The SKU takes audiences behind the front lines of modern retail, where every decision counts and every detail matters. Through candid, fast-paced conversations with industry leaders, this series explores how retailers are balancing creativity with data, scaling personalization and redefining value in an always-on marketplace.
It’s a front-row look at how strategy, technology, and culture come together to shape what consumers buy, and why.
Ulta Beauty sits at the intersection of inspiration and innovation where social discovery meets store experience and technology amplifies every touchpoint. In this conversation, Josh Friedman, Senior Vice President of Ecommerce and Digital at Ulta Beauty, joins PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster to discuss how the beauty retailer is building a seamless, data-driven ecosystem that keeps pace with fast-moving trends and consumer expectations. From TikTok to try-ons and from marketplaces to AI-powered advisors, Friedman shares how Ulta’s digital strategy connects customers to the products, people and experiences they love wherever they shop.
The furniture industry isn’t known for moving fast but that’s changing. In this episode of The SKU, Dan Bennett, Chief Marketing Officer at Furniture.com, explains how data, AI and smarter digital experiences are helping brands cut through complexity and meet shoppers where they are. From collapsing lead times to improving confidence in big-ticket purchases, he shares how retailers are learning to move at the speed of consumer expectations and what it takes to keep up when the old rules of furniture retail no longer apply.
Seventy-five years after its founding in Carmel, Robert Talbott is writing a new chapter with the opening of its Madison Avenue flagship. Alex Angelchik, CEO of Newtimes Brands and Managing Director of Newtimes Group, joins The SKU to share how heritage brands can modernize without losing their identity. From supply chain strategy and tariff headwinds to the resurgence of physical retail, Angelchik offers an inside look at how one of the world’s largest sourcing organizations helps brands evolve for a faster, more competitive market.
Retail media networks have become one of the most powerful profit drivers in modern retail, transforming retailers from places of transaction into platforms of engagement and data intelligence. As first-party data becomes more valuable, retail media allows brands to connect directly with consumers at the point of purchase, turning every digital and physical touchpoint into a measurable marketing opportunity.
In this conversation, Parbinder “Parbs” Dhariwal, Vice President and General Manager of CVS Media Exchange (CMX), and Karen Webster will discuss how CVS is redefining what retail media can be. With its vast customer reach, trusted health and wellness brand, and the power of ExtraCare® loyalty data, CMX is building a next-generation media ecosystem that bridges digital engagement and in-store experience, right down to the printed receipt. Dhariwal explores how retail media contributes to retail profitability, drives deeper personalization, and represents the next great evolution in commerce.
Live shopping is changing how people buy and how they connect. In this episode of The SKU, Armand Wilson, VP of Categories and Expansions at Whatnot, joins PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster to explore how Whatnot blends entertainment, community and commerce to create a new kind of shopping experience. With more than $6 billion in live sales and customer retention topping 80 percent month over month, Whatnot shows that engagement and loyalty grow when buyers and sellers connect in real time. Wilson shares how live formats are turning passion projects into full-time businesses, why sellers on Whatnot earn ten times more than peers on traditional marketplaces and how new features like the Rewards Club are redefining what loyalty means in the digital economy.
TOMS is entering a new chapter built on product energy, modern storytelling, and a renewed focus on purpose that feels personal and relevant to today’s consumer. In this conversation, TOMS CEO Jessica Alsing shares the perspective she brought into the role and how she is shaping the future of TOMS by combining style, comfort, and cultural insight with a disciplined, digital, and data-driven approach. She discusses how creative partnerships and creator-led storytelling can spark brand momentum, how to build deeper connections through community and experience, and how digital expansion will strengthen TOMS across e-commerce and global markets. This session explores what it takes to build a modern brand that leads with values, stands out in culture, and earns long-term consumer loyalty in a fast-moving marketplace.
Tapestry’s brands are known for creativity and craftsmanship — but staying relevant today requires more than design intuition. It demands data fluency. In this conversation, Fabio Luzzi, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Tapestry, joins PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster to explore how the company is using AI and a unified data platform to connect every part of its business — from inventory and pricing to brand identity and customer experience. Fabio shares how Tapestry’s approach to “magic and logic” is transforming decision-making speed, reducing lead times, and empowering merchants to focus on what data can’t replace: the creativity that defines each brand.
Karen Webster is one of the world’s leading experts in payments innovation and the digital economy, advising multinational companies and serving on the boards of emerging AI, healthtech and real-time payments firms. She founded PYMNTS.com in 2009, a leading media and data platform covering innovation in payments, commerce, AI and the digital economy. Webster is also the author of the NEXT newsletter and co-founder of Market Platform Dynamics, which specializes in driving and monetizing innovation across industries.
Sab Pell is senior director of product marketing at Openform, where her goal is to help people unlock the power of in-person events. Prior to Openform, she led global product marketing teams. Sab Pell is senior director of product marketing at Openform, where her goal is to help people unlock the power of in-person events. Prior to Openform, she led global product marketing teams.
