Chief Content Officer
YPulse
As YPulse’s Chief Content Officer, MaryLeigh oversees the syndicated products that decode the next generation for some of the world’s biggest brands. She manages the expert team of Gen Z and Millennials who create the research, newsletters, articles, and over 100 reports annually that help clients understand and reach young consumers in the U.S. and Western Europe. Her role also involves acting as a culture and youth insights expert, consulting with brands to identify trends and actionable insights, and layer generational and youth knowledge over data findings.
MaryLeigh has worked with many Fortune 500 brands and has been quoted as a youth insights authority by publications including The New York Times, Digiday, Business Insider, and Adweek. She has appeared as a Gen Z and Millennial expert on Bloomberg News, Fortune, and NPR Marketplace, and been a speaker at many off-sites and conferences. MaryLeigh's interest in youth culture originated from her love of YA literature and pop culture anthropology, and she is continuing her passion for decoding and demystifying the next generations of consumers at YPulse.
Tuesday Jan 13
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Press office, Level 1, 1C 03
Open to registered press and analysts only.
Consumers drove retail spending in 2025, even in the face of an uncertain tariff landscape and continuing concern around inflation. Through it all, they prioritized not only essential categories but also essential times of the year, from Valentine's Day all the way through the Winter Holidays. Beneath the surface, however, shoppers behaved very differently in terms of how they shifted their budget and managed economic pressures. Join the NRF research team and other leading experts as they discuss how all this played out in the most recent 2025 holiday shopping season and what it means for consumer behavior in 2026. Lunch is provided, first come, first served.
