IRX 2014 PREVIEW/PODCAST Thousands set to attend Internet Retailing Expo

Thousands of visitors are expected at tomorrow’s Internet Retailing Expo (IRX 2014), which is on course to be the biggest in its history.

Visitors to the two-day IRX 2014, which opens at the NEC in Birmingham at 9.30am tomorrow morning, can hear from more than 60 expert speakers in the conference stream, where keynote retail speakers include Bertrand Bodson, digital director at Argos, speaking in the Internet Retailing In Store (IRIS) conference , Paul Loft, Homebase managing director, speaking in the Customer Experience and Journey conference, Professor Dr Jonathan Reynolds, academic director of the Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM) at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, speaking in the International Retailing conference, Walter Blackwood, director of logistics at Mothercare, speaking in the Operations and Logistics conference, Jon Rudoe, director of online, digital and crosschannel at Sainsbury’s, speaking in the Digital Sales and Marketing conference, and BrandAlley’s chief executive Rob Feldmann, speaking in the Mobile and Mobility conference.

They will also be the first to find out about, and see demonstrated, the latest cutting-edge technologies from the more than 200 suppliers who are showing in the exhibition. Some will also attend the 13 workshops being run by respected industry suppliers on subjects from retail emails to payments at home and abroad, and building a unified customer shopping experience. All aim to give ecommerce professionals practical and hands-on insights into getting the most from their technologies.

There are a “stunning” 27% more exhibitors showing at IRX 2014, compared to IRX 2013, says conference director Mark Pigou. He added: “IRX is delighted to report that visitor pre-registrations are now over 6,000, already 25% up on 2013, and growing by the minute.”

Ian Jindal, Internet Retailing editor-in-chief, said: “Our growth numbers tell part of the story, but for me the real growth at IRX is in the quality – of the retail leaders giving of their time and insights and also the exhibitors who are staffing their stands with senior commercial teams so as to have meaningful conversations with our high-quality visitors. It’s difficult to convey in print – the sense of ‘being there’ and meeting with the initiators of multichannel growth.

“Our enhanced networking opportunities via the Top500 lounge and the IRXpress train are new for this year – as of course is the unveiling of our Top500 retailer Footprint report (4.15pm on March 26) – this is the best occasion to do so as we welcome so many from the top multichannel and pureplay retailers in the UK.”

With so much going on at IRX 2014, deciding what to see and hear could be a tough call. Hear Internet Retailing editor-in-chief Ian Jindal, web editor Chloe Rigby and mobile editor Paul Skeldon discussing what they plan to see and do at IRX 2014 by clicking on the link below.

https://soundcloud.com/ianjindal/irx-editors-preview-2403

The whole IR team will be out in force at IRX, tweeting, meeting and greeting. Join us there, or tweet us at @ianjindal, @Chloe_Rigby, @Mrskeldon, @esellermedia, @LizMorrell or @etail.