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From pilots to ROI: What eTail Boston 2025 signals for the next era of ecommerce

Megan Glover

August 26, 2025

Industry interviews

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TL;DR — What you'll learn:

Why AI in ecommerce has shifted from hype and pilots to measurable ROI
How agentic AI is delivering time savings—and where it’s falling short
Why cross-department collaboration is now critical for successful tech adoption
How customers are increasingly open to sharing data for personalized experiences
What “engineered networking” looks like at eTail and how it drives long-term ROI
Why top-of-funnel awareness is making a comeback in 2026 amid cost pressures

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Six months can change everything in ecommerce.

At eTail Palm Springs 2025, the mood was experimental—retailers were piloting generative AI, testing omnichannel concepts, and probing loyalty models.

By eTail Boston 2025, the tone had shifted. Pilots gave way to ROI, personalization moved from theory to execution, and even networking was redesigned into something measurable.

That’s why this episode of Ecommerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives with Lena Moriarty, Head of Marketing at eTail, matters so much. Lena doesn’t just curate panels—she sees in real time what gets traction with operators, what executives push back on, and what technologies actually earn budget.

Here’s what her vantage point reveals—and what it means for senior ecommerce leaders heading into 2026.

Key takeaways from Lena Moriarty’s playbook

AI isn’t a pilot anymore

Boston marked the shift from GenAI hype to ROI. Leaders are scaling proven use cases and cutting experiments that don’t pay back.

Agentic AI = real efficiency

Agentic commerce demos showed measurable time and workload savings—while also revealing where automation still falls short.

Adoption is cross-departmental

Finance, CX, and ops must be at the table. Without alignment, even the smartest tech stalls before it returns value.

Customers trade data for value

Consumers are more willing to share data when personalization delivers immediate, transparent benefits across the journey.

Networking, reengineered for ROI

Curated store tours and guided conversations replace small talk—creating authentic connections that convert into deals.

Top-of-funnel is back

With Q4 focused on holiday returns and tariffs squeezing 2026, efficient awareness becomes a strategic priority again.

1. AI has crossed the chasm: From pilot to ROI

At Palm Springs: “GenAI was the talk of the town. GenAI this, GenAI that.”

By Boston, the conversation had matured. Executives weren’t asking “what is AI?”—they were asking “what ROI did it deliver?”

Agentic AI took center stage, with real demos of time savings and workload reduction.
Attendees shared candidly where AI worked—and where the returns didn’t justify the investment.
The shift was clear: AI is now an operational driver, not window dressing.

👉 Executive takeaway: If your AI strategy is still in “pilot mode,” you’re behind. Leaders are already scaling proven use cases and cutting dead weight.

2. Cross-department adoption is make-or-break

Technology is no longer a siloed marketing decision.

“With all of the incoming technologies, you’re needing more buy-in from finance. You’re needing your customer service department to fully understand the implications.”
— Lena Moriarty, Head of Marketing at eTail

What Boston proved: ROI stalls without cross-departmental alignment. Finance, CX, and operations must be in the loop early, or adoption bottlenecks will slow down results.

👉 Executive takeaway: Build cross-functional adoption muscles now. The speed of ROI depends on it.

3. Customers will share data—if the value is clear

For years, personalization carried a risk: how much data would consumers actually hand over?

At Boston, the answer surprised many.

“Funny enough, customers are more likely to give more data if it means they get a better personalized experience.”
— Lena Moriarty, Head of Marketing at eTail

Rather than pushing back, customers are easing into hyper-personalization—provided the benefit is immediate, transparent, and valuable.

👉 Executive takeaway: Don’t fear personalization. Fear irrelevance. Show the payoff clearly, and data sharing follows.

4. Networking itself is being engineered for ROI

eTail has always been known for networking, but Boston demonstrated a reinvention.

Instead of awkward icebreakers, attendees experienced what Lena calls “engineered networking.”

Store tours at Dick’s Sporting Goods and Fluevog Shoes revealed in-store innovations, sparking real conversations.
Environments were designed for trust-building and long-term follow-up—not just business card swaps.

👉 Executive takeaway: Events and partnerships aren’t about volume of contacts—they’re about curated experiences that produce measurable ROI.

5. Awareness is back in 2026

After years of “the funnel is dead” debates, Boston signaled a swing back to top-of-funnel investment.

“I think awareness is back.” — Lena Moriarty

Why?

Q4 2025 is holiday ROI season, but…
Tariffs in spring 2026 will squeeze margins, pushing brands to find cheaper awareness channels.
Scaling reach efficiently will matter more than ever.

👉 Executive takeaway: Awareness is not optional. In 2026, cheap, scalable visibility will separate brands that survive from those that lead.

6. Lena’s playbook for ecommerce leaders

What to apply now:

Stop dabbling. Move AI from pilot mode into ROI-driven execution.
Align early. Make cross-functional adoption a core discipline.
Personalize with purpose. Transparency and payoff win customer trust.
Engineer experiences. Curate environments that deepen relationships and ROI.
Invest in awareness. Top-of-funnel spend is regaining strategic weight.

Final thought: Six months can change everything

In half a year, ecommerce leaders went from AI hype to ROI, from personalization fears to consumer acceptance, from siloed tech bets to engineered collaboration.

As Lena puts it:

“Now that we’re actually having some unique case studies and takeaways and figuring out what works and what doesn’t, that was really the next big hot topic at eTail Boston.”

For senior ecommerce executives, the mandate is clear: experiment broadly, measure relentlessly, and double down where ROI is real.

Listen to the full episode now

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the biggest shift Lena is seeing with AI since Palm Springs?

The conversation moved from “experiment with GenAI” to “prove ROI.” At eTail Boston, leaders shared concrete wins and misses—where AI saved time or costs, and which pilots weren’t worth it—signaling a maturation from hype to measurable impact.

How does Agentic AI show up in commerce right now?

Through agent-based workflows that reduce manual workload. Lena cites demos (e.g., Omakase AI + Zeals) that automate tasks and free up teams—highlighting “manpower saving” as the standout benefit among current use cases.

Where are marketing leaders underinvesting?

In diversified tool testing. Many teams put all their eggs in one basket—trialing a single AI or efficiency play—slowing learning and delaying ROI. The fix: parallel tests, clear success metrics, and budget alignment so winners scale faster.

Why is cross-departmental collaboration mission-critical?

New tech affects finance, CX, and ops. Without shared understanding and clear processes, adoption stalls. Lena saw more emphasis than ever on tight comms and operational alignment so AI investments actually land and deliver results.

Are customers comfortable with hyper-personalization?

Increasingly, yes—when value is clear. Lena notes a shift: shoppers are more willing to share data in exchange for better experiences, raising the bar for transparent, benefit-led personalization rather than one-size-fits-all messaging.

What is “engineered networking” at eTail?

It’s intentional, low-awkwardness connection design—curated groups, targeted prompts, and shared experiences (like Boston store tours at Fluevog Shoes and Dick’s Sporting Goods) that spark practical, peer-to-peer knowledge exchange beyond basic icebreakers.

How does eTail measure networking ROI?

Voice-of-customer loops and hard outcomes: continuous surveys, tracking connections post-event, and monitoring whether meetings, deals, and collaborations materialize 3–6 months later—not just counting badge scans or session attendance.

What theme is Lena betting on for 2026?

A swing back to top-of-funnel. After a bottom-funnel fixation, expect renewed investment in awareness—especially heading into Palm Springs—while Q4 Boston focus stays on holiday execution and efficiency amid shifting costs (e.g., tariff effects into 2026).

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