eTail Boston 2020
August 10 - 13, 2020
The Sheraton, Boston
Day 1: Always On: Omni-Channel And The Connected Customer - Tuesday, August 20th, 2019
It’s time for the main event. Our morning speakers are revolutionizing retail, and share their tactics around growth, disruption and unified commerce. Here you’ll gain fresh ideas to really drive sustainable growth for your retail business.
Transform SEARCH & ACQUISITION Summit
Transform EMAIL & RETENTION Summit - Monday, August 19th, 2019
Transform CONTENT Summit - Monday, August 19th, 2019
Day 1: Always On: Omni-Channel And The Connected Customer - Tuesday, August 20th, 2019
Day 2: Digital Growth And New eCommerce Experiences - Wednesday, August 21st, 2019
Day 3: Retail Disruption And The Future Of eCommerce - Thursday, August 22nd, 2019
7:25am - 7:55am
- Registration Open In The eTail Hallway, Sponsored By Zaius
- Expo Open! Join For A Grab And Go Breakfast
7:55 am - 8:05 am Welcome Address & Opening Ice Breaker
8:05 am - 8:25 am Keynote Fireside Chat: Reimagining the Global Digital Experience
Noam Paransky was recently brought in to lead Tapestry’s digital innovation agenda. He ensures the company delivers an inspiring omni-channel experience through all of their digital touchpoints. Listen in as Noam and Kim Bhasin, U.S. Luxury Reporter for Bloomberg explore how to reimagine the global digital experience, and what’s next for Tapestry and its three iconic brands.
8:25 am - 8:40 am Chairperson’s Remarks
8:40 am - 9:05 am Keynote: Today’s Omni-Organization: Putting The Customer Front and Center
Learn from Sharon how to redefine the omni-channel experience to meet the modern consumers’ expectations. With 1-year under her belt as CEO of Vitamin Shoppe, she presents forward-thinking tactics for a customer-first organization, and how to differentiate through personalization, education, and expertise.
• Continuously evolving and pushing your marketing approach to engage customers through omni-channel
• Core values that ensure innovation and integrity—and how they can be communicated to customers digitally
• Never stop delighting: building perks and logistical conveniences that make your brand completely accessible
9:05 am - 9:30 am Keynote Fireside Chat: Building Momentum To Empower Global Customers To Live Happy And Healthy Lives
Since 2014, Muhammad has steered The Honest Company, the baby and beauty products company, to exponential growth through strategic investments and retail partnerships. The Honest Company continues to prioritize technology that helps connect with customers seamlessly, accelerate R&D and now aims to expand distribution on a global scale.
Learn from Muhammad and his vision to lead The Honest Company’s strategic shift from eCommerce to an omnichannel brand, all while ensuring its mission is at its core: to empower people to live happy and healthy lives by offering better-for-you baby and personal care products around the world.
9:30 am - 10:00 am Grand Opening Welcome Party In The Expo Sponsored By Precima
Join the buzz with and explore all the tech that is going to make your eCommerce business the best.
9:30 am - 10:00 am First Timers at eTail Meet-Up!
First Time at eTail? Meet in the Social Lounge in the Expo!
10:00 am - 10:25 am Keynote Panel Discussion: Omni-Channel Is Table Stakes—What Are You Serving?
Omnichannel is an obvious! Join these C-Level seasoned executives (who have seen and implemented it all!) to learn tactics that are your best opportunities to connect with customer and ensure you are giving a top, seamless experience by:
• Adopting best tech to ensure digital connections are maintained and ensuring omni-channel is truly frictionless
• Best uses of AI and how to better understand the customer’s buying habits across channels
• Unlocking the right data to reinvent and enhance customers experiences while removing barriers to entry for discovery and buying and/or roadblocks to interactivity
• Concierge-like services and conveniences—how flexible are customer expectations for delivery options
10:25 am - 10:45 am Keynote: Shopping At The Edge
The way people shop is rapidly transforming. Today's consumers are engaging with brands across an increasing number of properties outside their physical and virtual four walls. These emerging and disruptive channels include through voice, in social apps, messaging platforms, on marketplaces, and even in connected products. To be successful, retailers must push their brand to wherever shoppers go next -- with agility and personalization. Join executives from ASICS and Salesforce for a fireside chat about shopping at the edge.
