The Discovery Stage Powered by MACH Alliance

The Discovery Stage 1

12:45 – 12:55
You Bought the AI. Where's the ROI?
Speaker: Amanda Cole MACH Alliance, CMO at Bloomreach & MACH Alliance VP
Speaker: Danson Huang MACH Brand Ambassador and Global VP - Connected Commerce, Diageo 
Every enterprise is buying AI. Most aren't getting the returns they expected. New research across 600 enterprise decision-makers shows that organizations with the right foundations are six times more likely to achieve measurable AI ROI – but the majority are still stuck in pilots, with tools that don't connect and investments that don't compound. Amanda Cole, MACH Alliance Vice President and CMO at Bloomreach, and Danson Huang, MACH Brand Ambassador and Global VP - Connected Commerce at Diageo cut through the noise to explain what's actually blocking AI at scale, what the organizations getting real results are doing differently, and what needs to happen next – across your vendors, your architecture, and your industry.  


13:00-13:10
Data on Display: The Smart Digital Solutions Reshaping Retail Experiences
Speaker: Alastair Fraiser, Senior Sales Director UK & Ireland, Scala
Not just screens in shops, digital in-store solutions encompass a variety of interactive and display technologies. With examples of what retailers are doing well and the ways in which they could be doing more, the session brings data and deployment together to demonstrate how digital displays, interactive solutions and intelligent content management continue to transform retail operations and shopper satisfaction. Learn the strategies behind the world's most effective in-store digital experiences and how data-driven environments increase spending, strengthen loyalty and deliver measurable ROI.


13:15-13:25
Pentland Brands Fireside: Preparing for a Future of AI-first Discovery
Speakers: Ana Machado ds Silva, VP Digital Products, Pentland Brands Limited and Peyman Naeini Foiels CTO, Shopify
How are Pentland brands pivoting with the increasing challenge of AI-first discovery? Ana talks us through the changes they have made, shares early learnings and insights on how brands can be prepared.






The Discovery Stage 2

12:45 – 12:55
Modernizing a Heritage Brand: How Le Creuset is Redefing Customer Engagement in the Digital Era
Speaker: Nico Beukes, UK&I & Nordics CEO, Insider One
In a world where customer expectations evolve faster than ever, even the most iconic brands face a critical question:
How do you modernize without losing what makes you timeless?
For Le Creuset, a global symbol of craftsmanship and premium positioning, digital transformation is not about chasing trends — it’s about elevating customer relationships while preserving brand integrity.
In this session at Shoptalk Europe, we explore how Le Creuset is approaching this transformation with intention.
Rather than overwhelming customers with promotions or high-frequency campaigns, the brand is building a more refined, intelligent engagement strategy — one that prioritizes relevance over reach, and quality over volume.
Together with Insider One, Le Creuset is evolving from fragmented, channel-specific communication to a more connected and orchestrated approach across markets and touchpoints.
This includes:
- Creating consistent engagement across multiple domains and regions
- Introducing smarter segmentation and lifecycle automation
- Expanding into new channels like SMS and WhatsApp, thoughtfully and selectively
- Leveraging AI-powered recommendations to enhance personalization without compromising the brand experience
The result is not a radical reinvention — but a measured, strategic modernization:
one that allows a heritage brand to stay relevant in a digital-first world, while remaining unmistakably itself.
This session will offer a perspective on what modern customer engagement looks like for premium brands — and why the future is not about doing more, but about doing it smarter, with intention.


13:00-13:10
The New Shelf; How AI Search Is Already Reshaping How European Shoppers Discover Brands
Speaker: Saga Torseke- AEO Specialist & Enterprise Advisor, Profound
Abstract: Shoppers across Europe are starting product research inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude before they ever reach Google. Profound will share original research on how AI platforms surface retail brands across European markets, including category benchmarks and how recommendations diverge across languages. Attendees will leave with a framework for auditing their AI search presence and a clear view of where Answer Engine Optimization fits alongside SEO, paid, and more.


13:15-13:25
Data as Packaging: How to Stock the Invisible Shelf on GCP
Speaker: Kasia Faber, Principal Architect, Google Cloud 
In the "agentic era", brand discovery is shifting from humans to AI agents navigating an "invisible shelf" of data. This session explores the transition from SEO to GEO, reimagining static product specifications as "digital packaging" for circularity-focused consumers. We will highlight how Consumer-to-Merchant (C2M) agents evaluate product sustainability alongside Merchant-to-Merchant (M2M) agents that automate sourcing and substitution. Ultimately, the discussion reveals how transforming AI-ready product data into a growth engine on Google Cloud prepares brands for an increasingly autonomous marketplace.