Shoptalk 2018 is slated to take place in Las Vegas in just a few days, March 18-21, bringing with it the latest and greatest in retail innovation. Now in its third year, the Shoptalk 2018 conference will be the largest one to date, with almost 8,000 attendees coming together in the conference’s new location at the Venetian. Interestingly enough, just as the show moves to a new location this year, it also appears that the retail conversation has also shifted in a new direction — from retail apocalypse to retail renovation.
For example, during the past two years the conversation at Shoptalk has largely been about how to address and compete with the 800-pound elephant in the room: Amazon. And while Amazon is still a major topic of conversation throughout the retail industry, this year’s Shoptalk promises to focus on how savvy brands and retailers are utilizing their physical storefronts and digital channels to not only bring about the future of retail, but truly create the kind of customer experience that consumers have been asking for.
Key Conversations
With the continuous innovation and changes happening in the world of retail, here are the topics that we look forward to hearing most about during the show;
- Voice and conversational commerce – as the adoption of voice-assistants continues to rise among consumers, retailers and brands need a way to not only deliver a true-to-the-brand experience but also ensure that their product discovery efforts are maximized during initial voice searches. It will be interesting to see and hear the work retailers are doing to maximize their efforts via voice.
- The future of the store front – while retailers continue to discuss and experiment with the combination of physical storefronts and digital channels, it will be interesting to see what new developments are underway. Last year we saw prime examples during Shoptalk including Sephora incorporating its mobile app features to help enhance consumers’ experiences within the store and track all the products they used and liked during their consultation with an in-store beauty expert.
- Artificial Intelligence – this year’s big buzzword is artificial intelligence; however, it will be interesting to listen to actual use cases of AI during this year’s Shoptalk to clarify and pinpoint what is actually possible and what is just hype at the moment.
Clients at Shoptalk
Do you plan on walking the show floor during Shoptalk 2018? Keep a lookout for our retail technology clients who will be exhibiting as well as participating in some of the speaking sessions during the show. From conversational commerce to prescriptive analytics to mobile app platform solutions and everything in between, check out our wonderful KG clients on the show floor including:
As retail innovation continues to make waves in the first half of 2018, we look forward to the creative ideas and innovative case studies that Shoptalk will feature. From retail apocalypse to retail renovation, it will be interesting to follow retail’s journey throughout 2018.
Austin