10:45 am - 11:10 am Keynote Fireside Chat: Attracting A Customer Who's Inherently Not Looking For You
Speaker:
Amanda Tolleson Chief Customer Officer Birchbox
Moderator:
Liz Segran Staff Writer Fast Company
Amanda Tolleson Chief Customer Officer Birchbox
Moderator:
Liz Segran Staff Writer Fast Company
Birchbox and Walgreens recently announced a strategic collaboration that will combine Walgreens convenient store footprint and beauty experience with Birchbox’s prestige brands and unique merchandising perspective. Join Amanda as she presents a different type of retail experience – one that is holistic, seamless and designed to help shoppers make informed, confident decisions.
11:10 am - 11:40 am Healthy Morning Rejuvenation Refreshment Break In The Expo, Sponsored By Precima
Fuel up for an awesome three days starting this healthy snack break.
11:10 am - 11:40 am Runners Meet-Up!
The Boston Marathon Finish Line is right near us on Boylston Street- organize a run group in the Social Lounge to cross it and feel the glory! Runners Meet Up Swag provided by New Balance.
11:40 am - 12:05 pm Keynote Panel Discussion: Keep The Customer At The Center Of Your Omni-Channel World
Customers do not see channels as separate and expect a seamless journey. They also expect to have control over their shopping experiences. Younger buyers (ie, Millenials and Gen Z’ers) are particularly more vocal as to how they like to be catered to—they feel the opinions really matter—and retailers need to be listening. The executives on this panel keep a keen eye in path to purchase, and share how their omni experiences are elevated:
• All hands on tests: tactics to ensure that a great customer experience in a multi-channel world is provided
• Deciding which are the best products, measurement tools for a top CX and how to align strategies with partners
• Sticking with one message and not being everything to everyone: broadcasting what your brand’s key differentiators are
12:05 pm - 12:25 pm Keynote: The Truth About Retail Personalization
For the last several years, pundits have predicted that THIS would be the year mass personalization takes off. Industry giants like Facebook and Amazon have been held up as shining examples of how to personalize at scale. But is this level of personalization really needed for all companies on all channels? In this talk Erik shares the personalization industry benchmarks collected from marketing leaders from global retail companies to help better define what's working, what's not, and provide practical next steps for retailers trying to personalize digital and physical customer experiences:
- In Review: the technology trends behind efforts to personalize the retail shoppers journey
- Cutting edge tactics for blending online + offline data sets
- Original research and benchmarks from global retailers about what's working and what's not in retail personalization tactics
12:25 pm - 12:50 pm VC Keynote Panel Discussion: How Founders And Funders Are Taking Charge Of Tech Influence
This is your chance to get a handle on the next big thing in retail and technology. Where are VC’s investing and why? Hear more about which trends they are bullish about and where they wish they had invested. Panelists will:
• Discuss continuing an ecosystem of new ideas and products
• Advise what VCs are looking for in the next big idea
• Give insight as to how VCs are aiding in start-ups and giant companies working together
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm Meet And Greet Lunch For All Attendees
Make new connections, sit with new friends and let all the learnings from the morning really sink in!
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm Invitation Only Private Workshop & Lunch Hosted By Salesforce: Top Holiday Insights And Trends For Retailers
Join us as we spread holiday joy through learning, lunch and of course, fun! Whether you’re mid-way through your holiday preparations or just beginning, we’ll offer insights, advice to help get you power your best holiday season yet. Based on our marketing and commerce experience of helping hundreds of brand achieve holiday success, we’ve collected practical tips and strategies to help you get ready for peak season. Additionally, this presentation will give you insights into the latest shopper trends and discover what’s changed since last year.
