Beauty [Un]Bound
1 October 2026, The Forum, Leadenhall
The beauty industry is entering an era of endless possibility enabled by AI, AR and VR among other new generation technologies.
Beauty brands and retailers have always been at the forefront of keytrends in retail from live shopping to social commerce, but now a whole new world is opening up and the way consumers shop and engage with brands is undergoing a revolution.
This one-day summit will examine how these new technologies will drive growth and open up opportunity, in all aspects of retail, from the physical store to web-stores, social commerce and live shopping.
Leading industry speakers will participate in a range of interviews, presentations and panel discussions in the inspiring setting of one of London’s most desirable venues. Guests will learn how best to apply these new technologies to maximise efficiency and maximise sales, loyalty and profitability
Topics for the day will include:
Powering up post-purchase
How to deploy the latest tools to speed up delivery, returns, exchanges and refunds, and convert your post-purchase activity into a key loyalty and engagement driver.
Algorithms and acronyms: the key tech trends to know
AI, AR & Agentic Search. We break down the key tech to have your radar. What exactly are they, how can they most usefully be applied and what do they mean for the future of beauty retail?
Elevating experience – retail
The tech-enabled store can increase dwell time, improve conversion and keep consumers coming back for more, across all of your channels. Find out how some of beauty’s leading players are turning bricks and mortar visitors into long-term engaged brand fans.
Elevating experience – digital retail
Your own website should offer the best online experience of your brand, not just through factors, such as imagery, information and delivery but engaging tools to help inform, inspire and engage your consumer. This session will take a look at some of the best examples and how they are delivering for both the consumer and the brand.
Exploiting efficiencies
New gen tech can also be used to great effect in areas, such as customer service where time-consumer queries (e.g. WISMO and WISMR) can be dealt with quickly and efficiently, freeing up customer service agents to focus on adding value. We look at some of the best examples of AI in action, where it has relieved the strain and unlocked opportunity.
Supercharging social media
AI and social media are uncomfortable bedfellows. Social media users are increasingly cynical about AI-generated content (and rightly so) but new tech and tools can be used to great effect to create authentic and engaging content and augment your social media status.
Moving past the marketing noise
AI can be deployed to fine-tune your marketing making it more personal, more relevant and more effective. It can also help to remove waste from vital functions, such as sampling, ensuring your product ends up in the right hands and drives repeat purchases.
Levelling-up loyalty
Today’s consumer wants more than just points and discounts, they want experiences, early access and insider information. Find out how tech can level up your loyalty programme and boost your customer retention.
Please note: while we will make best efforts to deliver the published programme, timings of sessions and speakers may be subject to change in the lead up to the event.
To view our current speaker line-up, please click here.
To discuss speaker opportunities, please email, lauretta.roberts@theindustry.beauty
To book your ticket/s, please click here.