders? Are you hoping to find a podcast guest, speaker or future collaborator?
You do not need ten goals. One or two clear outcomes are enough.
I would ask myself:
What business question do I want answered?
Who are the five people I would like to meet?
Who can I contact before the event?
What can I contribute to the room?
What action will I take when I return?
The goal is not to leave with the most business cards.
It is to leave with one new relationship, one useful idea and one action worth taking back to your team.
A Room Worth Joining in Vancouver
There is a timely opportunity for senior retail leaders to put this approach into practice.
On Friday, September 25, RETHINK Retail and ZeroStone are hosting a free executive AI workshop in downtown Vancouver focused on AI for Commerce Retail.
Customers are beginning to shop differently. Instead of entering a few keywords and working through filters, they are increasingly describing what they need and asking AI to help them make a decision.
That changes more than search.
It affects product discovery, recommendations, customer service and how retailers need to think about the entire shopping journey.
This workshop will bring senior retail leaders together to discuss what that change means for the business. It is a commercial strategy conversation, not a technical session filled with architecture diagrams.
The day will include peer discussions, practical examples, interactive roundtables, live demonstrations and plenty of time to connect over good food.
The room already includes leaders from Lululemon, Earls, Kit and Ace, Ashley Furniture and John Fluevog Shoes, with speakers from Sundays Furniture, Earls Restaurants, Environics Analytics, ZeroStone and RETHINK Retail.
Attendance is limited to 40 people and applications are reviewed to keep the room focused on senior retail leaders across marketing, strategy, product, digital and customer experience.
That is what makes this opportunity interesting.
This is not about sitting quietly in the back row of a large conference. It is a chance to ask honest questions, compare what you are seeing with other retailers and build relationships with people working through similar decisions.
If you are a senior retail leader in Western Canada, I would encourage you to request an invitation.
Then do not wait until September 25 to start thinking about the room.
Review the speakers. Reach out to other attendees. Write down the questions you want answered. Decide what you can add to the conversation.
Show up ready.
Friday, September 25, 2026
8:00 AM to 4:00 PM PDT
Downtown Vancouver
Free for approved retail executives
Retail is moving quickly, especially around AI. None of us has every answer.
Sometimes the smartest move is putting yourself in the right room with people who are asking the same questions.
Just make sure you know what you want from the room before you arrive.
What Is Your Take?
What makes an industry event worth your time? Is it the speakers, the content, the people in the room or the preparation you do before attending? Reply directly to this email and share how you make sure an event delivers value.
Your Event Value Checklist
Choose the Right Room: Make sure the audience and conversation match the challenges you are trying to solve.
Define the Win: Identify one or two outcomes that would make the event worth your time.
Warm Up the Room: Connect with speakers and attendees before you arrive.
Bring Something: Think about the knowledge, experience or introductions you can offer.
Take Action: Follow up and bring one useful idea back to your team.
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