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm Invitation Only Private Workshop & Lunch Hosted By Selligent Marketing Cloud: Your Biggest Email Personalization Opportunities Aren’t As Challenging As You Think
Join Jennifer Palerino, Head of Marketing, Digital at Kroger/Vitacost.com and email and relationship marketing strategist, April Mullenof Selligent Marketing Cloud for this workshop where they’ll share a very specific set of data and content dimensions you need to be focusing on to get the most from your email program. Hint: You don’t have to make your emails 1:1 to drive a marked impact in engagement, loyalty and conversions. Most brands can realize their highest gains from the limited assets they have in front of them today. This session will require audience participation as we evaluate emails to see if they make the consumer-first personalization cut.
All session attendees will be offered a complimentary assessment of their own emails after the event.
About the presenters:
Jennifer Palerino is Head of Marketing, Digital at leading online health retailer Vitacost.com, a subsidiary of The Kroger Co. She oversees all digital marketing activities for Vitacost.com, including email, mobile (push and SMS), paid search, display ads, social, video, affiliate and international marketing. Prior to Vitacost.com/Kroger, Jennifer held numerous email and direct marketing roles for B2B and B2C companies such as CBS Interactive and CBS Sports.
April Mullen is an experienced email and relationship marketing strategist with vast experience on the brand, agency and martech sides of marketing. She’s currently the Director of Consumer-First Marketing Adoption at Selligent Marketing Cloud, Co-Founder of Women of Email and an Adjunct Professor of Digital Marketing at the University of Missouri St. Louis.
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm Invitation Only Private Workshop & Lunch Hosted By Yantriks: Panel Discussion: The Convergence Of Digital And Physical Experiences – Trends, Challenges, And Solutions
Join industry experts and retail practitioners for an interactive discussion about the trends, challenges, and solutions for the convergence of digital and physical shopping experiences. Have lunch, make new connections, learn from peers that are building the next generation of retail experiences by discussing:
- Current trends and challenges of converging digital and physical retail experiences
- Approaches for integrating shopping experiences across channels
- Techniques and solutions powering the integrated shopping experience
Track A: Partnerships & Marketplaces For Global Growth
1:50 pm - 2:00 pm Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Track B: Omni-Channel Optimized
1:50 pm - 2:00 pm Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Track C: Boosting CX With Personalization
1:50 pm - 2:00 pm Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Track D: Retailer Only Connections
2:30 pm - 3:10 pm C-Suite Retreat: Enjoying The Ride Of Digital Transformation(Invitation only, C-Level retailer only. To RSVP, contact Megan.Kessler@wbresearch.com and is First Come First Serve)
As an executive leader, you don’t need to be a futurist to lead digital transformation…but you do need fervor. During this C-level panel, learn how these executives are motivating their teams to crack challenges, and go the extra mile in the short term to win the reward in the long term.
Track A: Partnerships & Marketplaces For Global Growth
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm Supercharging Marketplace Merchandising With Machine LearningManaging the merchandising decisions across a 2 million (growing to 4 million) SKU two-sided marketplace would be unwieldy…except thredUP can handle it with the tools and systems thredUP it built. Throughout this session, learn the different approaches thredUP is taking, as well as the experiments and the learnings from scaling the marketplace to handle millions of items inbound and out every month. Chris shares how thredUP is leveraging their vast Data Lake, Spark and Machine Learning to:
• Attract amazing inventory from suppliers
• Price & clear items effectively to delight customers & maximize turns
• Promote and surface the right inventory to the right customer at the right time
Track B: Omni-Channel Optimized
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm Encore Presentation! Engaging Online Shoppers In A Mobile-First World With Text MessagingOnline flower retailer Teleflora was looking for innovative ways to capture the attention of their customers in a world dominated by mobile devices. In an effort to reach these mobile shoppers in a personalized way, Teleflora rolled out a text message marketing channel. Now, the brand uses mobile messaging in a variety of ways, like alerting subscribers of sales around popular holidays known for gifting flowers—like Mother’s Day—and sending mobile cart abandonment reminders to recover otherwise lost revenue.
