What We Learned at IIEX North America 2025: AI, Agility, and the Future of Insights

Editor's Note: At every IIEX event, Greenbook team members find a way to support our production needs while keeping up with the demands of their own roles. Ashley Shedlock, our Senior Content Coordinator, rose to that challenge in a new way this year: she carved out time to attend a select handful of sessions, listening with both curiosity and intention, to capture meaningful takeaways. Her reflections offer a curated glimpse into the big ideas of this year's event. As someone who’s been enjoying the many thoughtful recaps on LinkedIn, I’m especially proud to share Ashley’s perspective here.

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IIEX North America 2025 made its Washington, DC debut with a bold message: the research, analytics, and insights industry is changing — fast. With over 1,000 professionals in attendance, this landmark event brought together visionaries and practitioners from top organizations including the Washington Nationals, Kraft Heinz, National Retail Federation, Capital One, Estée Lauder Companies, and Nestlé.

This year’s conference delivered an exceptional mix of inspiring keynotes, actionable presentations, dynamic roundtables, and interactive demos that tackled everything from the promises (and pitfalls) of AI to new ways of understanding consumer behavior. Whether you’re a brand leader, a DIY researcher, or part of a growing analytics team, the sessions were packed with lessons on how to thrive in today’s fast-changing insights landscape.

Here’s a deep dive into some standout sessions and the brilliant minds behind them.

🛍️ The 2025 Retail Consumer: Resilient but Stretched

Speaker: Katherine Cullen, Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights, National Retail Federation

Katherine Cullen, a self-professed “retail nerd,” set the tone for brands by breaking down the economic forces shaping retail today. Drawing on NRF’s expansive data, she painted a nuanced picture of a consumer base that, while economically resilient, is increasingly cautious.

Key Insights:

• Consumers are focusing their spending on essentials and moments of joy, tightening their belts on bigger purchases.

• Although wage growth is outpacing inflation, consumer confidence is fragile, and overall spending dropped by $83 billion year-over-year.

• Retail remains a cornerstone of the U.S. economy, contributing $5.3 trillion to GDP and providing 1 in 4 jobs.

• Cullen emphasized that understanding emotional drivers — not just financial ones — is key to connecting with today’s consumer.

Her talk reminded attendees that while data is crucial, understanding the humanity behind it is what really shapes smart strategies.

🤖 Behavioral AI at PepsiCo: From Emotion to Action

Speakers: Will Leach, Founder and CEO, Mindstate Group + Contributor, Behavioral Insights Academy Expert Channel & Bryon Ransom, Director - Insights and Strategy, PepsiCo

In this eye-opening session, Will Leach and Bryon Ransom shared how PepsiCo is using behavioral AI to peel back the layers of consumer decision-making. Their approach goes beyond traditional surveys, tapping into the emotional and psychological cues that drive purchases.

Key Insights:

• Climate and sustainability messaging resonates most when tied to personal values (like family or health), not abstract ideas.

• PepsiCo’s proprietary tool “Bevi” combines the precision of a librarian with the intuition of a cognitive psychologist, enabling deep dives into consumer psyche.

• Psychological anchors — such as the context in which a product is consumed (party, home, personal indulgence) — play a pivotal role in purchase decisions.

This session left no doubt: the brands winning in the AI era are those that blend tech with deep behavioral science.

👶 Feeding the Future with AI-Powered Research (Nestlé Gerber)

Speakers: Ashley Starck, Senior Manager - Consumer and Marketplace Insights, Nestlé & Jill Remler, Associate Director - Client Development, quantilope

Ashley Starck and Jill Remler tackled one of the most pressing challenges in baby food: staying relevant in a landscape where birth rates are falling and baby-led weaning is on the rise. Nestlé Gerber’s use of AI-powered quant/qual research ensures they stay closely attuned to evolving parent needs.

Key Insights:

• “Clean label” and “tested for heavy metals” emerged as critical purchase drivers for Millennial and Gen Z parents.

• Nestlé's use of the customer intelligence platform, quantilope, provides end-to-end, automated insights that speed up learning cycles.

• A focus on clean field farming — refined with third-party validation — helped sharpen brand messaging and bolster consumer trust.

This presentation underscored that agility and authenticity are now table stakes for legacy brands aiming to stay ahead.

🛠️ Thriving as a DIY Researcher

Speaker: Aminat Iriafen, Pricing and Packaging Researcher, GitHub

In a candid, relatable session, Aminat Iriafen explored the evolving role of DIY researchers — those of us navigating leaner teams and shrinking budgets. Her honest reflections struck a chord with many attendees balancing multiple hats.

Key Insights:

• AI enables rapid research cycles but must be tempered with human oversight to maintain quality.

• Building personal relationships across the research community is vital for resilience and innovation.

• Self-advocacy, especially around investing in better research tools, is critical for long-term success.

Iriafen’s takeaway was clear: the best researchers aren’t the ones who know everything, they’re the ones who stay curious and adaptable.

🚀 Launching High-Growth Categories: The Case of “Hims & Hers”

Speaker: Andrea Rowden, Customer Insights & UX Research, Hims & Hers 

Andrea Rowden shared Hims & Hers’ remarkable journey from a telehealth brand to a multi-category wellness leader, spotlighting how they scaled fast in competitive spaces like sexual health and weight loss.

Key Insights:

• Hims & Hers leveraged partnerships (such as with Novo Nordisk) to quickly expand its GLP-1 weight loss program.

• Their approach is highly iterative; and, insights are shared across teams in near real-time to improve responsiveness.

• Competitive intelligence is baked into every stage of product development and marketing.

Rowden’s session was a masterclass in speed-to-market strategy and highlighted how agility and transparency win trust.

📈 Signal vs. Noise: Knowing What Trends to Bet On

Speaker: Ashley Daisley, Founder and Principal, Daisley Insight

In an age of information overload, how do you separate meaningful trends from passing fads? Ashley Daisley’s session unpacked this challenge with precision.

Key Insights:

• True trends are reinforced by multiple signals: cultural shifts, pain points, and consumer behaviors.

• MVP testing and adoption curve analysis help validate whether a trend is worth the investment.

• An emerging insight: odor retention in synthetic fabrics is a growing consumer concern ripe for innovation.

Daisley reminded us that context is everything; without it, even promising data points can lead you astray.

🧠 Mastering Research in the Age of AI

Panelists:

• Jessica Dubin, Remesh

• Lisa Speck, Qrious Insight 

• Kishan Rana, Flower Foods

• Eli Moore, the Coca-Cola Company

This powerhouse panel tackled the practical realities of integrating AI into research workflows. From in-house models to third-party tools, the discussion focused on what works — and what doesn’t — when scaling AI.

Key Insights:

• Good data is non-negotiable: “Garbage in, garbage out” was a recurring mantra.

• Whether building or buying AI solutions, embedding domain expertise is essential.

• AI dramatically increases research volume and speed but still relies on human interpretation to deliver meaningful insights.

The panel left attendees with actionable advice: treat AI as a partner that enhances your research, but never as a complete replacement for human judgment.

Final Thoughts

IIEX North America 2025 wasn’t just a glimpse into the future of research — it was a call to action. Whether it’s harnessing AI for faster insights, embracing the DIY research mindset, or mastering the art of trendspotting, the path forward is clear: stay agile, stay curious, and never lose sight of the human element.

If you missed this year’s event, these key takeaways offer a roadmap to keep you — and your insights work — ahead of the curve.