About Shoptalk’s newest show
About Shoptalk’s newest show
An introduction from our Global President, Sophie Wawro
Why are you launching Shoptalk Fall?
It’s a question we weren’t surprised to hear, given the breakneck pace at which Shoptalk has scaled since being founded just eight years ago.
Since our inaugural show in 2016 in Las Vegas, Shoptalk Spring has scaled from a singular event for 2,000 retail and ecommerce professionals to a global powerhouse, welcoming 10,000+ attendees at our flagship spring event and 4,000+ at our Barcelona-based show, Shoptalk Europe.
In our endless pursuit of bringing people together to transform retail, we recognized that more work had to be done to meet the dynamic pace of change that occurs within a singular calendar year. Just as the retail industry continues to evolve, we at Shoptalk push ourselves to evolve alongside it. Here are just a few of the reasons a second event for our partners is critical:
- The pace of retail transformation is accelerating – the conversation around new technologies and capabilities is evolving so quickly, having one touchpoint a year simply isn’t enough.
- The scope of innovation is so wide we can only scratch the surface at one event – launching Shoptalk Fall allows us to dive deeper into the digitization of the full retail organization, from ecommerce and marketing to merchandising, supply chain and stores.
- There’s an unmet demand for connections – the launch of our Meetup program, which facilitates 15-minute double opt-in meetings between any attendee, far exceeded our expectations. While we scheduled 50,000 meetings in year one of this program, we received a whopping 323,000 requests.
- Retail is a business of relationships – we’ve heard from many that connecting with key partners and customers multiple times a year is critical to fostering successful relationships.
- There’s a gap in the retail events calendar in the fall – a massive opportunity since this is when companies are planning their innovation and technology budgets for the next year.
That number of meeting requests – 323,000 – is one that’s stuck with me months later. I suspect it’s also a big reason why we haven’t gotten that foundation question of, “Why Shoptalk Fall?” as often as I’d expected.
It brings together all the elements that attendees love about Shoptalk: Inspiring keynotes, insights from 150+ senior retail leaders, our groundbreaking Meetup program, impactful peer group discussions, and epic parties.
You’re going to love it. See you in Chicago!