Thousands of retail and technology workers descended on Las Vegas last week for an annual industry gathering known as Shoptalk. There they shared the bets that they’re making on Americans’ evolving shopping habits and how they plan to maintain relevance in an era that’s changing faster than the spin of a roulette wheel.

The flurry that was Shoptalk is over as 8,000 retailers and brands headed out of Las Vegas last week. While there were a lot of announcements and lightbulb moments, one thing was apparent: Department stores, as we know them, are changing.

Last week, the 2019 Shoptalk conference featured one of its best speaker lineups and attendance to date. Over 8,000 e-commerce professionals gathered to hear presentations from 185 retail and e-commerce experts about trends and technologies impacting the industry.

The 8,000 attendees at Shoptalk this year got to hear from a lot of executives, founders and industry specialists, all offering varying degrees of candor in diverse areas of expertise.

Shoptalk 2019 did not disappoint: it has established itself as one of the “must attend” retail events of the year.

Two of retail’s biggest traditional players — Nordstrom and Macy’s — opened Shoptalk 2019 by revealing how they will take on 2019, fresh off a holiday season that didn’t quite reach expectations.

Shoptalk is arguably the most exciting and informative retail conference out there. It's an annual gathering of industry insiders and thought leaders that, in it's fourth year, hasn't lost its youthful energy.

At Shoptalk, several players — retailers like American Eagle, social media companies like Pinterest and tech juggernauts like Google — have all been working to refine the starting point of the online shopping journey: search.

Shoptalk is the best. There’re no two bones about it. As much as one wants to try and find fault with it or to point fingers, there is no point to the exercise. Shoptalk CEO Anil Aggarwal and his team have set the bar so high that the show is now the new gold standard in the industry.

Shoptalk, the retail and e-commerce mega conference that launched in 2016...has become a major player in the space.

Macy’s has unveiled new solutions designed to enhance the in-store and mobile customer experience at the Shoptalk conference being held in Las Vegas.

The CEOs of Lowe’s, Pinterest and Tapestry took the keynote stage to share the strategies their companies have adapted to cater to evolving customer needs.

Retail has never seen an event quite like Shoptalk. If you’re responsible for innovation and transformation in your organization and you weren’t part of the community of almost 8,500 strong at Shoptalk last week, you were conspicuous by your absence.