This discussion will address:
- Examples of real-time mobile messaging to engage mobile shoppers and drive revenue
- How Teleflora quickly launched a performance marketing channel to reach shoppers at scale
- Performance metrics since implementing a brand new marketing channel
Track C: Boosting CX With Personalization
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm How Rent The Runway’s Unlimited Subscription Model Is Changing CXWhen Rent the Runway launched the company’s Unlimited program, a monthly subscription, the showrooms didn’t play a big role in the business model. But now, the company is honing in on best uses of connected commerce, listening to customer demand, and letting the customers “run the show” so people can get in and out. Discover the tech Hampton and team are deploying to bolster omni- interactions and how data is being harnessed to build CLV.
Track A: Partnerships & Marketplaces For Global Growth
2:20 pm - 2:30 pm Checkout: How Shoppers Want To Pay Around The World & What It Means For Your BusinessWorldpay’s annual Global Payments Report examines the ways global consumers pay in 2019 as well as a view into the future, from Argentina to Vietnam and everywhere in between. Today’s payments landscape reveals a kaleidoscope of diversity and as cross-border eCommerce continues its rapid growth, payment decisions increasingly impact marketing, technology, and finance considerations. Look beyond the numbers to explore the art and science of payments with compelling payment trends to be mindful of. We’ll help you cut through the clutter to understand this specialized & critical service and include tips to give you confidence when you review & consider payment options available at checkout.
This discussion will address –
- High level summary of Worldpay’s 2019 Global Payments Report finding
- Key regional payment trends and projections for the future in global retail eCommerce
- The opportunity available to retailers who localize checkouts in major foreign markets
Track A: Partnerships & Marketplaces For Global Growth
2:30 pm - 2:40 pm More Than Logistics: New Opportunities Of Cross-BorderLogistics & E-com businesses are rapidly developed nowadays, and this growth creates a wide range of new opportunities for the convenience of the customers. Today, the tools for E-shopping contain complex IT-systems, e-payment methods, places which combine merchants, and tomorrow will bring the new tools to the business. We, as one of the largest logistics companies in Russia and CIS, which is also represented in a range of countries (China, USA, UAE, Europe) would like to share CDEK's expertise of e-commerce trends and logistics opportunities for effective cross-border.
This speech will be useful for:
- Online stores looking for new markets and land expansion
- Business trying to find the best complex solution for cross-border sales
- Top-managers focusing on modern e-commerce market
Track A: Partnerships & Marketplaces For Global Growth
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm Lightning Round: Staying On Amazon’s Good SideDuring this panel, get a quick checklist assessing the risks & rewards of partnering with the largest marketplace. The executives give you their best tactics to:
• Control pricing through channel partners—balancing your bottom-line
• Track counterfeits—what you need to do to ensure your brand image is not ruined
• Use marketplaces as a discovery tool and tracking the leap to your branded side
o Ensuring content is fresh descriptions are focused
• Ensure you are hitting Amazon’s metrics for shipping for guaranteed delivery
o What to do if you are in peak seasons to ensure all orders are fulfilled to Amazon’s liking
Track B: Omni-Channel Optimized
2:20 pm - 2:40 pm AI Evolution: The Future Of Artificial Intelligence MarketingPredictions used to be a corny ploy to get people to buy a tabloid. They were based on dreams and the alignment of the stars, if they were based on anything tangible at all. Today we’ve developed machines that learn how to accurately predict what customers really want, based on real data for each individual. Over the next five years, we will see the digital landscape change even more, and only through looking ahead can we make sure we’re not left behind. This rapid technology growth impacts marketers in a profound way. We know that human-driven personalization does not scale. Just as machine learning has made it easier for marketers to deal with mountains of data, there are technologies being developed and leveraged right now that will further help marketers and customers engage in a way that they both benefit from.In this presentation, we will look ahead to identify the trends and tech that are most likely to survive the hype cycle and become the must-haves of the near future. We’ll discuss five predictions we believe marketers should prepare for in the next five years.
