How Great Retail Events Come Together – with Groceryshop & Shoptalk's Rocquan Lucas

This week we’re joined by Rocquan Lucas, VP of Content at Groceryshop and Shoptalk, where he leads speaker recruitment, agenda development, and content strategy for two of the most influential retail events in the world.

Rocquan shares his journey from interning at Internet Week NY to curating high-impact events attended by thousands of the biggest names in CPG, grocery, and tech.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How to design content for 5,000+ attendees – Rocquan shares the mix of research, instinct, and collaboration that goes into building a world-class agenda for Groceryshop and Shoptalk.
• Behind the scenes of speaker selection – From CEOs to challengers, hear how the team curates speakers who bring both credibility and fresh perspective.
• Why editorial integrity matters – Rocquan explains why Groceryshop avoids pay-to-play programming—and how that creates trust with both attendees and speakers.
• The trends shaping 2025 events – GenAI, retail media, and unified commerce are in—but so is creating content that resonates across functional silos.
• What makes a great on-stage moment – Practical advice for presenters: come prepared, have a point of view, and remember you’re there to connect—not recite.

Connect with Rocquan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rocquan/

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Theme music: "Happy" by Mixaud - https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Producer: Jake Musiker