What to expect at Internet Retail Conference and Exhibition 2015 – Chicago – McCormick Place
We are just two weeks away from the largest ecommerce show of the year, The International Retailer Conference and Exhibition, or IRCE 2015. With more than 10,000 technology vendors, retailers and the media who cover them gathering in Chicago, there are few key topics and trends to keep in mind:
IRCE 2015 Trend #1: Going Mobile
There may officially be more mobile devices than there are people who own them. Yet according to a study from the biannual eTail conference on social media and mobile commerce,
- 41% of retailers are saying they are not successfully marketing through mobile, and
- 32% will be increasing their spending on the biggest social channels.
And don’t forget “Mobilegeddon”, if you weren’t ready to be ranked by Google for the mobile friendliness of your site by April 21st, you may not yet be out of luck.
Plenty of retailers are still making their transition to Mcommerce or better yet responsive sites. Mobile ANYTHING is still a conversation starter.
IRCE 2015 Trend #2: EMV (Europay, Master
card and Visa)
With another looming due date, EMV is the hot topic for multichannel retailers with both brick-and-mortar and online channels.
In October of 2015, the EMV guidelines will be in place with a new security standard placing fault on the transactional party who is least compliant to the new standards. This “smart chip” technology requires new POS hardware and a spend that not many retailers are ready for. But keep in mind that 80% of all attempts to hack customer data from retailers happens to small and midsize retailers, despite the headlines that focus on breaches at big box stores.
The results of a data breach are chilling: 45% of retailers that experience such a breach are forced to declare bankruptcy within two years.
IRCE 2015 Trend #3: Customer Experience
So top of mind it has its own acronym: CX. There are more technologies than you can count that promise a new and better way to interact with your customers.
And from virtual fitting rooms to social selling, your brand’s reputation has never been so strongly held by the consumer as it is today. The thought leaders and analysts have a solution–no matter the platform or device, your customer experience matters most in the moment and it’s time to concentrate on that in-journey experience with personalized interactions and empowered employees.
- Dive in deep before IRCE by attending this upcoming webinar from Constellation Research with our client ENGAGE.cx. You’ll hear one of the top analysts in the world talking through these issues and some of the top tech solutions “before the show.”
With so much excitement this year at IRCE 2015, I can’t wait to hit the show floor on June 2nd with the Write2market Retail Technology team, and support our clients.
If you are heading to Chicago, I would love to connect. Give us a call at 404-900-7722, or reach me below.
Twitter: @joelloyd @write2market LinkedIn: Joé Lloyd | Write2Market