Why In-person Is Winning Again In An Ai Landscape

The evolution of the ecommerce industry, fueled by technological progress, has kept us on our toes since day one. We’ve built our businesses on the idea that we can bring the shopping experience directly to the consumer, regardless of their location. And with it, we’ve operated on the idea that we can build personal connections and experiences that not only bring value to the customer but profitability to the brand. This level of personalization costs time and money.

Enter the era of AI, where outputs are increased and scaling is faster. While the power of AI tools is undeniable, they come with a responsibility as a marketer to never lose sight of personal connection. This sentiment is true beyond just B2C marketing strategies. As technology vendors race to stay ahead, they start to forget that retailers are also humans, longing for a team and not just a platform.

Retail leaders are dealing with crowded inboxes, low signal and outreach that feels increasingly interchangeable. What once passed as “personalized” now often reads like a slightly reworked version of the same message sent to hundreds of others. Attention is harder to earn, resulting in traditional outbound messaging losing its effectiveness.

In response, ecommerce teams are tuning out the noise and increasingly returning to something that feels a little old-school: in-person conversations.

The Limits of Scaled Outreach

We’re seeing first-hand how difficult it’s become to break through digitally. Even sophisticated automated sequences often struggle to land in inboxes, let alone drive meaningful engagement. When they do, response quality is inconsistent.

More importantly, the math no longer works in outbound’s favor. If roughly half of qualified meetings turn into real opportunities, it’s far more efficient to have ten of those conversations in a single day at a conference than to spend weeks trying to generate the same pipeline through cold outreach.

This shift reflects a broader change in how retailers want to evaluate potential partners.

What Changes When You’re Face-to-Face

In-person meetings create something digital channels struggle to replicate: context. Retailers now look beyond feature sets and focus on how a partner thinks, how they approach problem-solving and how they respond when plans break down. Those signals are difficult to pick up over email or even on a scheduled demo.

At industry events, there’s also a shared intent. Retailers are there to find solutions; vendors are there to solve real problems. Getting everyone out of their inboxes and into a more focused environment creates space for more honest, productive conversations while allowing retailers to evaluate multiple partners efficiently. In a single day, they can compare approaches, ask better questions, and pressure-test ideas across several vendors.

Trust Is Becoming the Differentiator

As more solutions enter the market, technology itself is becoming easier to replicate. What’s harder to replicate is trust.

Increasingly, retailers are asking a different set of questions: Who are we actually going to be working with? Will this team be responsive? Will they help us navigate challenges after implementation?

In an environment where it’s often easier to interact with a bot than a person, access to a real, accountable team matters more than ever. Retailers want confidence that the people behind the platform will be there when it counts.

That’s where in-person interaction stands out, because it accelerates trust in a way that no email sequence or demo link can match.

The Rise of Curated 1:1 Meetings

This shift is also reshaping how events themselves are structured.

Large booths and flashy activations still draw attention, but they often result in surface-level engagement. True value lies beyond quick conversations and badge scans; curated 1:1 meetings are proving far more effective.

These formats work so well because they create a mutual opt-in. Both sides come to the table with at least some level of context and interest, which immediately raises the quality of the conversation. Instead of pitching broadly, vendors can focus on specific challenges, and retailers can dig into whether a solution truly fits.

There’s also a growing appetite among retailers to learn from each other in these settings. Peer discussions, roundtables and shared problem-solving opportunities are becoming just as valuable as vendor interactions themselves. Sponsors that can facilitate those conversations tend to stand out.

Rethinking the Approach On Both Sides

For vendors, this shift requires a reset. Outbound still has a role, but the emphasis should be on quality over quantity. Personalized outreach that leads to meaningful, in-person conversations will consistently outperform high-volume campaigns.

It also means rethinking how to show up at events. Investing in dedicated 1:1 meetings, thought leadership sessions and roundtable discussions often delivers more value than relying on booth presence alone.

For retailers, preparation is what separates a productive event from a busy one. The most effective teams arrive with a clear understanding of their priorities, a shortlist of solution categories and a plan to meet multiple vendors in each area. That structure allows for better comparison and more confident decision-making.

Equally important is using that time to evaluate the people behind the technology. Product capabilities matter, but long-term success also comes down to the team supporting it. Do they listen? Do they understand your business? Do you trust them to deliver?

Those are questions that are easier to answer in person.

A Shift Back to What Works

What we are seeing in the industry is more of a broader recalibration. As digital channels become more saturated, human connection is becoming a competitive advantage again.

There’s also a common misconception that conference ROI is difficult to justify given the costs. But when approached strategically, the return can far exceed what most outbound programs deliver over a much longer period.

In ecommerce, where the right partnerships can shape growth trajectories, how those relationships start matters. And it’s refreshing to say, they’re starting face-to-face again.

Cary Lawrence is the CEO of Decile, an AI-powered ecommerce analytics platform that helps brands turn complex, disconnected data into clear, brand-specific insights and actionable recommendations. A Co-founder of SocialCode and Decile, Cary brings more than two decades of experience building data-driven platforms at the intersection of marketing, media and technology. Her recent work focuses on making advanced analytics instantly accessible and actionable to modern ecommerce teams. Cary is based in Washington, D.C., and holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from Georgetown University and Wake Forest University.