Internet Retailing’s annual conference and exhibition is taking place on Tuesday 13 October at the Novotel in Hammersmith, London. Now in its fourth year, the conference brings etail’s pioneers, industry leaders and agenda setters together to share thoughts, knowledge and experience.
Do you want to share your real-world experiences in a pure play world or shout about your cross channel trials and tribulations? Internet Retailing 2009 is now well into the planning stages. The conference direction is set by Ian Jindal, editor-in-chief of Internet Retailing, with the agenda developed and overseen by the magazine’s editor, Emma Herrod.
Internet Retailing 2009 will open with a major plenary session comprising chaired keynotes and panel of commercial and strategic leaders, setting the tone for the remainder of this intense day, which is arranged into the following streams:
Stream 1 — The Customer as King?
Converse, engage and delight. The customer has always been king but now they want ‘power’ on their own terms — especially as we need to tempt them to spend. Transparency and trust are the new order as customers look to each other for answers and recommendations. Retailers have to work harder to not only deliver the promise but also to go the extra mile and exceed expectations: expectations of service, of value and of experience.
Stream 2 — Full Steam Ahead?
Now that we’ve “done” ecommerce, we need only sit back and watch the sales come in. Hardly! Second movers have implemented our best practices, innovations and technologies and hired the top people in a bid to catch up. What’s next for etail leadership? How does one build from a mature position, in a saturated market and with an unforgiving customer base? What achievements will the second movers be copying from you next year? This stream concentrates on major challenges, opportunities and advances in the commercial practice of ecommerce.
Stream 3 — Cross Channel
We all see the benefits of cross-channel retailing: indeed, our customers tell us with their wallets! However the challenges of planning, refining and operating complex cross-channel activities mean that we lag behind demand: From click-to-collect and instore returns to contact centre order lines via pan-channel stock visibility… This stream will consider the opportunities, issues and challenges to retailers in exploiting cross channel: stores, catalogues, phone sales, web and everything in between.
Further details of the conference, and the rest of the event, will be posted on the InternetRetailing.net website and the official conference website at www.screenevents.co.uk. And if you would like the opportunity to present at the conference, to propose a speaker or topic, or wish to discuss agenda issues, email Emma Herrod at emmah@internetretailing.net.
