Takeaways From Shoptalk Europe
Shoptalk’s first European event in Copenhagen has just come to an end and the Photospire team have had a busy few days sharing our vision for the future of retail while refuelling on some very tasty Danish cuisine.
Shoptalk covers innovation in retail and ecommerce. It focuses on the evolution of how consumers discover, shop and buy in an age of digital disruption. Shoptalk Europe brings together major retailers with ecommerce fledglings, tech Goliaths, early stage startups and investors. The result is a focus on the big issues within retail which led to more constructive conversations.
As we travel back to our London HQ here are some of the learnings we’re bringing with us.
Direct to consumer is hot right now
Dollar Shave Club founder Michael Dubin gave some interesting insights into the continued drive towards “direct to consumer”. He stressed the need to “learn as much about the customer as you possibly can”. The more you know about your customer the more you can tailor your product and services, create an amazing experience and deliver it directly to the customer.
Collaboration is becoming strategic
Collaboration between retailers and tech companies of all sizes was a major theme that a number of speakers focused on. Collaborating with companies that are fully focused on solving specific problems allows retailers to get the right product to the right customer while wrapping the whole process with an amazing experience. Some friends of Photospire’s who were at Shoptalk and are great examples of collaborators that can help retailers are; Hullabalook for visual product search, Presence Orb for in-store WiFi analytics and ZigZag for returns processing.
Online and offline are blurring together
Amazon Prime reminded the audience that today’s consumer is busy and wants convenience. Alibaba elaborated that consumers don’t see a difference between ordering online or instore. They’ll do whatever is most convenient at that moment in time. The increasing blurring of boundaries between online and offline adds to the challenges for those tasked with building loyalty.