Before Wayfair’s Chief Marketing Officer Paul Toms jetted off to Las Vegas for Shoptalk earlier this week, he caught us up on his goals for the annual retail conference and what he planned to share with attendees. The insights ranged from social media best practices to successful generative AI use cases to the company’s intent focus on establishing trust between consumers and the brand. Here are the highlights.

Elsewhere at Shoptalk, Crocs CMO Carly Gomez spoke on a panel about marketing tactics that entice Gen Z and Gen Alpha. With Gen Z as the footwear brand’s marketing target, Crocs is using “snackable content” in the form of microdramas to reel in the demo. She shares the inspiration for the video series and why she believes it was a success.

Speaking of Gen Z … Last week the National Retail Federation dug into some of the consumer trends for this cohort — consumers ages 14 to 29 — in its annual State of Retail & the Consumer virtual event. It found that “treat culture,” COVID and the lack of a 5-year plan all color Gen Z spending.

Pearson has launched its first global brand campaign in five years, designed to illustrate all of its products and services — from K–12 and higher education courses to IT certification prep and cybersecurity workforce training programs. And it has relied on AI to help it tell that story. We explore how the legacy brand is reframing its purpose through AI-assisted emotional storytelling.

Lastly, with its “Let’s Be Honest” marketing campaign, Behr Paint aims to help consumers overcome decision paralysis and fear of failure. Read how the brand is reaching DIYers through a hotline and social influence.

Until next week,