Coming off the heels of a jam-packed event season, we wanted to give a quick rundown of the themes we are seeing, voices we are hearing and trends to pay attention to in the Marketing and e-Commerce world this year. Also, find out where we’ll be next. We’d love to connect.
At the eTail West 2018 conference, which took place in Palm Springs from February 26-March 1, the main thread throughout the three-day event was the omni-channel experience. Couched within several areas that apply to omni-channel, including a Unified Commerce Strategy, Digital and Omni Success and the Future Tech, AI, Mobile and Immersive Media. Typical of the eTail West annual event, the content and attendees did not disappoint. Executives from brands like GAP, West Elm, JC Penney and Dell came together to voice their leadership on the ever-evolving topics that narrowed in on mobile, the shopper experience, cultural and digital transformation and attribution.
Key quotes heard at the event include:
“Brands still matter; stores aren't going away; digital and physical need to connect to unlock huge advantages” Noam Paransky, SVP Digital, GAP
"Bring a humanization element, but allow the customer to try things in a meaningful way. Seeing what works and doesn't and use data to see what is impactful." Luke Chatelain, VP of Innovation, West Elm
“Machine Learning is going to change the way we run business...you need to embrace it and learn how to make it part of your journey - Harsh Acharya, Head of Technology and Product for Dell
In March we packed up our snow boots and slipped on our gloves to attend the NEMOA Spring Summit in Boston. This event included three days of industry veterans and leaders from retail companies of all shapes and sizes lending their insights and networking. From the main stage to the breakout sessions, there was a clear theme of innovation and growth throughout the content of this event. Top disrupters from companies like Google, Boden, Mackenzie Childs and Oracle Data Cloud presented on the industry’s biggest opportunities in data, personalization and relevance.
Key topics included:
In the opening session, Anastasia Kudrez, Lead Educator at Google, conveyed that consumer attention is not shrinking, but marketers do have to work harder to capture it. Second, that you’re more likely to get someone’s attention through online video versus TV, and lastly, that people still pay attention to ads, but only if they’re relevant.
In a joint session, Paul Mandeville, Chief Product Officer of QuickPivot and Larry Shaw, Chief Marketing Officer of Mackenzie-Childs, discussed redefining the customer lifecycle into buckets of “Try, Like, Love and Advocate”. They emphasized the importance of redefining audience segmentation, focusing on first-class channels and data partners and creating flexible teams.
This year’s Shoptalk event took place in March at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Always a bustling event with almost double the attendees they had last year, this event was bursting with information and thought leadership. See below for our breakdown of key themes at the event.
“Start with the customer and work backward. Customer trust is important for them to open their wallets with you. The need to provide a relevant experience for the customer and starting with the customer in the center and investing along that journey.” Billy May – CEO Sur La Table
Let’s connect! NaviStone is on the road and we’d love to meet with you at the following events.