Ahead of this year’s InternetRetailing Expo (IRX 2017) we’re looking ahead to the event in a series of previews and interviews. Today our focus is on The Product and Beyond Conference.
The customer experience is the focus of The Product and Beyond Conference at IRX 2017.
Speakers at the conference, which takes place on April 6, will focus on how easy it is for customers to find what they want, buy it, get it on time and in perfect condition. The event is about how retailers are tackling the challenge of converting online browsers into buyers, generating loyalty as they do so.
Rown Merewood, senior developer advocate at Google, opens the Product and Beyond with a keynote address looking at its accelerated mobile pages project, which aims to improve the customer experience via the mobile web. Merewood will outline how AMP went about enabling sellers and marketplaces to provide customers with the product information that they need if they are to buy. Driving conversions with AMP is at 9.30am.
Gabrielle O’Hare, product content strategy at Sainsbury’s Argos, takes to the stage with a consideration of the importance of content on product pages. This will look at how products are promoted in each channel, what best practice content guidelines are, and how these can be achieved within budget. Content as a gateway to visual, emotional and physical engagement is at 10.30am.
SLI Systems will present the sponsor case study in this channel at 11.05am.
Stuart McMillan, deputy head of ecommerce at Schuh, will discuss how retailers are rethinking their customer-focused content strategies in his presentation. He’ll be looking at how they are meeting customer demands for fast and user friendly experiences over mobile. Design and usability as key to success is at 2pm.
Members of the panel discussion, Cashing in on mobile merchandising, at 3pm, will look at mobile experiences can be improved in order to boost conversion via the channel. Questions under discussion will include whether streaming or mirroring makes for a better customer experience, and where mobile merchandising is delivering the greatest return on investment.
Mandy Critchley, VP sales, UK at mySupermarket, then closes the conference with a keynote address on the importance of understanding the shopper journey, how consumers make decisions and how best to optimise search results on retailer sites. Her presentation, How brands can optimise their online presence on retailer sites, is at 3.35pm.
The Product and Beyond Conference is part of the InternetRetailing Expo, which runs from April 5 to 6 at the NEC in Birmingham. To learn more about IRX 2017, its sister conference eDelivery Expo and to register for free, visit www.internetretailingexpo.com and www.edeliveryexpo.com.
Attendees can also get a 25% discount on their train fare to the NEC when they book through the IRX or EDX visitor information website.
