Moving Beyond the Channel Plan: How Retail Teams Are Shifting to Customer-First Marketing

Join Coffee & Commerce on May 13, 2026 at 12pm ET for a practical conversation on how retail marketing teams are moving beyond channel-first planning and building strategies around the customer lifecycle.

Most marketing organizations are still structured around channels (email, paid media, mobile, and on-site campaigns) each operating with their own plans and metrics.

But shoppers don’t experience brands this way.

As retail teams face increasing pressure to drive profitable growth, many are rethinking how they plan marketing. Instead of asking “What should we send in this channel?”, they’re asking “What does this customer need next?”

This session will explore how marketing teams are beginning to organize around customers, lifecycle moments, and cross-channel orchestration, rather than individual channel calendars.

What We’ll Cover:

• Why channel-first marketing creates fragmented customer experiences
• How leading retail teams are shifting to lifecycle-driven planning
• The operational challenges of coordinating email, mobile, paid media, and onsite experiences
• Why retention and reactivation are becoming strategic priorities again
• How teams are thinking about customer value instead of channel performance
• Practical ways to begin breaking down channel silos inside marketing teams