The 10 hottest topics to focus on when planning your Ecommerce Expo itinerary

If you didn’t know, now you know – the Ecommerce Expo is back and its sights are set firmly on the future.  

By the end of 2022, it’s predicted that 53% of all customer transactions in the UK will take place digitally. We’re officially entering the age of adapt or die. Ecommerce retailers have to embrace the opportunity to try new tactics, tools, and strategies. That’s the only way you’ll achieve the growth you’re striving for. 

With that in mind, this year’s Ecommerce Expo is an unmissable opportunity to hear from and network with industry-leading marketers, brands, and retailers. There will be over 200 hours of insightful sessions across 10 theatres.  

So, how do you decide where to spend your time? Have no fear. We’ve put together our top 10 list of the hottest topics being covered this year to make your itinerary planning much simpler this year.  

1. Data-driven marketing

As marketers, we know the importance of data. We have an abundance of it.  

We’re told time and again that data means dollars. So, why aren’t our companies raking it in if we’ve got tons of it?  

The secret lies in our ability to tap into data and draw true insight from it. The move to online interactions has seen the amount of information we collect on customers surge. We know more about browsing and spending behavior than ever before. But there’s a big difference between having data and having insights.  

For example, browsing behavior tracking may inform you that many of your customers are landing on a specific page. Still, only insights will tell you that the bounce rate for this page is exceptionally high. Clearly, there is something in the UX you need to fix.  

Insights enable marketers to drive engagement through relevant, personalized messaging, automated to target the customer on the right channel at the right time. To discover more about the power of data-driven marketing, attend our top talk, hosted by Dotdigital’s own Frank Brooks. 

Top talk 

⭐ If data is the new oil, why the hell am I not mega-rich?
? Frank Brooks, Head of EMEA Marketing, Dotdigital,
? 29 Sept 2022, 15:00 – 15:25,
? The future of CX and personalization theater 

2. Community building

Recent years have emphasized the importance of community. Going viral in your online communities can lead to revenue and growth opportunities you could only dream of.  

Who could have predicted the success experienced by Seasum after their butt-lifting leggings stormed TikTok? Did you know that #DressGate led to Roman Originals selling 3,000 dressed in 10 days?  

And that’s just one of the many compelling arguments to be made for community-based marketing.  

Let’s not forget it costs less. Some of today’s biggest brands we originally built through low-cost community-based marketing such as Nike, Starbucks, and Google.  

It grows loyalty. Human beings, at the root of it, want to belong and be understood. Being part of a community has a powerful impact that can forge strong emotional bonds between you and your customer.  

But harnessing the power of your community is not easy. How do you do it, while still maintaining authenticity and integrity? Attend our top talk to find out.  

Top talk 

⭐ The power of community: how ecommerce brands can harness the passion and influence of online communities.
? Sam Hughes, Senior Client Partner, Reddit
? 28 Sept 2022, 10:35 – 11:00
? The future of digital commerce theater 

3. B2B commerce

McKinsey research has found that post-COVID-19 the B2B sales process has changed forever. This seismic shift has seen businesses turn to online channels to connect with their audience. As a result, today, both B2B buyers and sellers prefer digital self-serve and remote human engagements over face-to-face interactions.  

Online sales in the B2B commerce world have increased by 17.8% to $1.68 trillion. By 2025 they are expected to surpass $4.6 trillion. As growth continues, B2B marketers need to focus on the customer experience.  

B2B marketers, and B2B commerce marketers, in particular, need to align their customer experiences to those created by B2C marketers. From website UX to ease of payment, the future of B2B commerce lies in understanding your customers and meeting their needs.  

To find out more about how to improve the B2B customer experience, check out our top talk.  

Top talk 

⭐ Improving the B2B customer experience with the 5th P of marketing
? Michell Faul, VP, Global Marketing, TreviPay
? 28 Sept 2022, 16:10 – 16:35
? The cross-border commerce & international growth theater 

4. Cookieless targeting

Google is once again delaying its cookie replacement plan until 2024, but the end is coming.   

Now more than ever you need to be thinking about how you will target customers without the aid of third-party tracking. For too long, marketers have relied on third-party cookies. They enabled marketers to learn a lot about customers without actually building a relationship with them.  

The result: personalization that comes across as creepy rather than endearing.  

As we prepare for a cookieless future, marketers need to begin looking for alternative solutions. Let’s face it, the tech probably already exists, you just need to identify what meets your needs.  

This talk on cookieless targeting will teach you how to build successful campaigns in a cookieless world.  

Top talk 

⭐ The road to cookieless targeting: how contextual, machine learning, and AI are fueling the journey
? Jasper Oswin, Sales Director UK, StackAdapt
? 28 Sept 2022, 10:00 – 10:25
? The future of digital marketing theater 

5. Marketing attribution

The cost of lead generation is getting expensive. Ecommerce brands’ attention has been firmly set on online acquisition for a number of years now. With everyone focusing on paid search, it’s no surprise costs of quality leads are skyrocketing.  

Combined with increasing difficulty targeting customers due to iOS privacy changes and third-party cookie retirement, measuring marketing attribution is harder than ever.  

Marketing attribution is your way of measuring which channels, tactics, and tools are performing at maximum capacity; which is providing the best return on investment. You need to know this to understand where to assign your marketing budget.  

In this talk, you’ll hear about real-life examples of marketing attribution in practice, and how it can improve your overall marketing performance.  

Top talk 

⭐ Marketing attribution in the real world
? Adam Mew, Product Manager (OS Data HUb), Ordnance Survey & Niall O’Malley️, Director, Difference Engine
? 28 Sept 2022, 14:05 – 14:30
? The full martech stack: automation, AI, analytics & optimization theater  

6. SMS marketing

While interest in SMS marketing is growing, a lot of ecommerce companies are still reluctant to take the plunge. But why?  

Here at Dotdigital, we can talk about the unprecedented open and engagement rates of SMS marketing until we’re blue in the face. Trust me. But that means very little without real case studies to support our claims. At Dotdigital, our clients have experienced great success using text message marketing, and they’re not the only ones.  

Global lifestyle brand, HYPE will be taking the stage at the Ecommerce Expo to show you how they seamlessly integrated SMS marketing into their existing tech stack, and how they consequently achieved outstanding results. 

Top talk 

⭐️ How HYPE uses personalized text message marketing to drive engagement and conversions 
? Shive Arora, Ecommerce Project Manager, HYPE & Anup Khera, VP & GM International, Attentive
? 28 Sept 2022, 12:20 – 12:45
? Making omnichannel a reality theater 

7. D2C marketing

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands have experienced fantastic growth as customers cut out the middleman and decide to interact directly with their favorite brands. But as D2C brands continue to grow and expand their market share is important to scale effectively. 

Going too far, too fast is a recipe for disaster. Your business needs to be built for resilience. Competition in the sector is growing and the cost of building your customer base is on the rise. As you grow your business you need to seek new ways to connect with customers and streamline your operations for ultimate success.  

This session with the Market Development Direct at THG Ingenuity will explore how and why brands have benefitted from a DTC approach and how brands can use it to navigate today’s complex consumer environment.  

Top talk  

⭐The resilience of the D2C model
? Herculano Rodrigues, Market Development Director, THG Ingenuity ️
? 29 Sept 2022, 11:10 – 11:35
? The future of digital commerce theater 

8. CX strategy

The customer experience (CX) – it’s the center of every interaction with your customers. It’s essential for success and the driving factor that contributes to conversions and revenue generation. It’s also the differentiating factor between someone making a one-time purchase and becoming a loyal customer.  

It’s therefore imperative that you take the time to create an effective CX strategy.  

As online competition increases, so does customer churn. The only way to counteract this and achieve your revenue generation goals is by creating extraordinary and memorable customer experiences.  

This session with the CEO of eDesk will present you with seven surefire strategies to help you grow your business by giving CX the attention it deserves.  

Top talk 

⭐7 actionable tactics to turn remarkable CX into a scalable revenue generator for your ecommerce business
? Dermot O’Connor, CEO, eDesk
? 29 Sept 2022, 10:00 – 10:25
? Post-purchase customer experience: delivery & fulfillment theater 

9. Consumer trust and loyalty

As an ecommerce marketer, you’re all too aware that the way customers work, live, and play has changed significantly as a result of the global pandemic. Exacerbated by today’s cost of living crisis, convincing shoppers to part with their hard-earned cash is more difficult than ever before.  

Trust is paramount for convincing customers to convert. They need to believe that your brand and products are worth the money, that you’ll use their data correctly, and fulfill all your promises to them. Earning trust will lead to stronger bonds and deeper loyalty than ever before.  

To earn trust you need to meet customer demands. You need to be accessible on their preferred channel and offer shopping, payment, and shipping options that work for them.  

For the ultimate, research-backed playbook for earning trust and loyalty, check out this talk from the DMA.  

Top talks 

⭐ How to win trust and loyalty
? Tim Bond, Director of Insight, DMA ️
? 29 Sept 11:45 – 12:10
? The power of data and personalization theater 

10. Moment marketing

Moments are what linger in the memory long after the events have passed. But how do we translate moments, especially live events, into marketing magic?  

The secret lies in your customer data. The better you know your customers, the better you can target them at the right time, and on the right channel.  

Did a customer attend your latest event? Have they recently visited your flagship store? Do they interact with a specific topic or type of content? Connecting your disparate marketing tech into a single source will empower you to enhance the customer experience across every touchpoint.  

Discover what this looks like in action in this session with the Head of Marketing at Aston Villa FC.  

Top talks  

⭐ Moment marketing: enhancing the fan experience at every touchpoint
? Adam Lowe, Head of Marketing, Aston Villa FC
? 29 Sept 2022, 14:25 – 14:50
? The future of CX & personalization theater 

See you at the Ecommerce Expo

Like you, we’re delighted to be back at the Ecommerce Expo. Be sure to keep an eye out for our Dotdigital representatives who will be there, ready to answer all your questions about data-first marketing automation.