Track B: Omni-Channel Optimized
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm Panel Discussion Remix: Taking Advantage Of Connected Consumers (And Enabling Connected Commerce)55% of retailers consider optimizing CX a top priority. From front to back end systems—ie web platform to inventory management—the customer wants the journey to be efficient and fast. With retailers catering to customers’ shopping habits across devices and preferences, we are seeing companies becoming more loyal to customers VERSUS customers being loyal to companies. Learn how to:
• Be empowered by mobile and online opportunities to connect with customers
• Showcase products in new ways to customers
• Look at connected home environment tools—how you can best market your products for the futuristic home
• Shuffle through the explosion of structured and unstructured data from online and in-store devices: what to do with it? What big data tools do you need?
Track C: Boosting CX With Personalization
2:20 pm - 2:40 pm From Visitors To Star CustomersDuring this insightful session, Exponea, discusses Customer Lifecycle Management. We outline the importance of creating an automated Customer Lifecycle for your company, and targeting users based their lifecycle segment with personalized campaigns.
• A simple & effective way to manage a customer lifecycle
• How to increase your CLV by promoting customers into more valuable segments
• How to reduce your customer churn rate by identifying & retaining customers likely to churn
Track C: Boosting CX With Personalization
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm Creative Director And Branding Panel: How Data Is Curating Content And CreativeThe executives who oversee creative have the challenge of balancing a clear message with cutting-edge ideas. With so many entry points to connect with the customer, brands must be innovative yet disciplined; messages across channels need to surprise and delight, inform and entertain—these panelists will do just the same as they discuss their experiential marketing tactics, curated by data:
•Bridging quantitative and qualitative data to build creative campaigns
•Ensuring data does not curb creative but enhances it
•How to trust the data to build automated creative campaigns—can you automate your creative vision?
•Catching the attention of your audience—analyzing what points of digital campaigns are the make or break points
3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Frosé Happy Hour Networking Break In The Expo, Sponsored By Precima
If it’s summer, it must be rosé season! Cool off with this delectable drink.
3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Eco-Conscious Meet-Up
Calling on all Retail Attendees who are helping keep our Earth Green! Come together and discuss your eco-friendly initiatives—we’ll be giving away Composting Bags, courtesy of The Better Packaging Co.
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Invitation Only Bourbon Tasting Hosted By Iterable
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Invitation Only Wine Tasting Hosted By Rakuten Ready
Track A: Partnerships & Marketplaces For Global Growth
4:00 pm - 4:20 pm How To Tap Into Africa’s $300bn Online MarketAfrica is the fastest growing online eCommerce user penetration in the world; and by 2025 Africa's eCommerce revenue will be above $300bn. How will you be connecting with this emerging market, especially as emerging markets will contribute 900 million users by 2022? Uncover avenues to connect with the 90% of internet users will be from emerging markets in the next 3 years by:
• Understanding eCommerce in Africa
• Expanding into Africa with minimal risk
• Doing business in Africa pitfalls, hurdles and successes
Track A: Partnerships & Marketplaces For Global Growth
4:35 pm - 5:00 pm eTail Tonight: Global Perspectives: Adapting Your User Experience Based On RegionWith a borderless web, and customer convenience at an all time high, how are you managing current and potential customers’ expectations? And where might the best region be for you to expand to? The leaders on this panel discuss:
• Where eCommerce is booking: which developing countries your business needs to focus on now
• Conducting accurate research and developing KPIs for your global eComm initiatives
• Marking your global footprint: adjusting the digital experience based on region
o What is valued in the different cultures and highlighting that online
o Accurate translations online
o Providing a localized payment method
Track B: Omni-Channel Optimized
4:00 pm - 4:20 pm Where Walmart And VR Intersect: How Immersive Media Is Supporting Omni-Channel ExperiencesChristi O’Dell Obenshain and her team are helping Walmart’s 1.4 million store associates better serve their customers through augmented and virtual reality. Discover what tech Christi tested to build practical uses of this “buzzy” tech, and how new interactive, omni experiences are erasing distance, removing barriers and exceeding customer’s expectations.
