Highlights from 2014 IRCE
3 Min Read
Celebrating its 10th year as the world’s largest ecommerce conference and exhibition, IRCE promised an extraordinary event, and that it delivered. Thousands of commerce executives gathered at McCormick Place West in Chicago to network and dive deep into key topics that impact and improve their online business. From inspiring keynotes to meaty workshops, attendees gained valuable insights into a wide range of new opportunities in digital retail. Here were the highlights:
eBay on Consumer “Snacking”
The conference kicked off with a keynote by John Donahoe, CEO of Ebay, exploring online consumer behavior in an evolving retail environment. Digital technology has disrupted how we traditionally conduct commerce in much the same way social media has disrupted distribution in the media industry. As a result, consumers’ shopping behavior has changed. Using their various devices, today’s customers “snack” on shopping content, consuming bits of info here and there before ultimately making a purchase decision. That behavioral realization led him to identify 4 important trends:
(a) Consumer In — Consumers don’t distinguish between channels. That’s a merchant perspective. They just want to be able to shop wherever and whenever they want to.
(b) Consumer Choice — You can’t segment customers based on device or channel because the same person that completes a purchase on their mobile device one day may purchase in-store the next.
(c) Consumer Service — Although traditionally thought of this way, the internet isn’t necessarily for “self-service.” Merchants have to provide service online, too.
(d) Consumer Personalization — Now that a huge amount of consumer data has been accumulated, the next major challenge is to figure out how to leverage it.
The Power of Community
Immediately following, the CEO and Founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, dropped in to share more on the power of community in the online world, challenging his audience to consider what people trying to accomplish, what they’re failing to accomplish, and how can we help.
Rooftop Cocktails and Conversation
Along with EliteSEM and HookLogic, Corra closed the day hosting a cocktail party at the hottest rooftop bar in Chicago, Zed451.
Free Ecommerce Consulting from Corra
The real highlight of the conference, however, was the IRCE’s Exhibit Hall. With more than 600 companies presenting, Corra’s booth (#755) was the only one to offer free site consultations, courtesy of one of our Ecommerce Strategists, Kristina Burbich. The 15-minute site assessments were a big hit, giving pre-registered booth visitors a quick site audit and valuable tips on how they could improve user experience for their customers.
Photos via Ecommerce Bytes, Wikipedia
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