Retail Renaissance: A Review of Shoptalk 2018

Episode 65

"Hopefully, GDPR is the medicine we need to start putting our customers at the center of the story, and not our conversion rates." We review Shoptalk 2018 in the wake of Cambridge Analytica with a discussion about the content, the vendors, the experience, and how merchants can take the knowledge gained at a show like Shoptalk and turn it into actionable results.

Main Takeaways:

Brian and Phillip recap some of the standouts of Shoptalk 2018 and how these standouts made lasting impressions.
AR and VR are being implemented in new and creative ways and could very well be shaping the future of the retail industry.
The technology that was being developed a few years ago is now being used in the state of the current retail industry but is there room for its development?
Cambridge Analytica happened and shook the public to its core but will data security regulations like GDPR be able to prevent future leaks?

One Beef, Two Beef, Red Beef, Blue Beef:

Brian and Phillip start by bringing up some beef between them that they at this year's Shoptalk Conference.
Brian registered for Press Passes for Shoptalk and listed himself as Host of Future Commerce, and Phillip as the co-host. (Scandalous!)
The Future Commerce content team accompanied Brian and Phillip this year to help capture the show and be active on social media.
Brian and Phillip went out to Red Rock Canyon, and even though they got stranded out in the desert, they can not recommend the location highly enough.

Brian's Big Shoptalk Announcement: The Career Change:

Brian made a big announcement at Shoptalk and let us know that he is now employed by Amazon (cue music)
Expect the tone of the show to shift so that now Phillip will prod Brian until he is forced to recuse himself from the conversation.
Brian is super excited to be on board at Amazon and thinks that his role working with the pay team and eCommerce platforms is a great fit.

VR in eCommerce: Separating the Virtual World from the Real World:

Brian hosted a panel at Shoptalk in which he spoke with Brian Cavanagh from the Hershey Company, Mike Festa from Wayfair Next, and Greg Jones from the Google AR Team.
The Hershey Company is partnering with goPuff to create a VR Shopping App that will allow consumers to purchase convenience store items within a VR experience.
The first thing that jumped out to Phillip as he was watching the panel was the Hershey Company's unique take on VR, which is to not replicate a commerce experience in the real world in VR.
Phillip describes the Hershey VR experience as a Willy Wonka-esque experience in which you can explore a colorful world and purchase almost everything you see.

The Retail Renaissance: A Recurring Shoptalk Theme: