Reflektion at Shoptalk 2018

By: Dan Olson • March 19, 2018

With over 7,500 attendees, Shoptalk 2018 is this year’s largest conference for ecommerce and retail innovation.

Attending with the Right Mindset is Key

Writing in Forbes, Nikki Baird argues the real culprit of the so-called “retail apocalypse” is not the death of retail but retailers’ refusal to implement true digital transformation — i.e. applying digital technologies to achieve innovative change.

She points out how only 3% of retailers have completed company-wide digital transformation projects, according to a study conducted by Oxford Economics between January and May 2017.

Her article is a clarion call for all retailers hoping to survive while still being stuck in the mindset that technology is “a cost to be managed, rather than an enabler to be invested in.”

What about you? Do you think of technology as a cost or as an enabler?

This is a worthwhile question to keep in mind while at Shoptalk.

Not only is it important to remember that technology is an investment. It’s also critical to remember technology should be an enabler — no matter how technologically advanced a product, gadget, or solution is, if it doesn’t enable and empower you or your customers then it’s not worth the investment.

Where Will We Be?

We’ll be at Booth #2922, passing out Godiva chocolates, along with a few limited goodies from another client, and happy to chat about the empowering results our solution has delivered for clients like Marmot, TOMS Shoes, DXL Group, Sur La Table, and Godiva.

We’ll also be at the sessions of our clients and close collaborators as they dive into several compelling topics:

Monday, March 1

9:45 AM – 10:25 AM (Track 2, Session 2)
- Advances in Merchandising: AI, IOT and Beyond
  - Brendan Witcher (VP and Principal Analyst, Forrester Research) interviews Neil Ackerman, Dan Park, and Barry Litwin on Advances in Merchandising: AI, IOT and Beyond.

4:30 PM – 5:10 PM (Track 2, Session 4)
- Omnichannel and Seamless Customer Experiences
  - Brendan Witcher (VP and Principal Analyst, Forrester Research) interviews Rafeh Masood, Eric Messerschmidt, and Allison Peterson on Omnichannel and Seamless Customer Experiences.

5:15 PM – 5:55 PM (Track 3, Session 5)
- The Retailer Perspective: Adapting to Changing Consumer Preferences
  - Billy May (CEO, Sur La Table) joins Ken Worzel, Carrie Ask, and moderator Gilbert W. Harrison, to discuss The Retailer Perspective: Adapting to Changing Consumer Preferences.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

11:50 AM – 12:30 PM (Track 3, Session 3)
- How AI Will Impact the Retail Organization and Workforce
  - Sahal Laher (Chief Digital Officer & Chief Information Officer, DXL Group) joins Lisa Bougie, George Babu, and moderator Bernardine Wu to discuss How AI Will Impact the Retail Organization and Workforce.

Standout Keynotes

Monday, March 19

1:45 PM – 2:05 PM (General Session Room)
- How Visual Discovery Will Transform the Shopping Experience
  - Ben Silbermann, Co-Founder & CEO, Pinterest

Wednesday, March 21

9:15 AM – 9:45 AM (General Session Room)
- How AI Will Change the Way We Shop and Sell
  - Jan Pedersen, Chief Scientist, AI, eBay
  - Scott Cutler, SVP, Americas, eBay

We look forward to seeing you there. And don’t forget to stop by Booth #2922 to say hi and snag some Godiva Chocolates.