Track B: Omni-Channel Optimized
4:20 pm - 4:35 pm Success with Cross-Channel PersonalizationToday, the customer is in control of their own buying journey. Research has proven it is essential to deliver marketing message that are relevant and timely to the individual, not their device. Improve the process of analyzing data points to create highly personalized direct mail messages delivered at just the right time. The results are smaller audiences, but with high relevance and a larger ROI.
This discussion will include:
- The proven benefits of cross-channel personalization
- Effective communication with the customer during their buying journey
- The expected results of multiple customer journey campaigns
Track B: Omni-Channel Optimized
4:35 pm - 5:00 pm Lightning Round: How AI Continues To Change Omnipresent Omni-Channel StrategiesLearn from these elite panelists how AI is improving their retail omni-channel abilities and accuracies. They give you their quick wins so you, too can ensure your earned data as part of today’s retail DNA:
• How AI is being programmed to predict customer journey and buying habits of the customer
• Ensuring the human factor remains in omni-digital transformation
• Adapting omni-channel experiences as customers continue virtual assistant usages
• AI analysis as part of creative – how it is changing marketing’s process
Nakul Vyas
Americas Head for Digital, Data & Analytics, Innovation, GSK Consumer Health CareGSK
Track C: Boosting CX With Personalization
4:00 pm - 4:20 pm Top Ten List: 10 Best Practices for Building Great Customer ExperiencesYour brand is no longer defined by your marketing. It’s defined by your customer experience. This isn’t such a novel or controversial notion. As common wisdom goes, great marketing can’t save a bad brand. Plus in the age of Amazon driving brand erosion, it’s become critically important for marketers to provide compelling customer experiences in order to stand out. This discussion will address:
• 10 customer experience best practices to inspire your strategy
• Examples of how leading brands have employed these CX best practices to differentiate
• Ideas that you can apply to your strategic planning, as well as to in-store and online tactics
Track C: Boosting CX With Personalization
4:20 pm - 4:35 pm Humanization Is the New Personalization: Driving Growth With GoodRelevance is the key to engagement, but brands that really stand out are taking their personalization game to an entirely new level. The hot new trend in marketing strategy? Good, old-fashioned respect and kindness.
Marketing from the heart has become a central tenant of sophisticated growth marketing strategies. Does your marketing pass muster?
In this session, Jen Capstraw will:
- Explain how dignity and morality have become central to business growth
- Showcase exceptional examples of empathy in action
- Identify common tactics and tricks that are past their prime and ready for retirement
Track C: Boosting CX With Personalization
4:35 pm - 5:00 pm eTail Conversation: How Supercharged Data Is Creating Super VIP Loyalty ProgramsCustomers want to readily connect with their favorite brands. So which digital tools are you using that assess your top data to create seamless experiences and ensure loyalty? More over, is your loyalty program stale? Learn from this panel to go beyond discounts to make loyalty fun, and drive customers to buy:
• Using AI-infused data to mold new loyalty marketing strategies
• Focusing on better targeted messages based on segmentation
• Deploying loyalty messages across email and social media
• Creating a loyalty ecosystem: What exclusive offers and early access opportunities customers are now flocking to
Track D: Retailer Only Connections
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm The Disruptor DiariesDuring this story telling session, hear about and learn from the highs, lows, and hustle of the Founders of three Disruptive Companies:
• Adam Callinan, Co-Founder & CEO, BottleKeeper
• Olivia Landau, Co-Founder & CEO, The Clear Cut
• Kyle E. Simon, Co-Founder & COO, The Clear Cut
• Adam Tishman, Co-Founder, Helix Sleep
5:00 pm - 5:00 pm Conclusion Of Day One & Expo Closes
5:15 pm - 7:00 pm The eTail Party Continues: The Boston Public Market Reception
Shuttles provided in front of Sheraton Lobby, starting at 5:00.
Go local and experience Boston’s finest market designed to showcase the variety and quality of food grown, produced or caught throughout New England; with energizing entertainment, you can’t miss strolling through to sample everything from lobster to lagers!