Retail and ecommerce are changing globally. New technologies, trends and business models are rapidly transforming the way people discover, shop and buy all of their physical goods, from grocery to fashion and everything in between.
Developments such as more sophisticated smartphone offerings, greater personalization and better product information are already changing both online and offline shopping experiences. Early-stage technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, drones and self-driving cars promise to revolutionize commerce longer term.
At the same time, shifts in consumer behavior and demographics are changing how retailers think about their customers. And new business models are broadening traditional ecommerce beyond basic online shopping to include on-demand delivery, personalized shopping, recommerce, rentals, subscription services and much more.
A Pan-European Conversation & Community Are Now Critical
New technologies, trends and business models are impacting retail and ecommerce in every European country. Until now, it’s been too easy to assume that differences in culture, language and the retail environment across Europe limit the value of a pan-European dialogue. However, these differences pale in comparison to the similarities that both the establishment and startups face in preparing for the next generation of commerce in Europe.
Today, different countries and regions are in very different stages of development. For example, Berlin is often said to lead in ecommerce disruption while London in in-store innovation. Venture capital firms throughout Europe — from the UK and Germany to France and Scandinavia — have invested billions of euros into a broad range of startups, most of which are now expanding outside their current borders. Accelerator programs have already started in cities ranging from Paris to Amsterdam and Stockholm.
From innovations in supply chain pioneered by companies such as Spain’s Inditex and Sweden’s H&M to leading digital grocery initiatives embraced by the UK’s Tesco and Ocado, no one country or city dominates when it comes to innovation. Even in the close-knit space of luxury fashion ecommerce, innovators span the continent, from Milan’s Yoox Net-a-Porter to Paris’s Vestiaire Collective and London’s Farfetch.
As a result, a European country- or region-specific conversation simply doesn’t capture all of the relevant technologies, trends and business models. To fully understand and successfully implement new strategies, the conversation must extend beyond any one European country or region. Now is the time for a pan-European conversation that shapes the future by bringing together all major hubs of innovation and activity, supplemented with key global perspectives. Those not part of this conversation risk falling behind both their existing competitors and new entrants as well as the needs and expectations of their customers.
The Role Of Shoptalk Europe
We launched Shoptalk Europe supported with $2 million in venture capital funding to create the one event that facilitates this much-needed pan-European dialogue and to create a pan-European community of industry leaders and innovators. Shoptalk Europe fills a major industry gap because this dialogue and community simply do not exist today.
To be clear, Shoptalk Europe is not a broad tech summit or startup festival — it’s an all-inclusive community for the retail and ecommerce sectors.
We picked Copenhagen because of its central location, its innovative culture and its independence from the two largest hubs of European retail and ecommerce disruption. We believe an event held in London would simply be too UK-centric, for example, and one in Berlin would be too focused on Germany.
Shoptalk Europe focuses on world-class content, speakers and networking. It will be held on 9-11 October 2017 at Copenhagen’s Bella Center. More than 2,000 attendees are expected, including over 200 CEOs. In addition to 250+ speakers, Shoptalk Europe will include new and established technology companies exhibiting their solutions.
Global Perspectives Are Also Important
Some of the leading innovations in retail and ecommerce have been pioneered in the U.S. At Shoptalk Europe, you’ll hear from some of the U.S. retailers defining new store formats, as well as from leading Silicon Valley startups and technology platforms enabling a new era of commerce. You’ll hear, for example, from the Head of Google Shopping and the President of Pinterest.
Where We Are In January 2017, Approximately Nine Months To Shoptalk Europe
Shoptalk Europe has been quickly embraced. With over nine months still to go, we’ve already confirmed dozens of speakers that include: (1) CEOs of leading venture capital-backed companies from cities such as London, Berlin, Stockholm and Paris that have collectively raised over €1 billion to disrupt traditional retail and ecommerce, (2) executives from major retailers throughout Europe such as Tesco, Galeries Lafayette, Hudson’s Bay Company and Metro and (3) partners at prominent venture capital firms including Index, Balderton, Highland and TCV.
Recognizing the importance of the event and its mission to Europe, the leading Danish ecommerce association, FDIH, is supporting the launch of Shoptalk Europe by discontinuing its own 10-year old, 1,000-person event and instead encouraging its 800+ members to attend Shoptalk Europe.
We’ve Done It Before Successfully With Shoptalk And Money20/20 Europe
With our launch of Shoptalk in the U.S. in 2016, we were widely acknowledged for creating a modern U.S. retail and ecommerce dialogue and building a much-needed new U.S. retail and ecommerce community. As a result, Shoptalk instantly became the most important American event for innovation in retail and ecommerce. Our U.S. event is growing to 5,000+ attendees in 2017 — just our second year — and will be held on March 19-22 in Las Vegas.
We have also successfully created a large-scale pan-European dialogue and community before. The Shoptalk founders and leadership team–led by Anil D. Aggarwal and Katy Fryatt–previously led the development of the only large pan-European consumer payments and fintech event, Money20/20 Europe, which launched in Copenhagen in April 2016 with almost 4,000 attendees in its first year. Money20/20 Europe is tracking to more than 6,000 attendees in 2017.
Join The Shoptalk Europe Conversation And The Community Today
Shoptalk Europe provides you with the unique opportunity to join an important new retail and ecommerce conversation and community from across all of Europe, with all ecosystem stakeholders and representing all industry verticals. Shoptalk Europe attendees are leaders — one in 10 is a CEO or founder and one in 3 is C-level — enabling everyone to learn, collaborate and evolve.
Regions represented by Shoptalk Europe include UK, DACH, Scandinavia, France, Benelux and Southern Europe as well as the U.S. Ecosystem stakeholders include established retailers and brands, disruptive startups, prominent tech and Internet companies, leading venture capital investors and well known media and analysts. Industry verticals range from grocery to fashion and everything in between, including home, electronics, beauty and FMCG.