Future of Commerce Summit Offers Front-Row Seat to Changing Industry

The rules of commerce are being rewritten in real time. New technologies, business models and consumer expectations are colliding, raising questions that reach well beyond how people shop to how companies compete, grow and create value.

On Sept. 17, people who are building, leading and studying those changes across the country will come together in Bentonville for the Future of Commerce Summit. The concentrated morning will explore some of the most consequential issues facing the industry, including artificial intelligence, agentic commerce, retail media and changing consumer behavior.

Hosted by the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business in partnership with Publicis Commerce agency Saatchi X, the summit will run from 8 a.m. to noon at The Compton in Bentonville. Registration is now open for professionals across retail, consumer products, technology, marketing, data and analytics, supply chain, entrepreneurship and related fields.

The event will connect people approaching the transformation of commerce from different vantage points — those building new technologies and platforms, those leading organizations through change, and those studying the consumers and markets driving it.

“No one company or discipline has a complete view of how commerce is changing,” said Brent Williams, dean of Walton College. “Retailers, technology companies, researchers and consumer experts are seeing it from different angles. Bringing those perspectives together gives us a better understanding of what these changes mean — and how organizations can respond.”

Speakers bringing those perspectives include Seth Dallaire, executive vice president and chief growth officer for Walmart Inc.; Ashish Gupta, global vice president and general manager of Merchant Shopping at Google; Jason “Retailgeek” Goldberg, chief commerce strategy officer for Publicis Commerce; Adam Lukoskie, senior vice president of the National Retail Federation and executive director of the NRF Foundation; Dr. Anne Velliquette, teaching associate professor and strategic retail program director at Walton College; Blake Woolsey, chief strategy and communications officer for Walton College and Williams.

The summit is designed to move beyond predictions about the future to examine changes already affecting businesses and consumers. Attendees will hear directly from leaders working across retail, advertising, technology and digital commerce; explore how AI and emerging technologies are changing product discovery and purchasing; gain insight into evolving consumer expectations and Gen Z behavior; and connect with Northwest Arkansas' retail and consumer-products ecosystem. The agenda also includes a Gen Z panel, bringing the perspectives of emerging consumers and future business leaders directly into the conversation.

The speakers bring experience from across the commerce ecosystem. Dallaire oversees Walmart's global enterprise platforms, including its marketplace, membership, advertising and data business, while Goldberg brings more than 30 years of e-commerce experience advising some of the world's largest retailers and brands.

At Google, Gupta leads the Merchant Shopping organization, which works across platforms including Search, YouTube, Maps and Ads. His team recently led the launch of the Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard for agentic commerce co-developed with companies including Walmart, Target, Shopify and Etsy.

The summit brings perspectives from inside Northwest Arkansas' retail and consumer-products ecosystem together with leaders working across technology, advertising and the broader retail industry, as well as researchers studying the forces influencing consumers and markets.

“The varied experiences represented on the agenda make this a wholly unique event for commerce marketers and other retail professionals. It’s designed to provide a more holistic understanding of the marketplace that can inspire fresh thinking and actionable new ideas,” said Amanda Rogers, president of Saatchi X, a Publicis Commerce agency. “We’re proud to return as sponsor this year to help our partners at Sam M. Walton College of Business bring this distinctive learning and networking opportunity back to the Bentonville community.”

The summit builds on the inaugural 2025 event, which brought together leaders from retail, brands, startups and academia. This year's event moves to Bentonville and into a concentrated four-hour format.

About the Sam M. Walton College of Business: The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas is one of the nation's leading public business schools, serving more than 10,300 students across undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs. Through applied learning, impactful research and deep industry partnerships, Walton prepares leaders to compete and innovate in a global economy.

As part of Publicis Commerce, Saatchi X connects commerce strategy, retailer expertise and data-driven activation to help brands grow across today’s connected shopping journey. With roots as the industry’s foremost partner for in-store communications, Saatchi X now delivers end-to-end commerce solutions across channels and touchpoints for blue-chip clients including Procter & Gamble, Kraft Heinz, Samsung, JM Smucker, and Wendy’s. Learn more at www.saatchix.com.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation.