Rebuy Momentum Innovation Summit: NYC Recap

Live from Carnegie Hall in NYC... it's Rebuy's Momentum Innovation Summit.

We had a blast hosting the Rebuy Momentum Innovation Summit at Carnegie Hall in New York City on October 21st, bringing together founders, operators, and innovators who are navigating the rapidly shifting landscape of modern ecommerce.

Experts from brands you know and platforms you trust came together to share not just their wins, but their struggles, their pivots, and their honest perspectives on what's actually working right now.

Over the course of the day, we had remarkable conversations across five different sessions, each offering a window into how the brightest minds in ecommerce are thinking about growth, retention, agility, and the future of digital commerce.

In case you missed it, here are videos of each presentation, along with summaries and key takeaways.

State of the ecommerce industry

Featured speakers:

• Jared Frazer (Manager of Customer Success at Shopify)
• John Surdakowski (Founder & CEO at Avex)
• Suki Abdulla (Product Owner at Rebuy)

A candid conversation about where ecommerce stands right now. From tariffs to digital transformation to the race for profitability, Jared and John broke down how the industry is shifting and what it means for brands trying to survive and thrive in 2025 and beyond. 

Key takeaways:

• Profitability over growth at any cost. The days of chasing top-line growth regardless of unit economics are over. Merchants are now obsessing over LTV, repeat purchase rates, and margin—building sustainable businesses that can weather economic shifts.
• Digital transformation goes beyond switching platforms. Real transformation means rethinking workflows, systems, and team structures. Brands that simply replicate their old processes on a new platform don't gain the advantages they should. Those that embrace change and truly adapt see dramatically better results.
• Your data infrastructure is your competitive advantage. As AI becomes more prevalent, having clean, organized, unified data will be the differentiator. Brands that start preparing their data now will be positioned to leverage AI when it becomes commercially accessible at scale.

How to get the most out of Rebuy

Featured speakers:

• Suki Abdulla (Product Owner at Rebuy)

A deep dive into Rebuy's personalization platform and how leading brands are leveraging Smart Cart, merchandizing widgets on product pages, bundle builder, checkout extensions, and post-purchase offers to drive both revenue and customer satisfaction. 

Real examples, from real brands, getting real results. 

Key takeaways:

• The cart is sacred real estate. Too many merchants treat their shopping cart as a formality. Forward-thinking retailers are using smart carts to cross-sell, upsell, test subscriptions, and create gamified experiences—all while maintaining a clean, on-brand aesthetic.
• Personalization needs structure. Beyond "You may also like," advanced data sources let you create layered recommendation logic. Whether it's product sequencing or rule-based algorithms, the brands seeing the biggest AOV lifts are those who think deliberately about the shopping journey.
• Post-purchase isn't just about second sales. Merchants who excel at post-purchase are using this touchpoint to enhance the primary purchase experience, introduce complementary products, and even recover value through strategic downsells when the initial offer doesn't convert.

How FabFitFun & Caraway build loyalty beyond the purchase

Featured speakers:

• Caitlin Logan (Head of Customer Support & Insights at FabFitFun)
• Ashley Harris (Senior Customer Experience Manager at Caraway)
• Sam Chandler (Director of Commercial Customer Success at Kustomer)

Experienced ecommerce professionals from FabFitFun, Caraway, and Kustomer share how they're rethinking the entire post-purchase journey. Moving from reactive support to proactive engagement that delights customers and builds lasting relationships.

Key takeaways:

• Post-purchase is where loyalty is actually built. Today's customers expect ongoing communication and value even after they've made a purchase. By educating customers about products, anticipating their needs, and personalizing their journey, brands transform transactions into relationships.
• Customer experience is a marketing channel. When you treat support and post-purchase engagement as strategic marketing touchpoints rather than cost centers, you unlock new retention and repeat purchase opportunities. FabFitFun's testing showed that when customers engage with customization, retention and CSAT both increase significantly.
• Use data to listen, not just to sell. Gathering customer feedback is only half the battle. The brands winning are those who actually listen to that feedback and make tangible changes—whether that's through surveys, AI-powered interviews, or simply paying attention to which products resonate.

Building loyalty in a shifting economy

Featured speakers:

• Wendy Bergh (CMO at Rakuten)
• Tim Lukens (President, Commerce Media at Fluent)
• Sarah Hatter (Events & Community at Rebuy)

Wendy Bergh from Rakuten and Tim Lukens from Fluent share how loyalty programs are evolving from simple reward mechanisms into sophisticated engagement tools that blend commerce data with personalized incentives. This conversation centered around how retailers can drive incremental revenue and customer retention through strategic loyalty partnerships.

Key takeaways:

• Loyalty is converging with commerce media. The real value isn't just offering cash back—it's using advertiser funding to enhance rewards programs while driving measurable incrementality for both the merchant and the customer. When done right, you're extracting value from multiple angles at once.
• Margin management matters. Retailers often view loyalty programs as marketing expenses that cut into profitability. Smart merchants, however, are leveraging platforms like Rakuten to manage margins while still driving loyalty—proving that you can acquire and retain customers without sacrificing your bottom line.
• Human creativity needs to sit on top of AI efficiency. As Wendy noted, AI will become table stakes for operations. The brands that will stand out are those layering genuine human creativity and brand understanding on top of that technological foundation.

The art of agility: balancing data, brand, and speed in ecommerce

Featured speakers:

• Tamanna Bawa (Tech Partner Manager at Triple Whale)
• Annie Chen (Director of Marketing & Ecommerce at Maison Miru)
• Winnie Cheng (VP of Marketing & Ecommerce at R13)

Annie Chen from Maison Miru and Winnie Cheng from R13 share how they use real-time data to make faster, smarter decisions without sacrificing their brand integrity or strategic vision. This conversation focused on how the best teams use data not to chase every change—but to move with purpose.

Key takeaways:

• Agility requires preparation, not just reaction. Both Annie and Winnie emphasized that true agility comes from having a clear plan, understanding your metrics, and then making strategic micro-adjustments based on real-time data. It's the opposite of flying by the seat of your pants.
• Don't confuse activity with agility. Winnie's most pointed advice: constantly shifting gears creates confusion, not progress. Agility is about having the confidence and the data to make measured decisions when the situation calls for it—not pivoting at every slight signal.
• Trusting data gives you the confidence to challenge assumptions. When you have reliable, real-time data, you're empowered to respectfully push back on opinions that aren't supported by evidence. It shifts conversations from "I think" to "the data shows."

What we learned

The ecommerce landscape is undeniably complex. But the brands and platforms making real progress are united by a clear philosophy: revenue matters, but it's built on a foundation of genuine customer connection.

The winners are those obsessing over profitability and customer lifetime value, not because they're penny-pinching, but because sustainable growth lets them invest in what customers actually want.

What emerged across all five conversations was this: momentum builds when you align business success with customer delight. The brands thriving right now aren't choosing between profitability and customer experience—they're using one to fuel the other. Clean data enables smarter decisions. Real-time insights unlock faster pivots. Strategic personalization drives both repeat purchases and genuine loyalty.

The work isn't glamorous, and it doesn't happen overnight. But it's the unglamorous work—listening deeply, optimizing relentlessly, preparing strategically—that separates the brands building lasting momentum from those just chasing the next quarter.

Create momentum with Rebuy

Growing with Rebuy is easier than ever. If you want to explore how Rebuy can help boost your AOV, improve conversions, and skyrocket LTV, book a demo call with our sales team. Our mission at Rebuy is to give merchants the tools to move faster, sell smarter, and personalize at scale. We want to help you get growing. 

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