2025 Digital Shelf Summit: Big Ideas, Bold Innovation, and a Second Line to the House of Blues

Day two of the 2025 Digital Shelf Summit delivered bold insights, practical strategies, and inspiring momentum to help brands win on the digital shelf.

On Tuesday, April 8, Salsify Customer Day continued the 2025 Digital Shelf Summit, offering Salsify customers the opportunity to hear real-world insights from industry leaders, future-focused strategy, and inspiring stories from across the commerce ecosystem.

Tuesday ended with the Digital Shelf Summit Party, sponsored by Acosta Group, at the House of Blues — with the New Orleans High School band leading attendees on a traditional grand march, also called a “second line” parade, through the French Quarter to the event.

Salsify Customer Day

Commerce: It’s a Bit Like Jazz

During his opening address, Peter Crosby, VP of corporate communications, highlights how the world of commerce ebbs and flows similarly to jazz music, the most famous export of New Orleans.

“Driving your book of business while transforming your processes from the inside is exactly like jazz. Improvisation — built over a ton of structure. Conversation and compromise. You're both artists and mathematicians," Crosby says. “Look around. Your people are here. I hope that you find the inspiration and the information you need for the next two days to improvise and systematize your way to a new era of commerce.”

Make Every Product Experience Matter

Piyush Chaudhari, CEO of Salsify, and Rob Gonzalez, Salsify co-founder and chief strategy and innovation officer, started the morning with a keynote address focused on an exploration of the new era of the digital shelf. Highlighting the rising importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and why it’s essential for commerce leaders to “make every product experience matter.”

Gonzalez explored the concept of AI for ecommerce, highlighting how AI will be the catalyst for many commerce leaders to accelerate not only business goals, but their careers as a whole. “Folks that are playing the digital shelf — and AI in particular — are the future leaders that we’re going to be leaning into,” says Gonzalez.

People, Gonzalez stresses, are the most critical element in enabling AI to transform the industry — ensuring agency and empowering teams to use AI as a tool, much like Steve Jobs’ famous analogy of computers as "bicycles for the mind," designed to accelerate human potential, not replace it.

‘Commerce Is Everywhere’

“Commerce is everywhere — and consumers are always shopping,” says Kavita Cariapa, SVP and head of commerce activation at dentsu during “The Future of Omnichannel Commerce Experiences” session.

The Salsify “2025 Consumer Research” report revealed the always-on nature of shopping, with research showing that 69% of consumers participate in "ambient" shopping, which is making a purchase while engaged in another activity like scrolling on social media or streaming a TV show. This only emphasizes the importance of building an omnichannel ecosystem to support the always-evolving nature of modern commerce.

“Finally, the technology capability has caught up to our ambition of how we want to show up for our consumers,” says Brian Bell, VP of strategy and planning at Church & Dwight Co., during the same session.

These sessions were just a glimpse into a packed agenda full of expert perspectives and actionable insights. Throughout the day, attendees explored advancements in product content quality, catalog sites, retail media alignment, and the foundational steps brands are taking to harness AI, unify data operations, and drive scalable growth.

Image Source: Salsify 2025

A packed audience during the keynote address of Rob Gonzalez, Salsify co-founder and chief strategy and innovation officer.

Soaking in the Spirit of the City and Summit

The night wrapped in true New Orleans fashion at the Digital Shelf Summit Party at the iconic House of Blues, where the energy carried over from a lively second line parade through the French Quarter.

Guests celebrated with great food, drinks, and music — soaking in the spirit of the city and the summit.