Shoptalk hosted the 2023 convention with over 10,000 participants from hundreds of businesses. E-commerce was on the minds of executives and consultants during the four days of presentations. Company speakers from North America’s largest e-commerce retailer, Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 database, spoke about the future of AI, convenience, sustainability, omnichannel shopping, and more.
These are some of the most interesting trends to watch on Shoptalk.
AI is everywhere
Artificial intelligence was the most popular topic among presenters and panelists. Executives and speakers were faced with dozens of questions about how AI will transform retail.
Noelle Sadler, CMO, ThredUp
Loews Seamantini Godball executive vice president and chief digital information officer cited home improvement apps as an example of a potential application for AI. You can use this app to measure the area of your room and see how your appliances fit. It’s not “nice to have”. It’s essential,” Godball said. Lowe’s Cos. Inc. Ranked His 11th in the Top 1000.
Other retailers have talked about using artificial intelligence to make better recommendations to their customers. For example, ThredUp Chief Marketing Officer Noelle Sadler explains how resellers use her AI to suggest similar products to customers. Peter Pernot-Day, global head of strategy and corporate affairs at Shein, told Digital Commerce 360 that the apparel retailer is also using AI to make recommendations to consumers. increase. It then uses information about customer preferences to create new collections for customers. just a few days.
Video and live streaming have potential
Shopping by live stream video is still relatively unpopular in the US market, but several Shoptalk retailers and marketplaces describe how that could change.
e-commerce market Verishop We’ve found that customers respond strongly to videos. Marketplace uses automation to turn livestreams from creators into small evergreen clips that can be featured on product pages. Video His product with reviews boosted his conversion rate by more than 40 percent, said co-founder and CEO Imran Khan.
Fragrance company Nest has taken a different approach. Live video is a way to sell products like fragrances that consumers traditionally want to see in person, said chief digital officer Andrea Moore. Nest uses video to establish credibility in the fragrance industry, answer consumer questions, host product premieres and showcase exclusive offers, Moore said.
Growing second-hand market
ThredUp’s Shoptalk presentation
Second hand sales were also discussed by many retailers during the conference. Anthony Marino, president of ThredUp, said second-hand clothing had gone “from stigma to status,” a panel of reseller companies he opened the discussion to. ThredUp currently manages the resale market with 20 companies, including J. Crew (#87), Gap (#19) and Abercrombie and Fitch (#57). According to ThredUp data, the clothing resale market is growing 16 times faster than his broader retail market. According to the company, more than half of consumers have purchased second-hand clothes in the past year.
Reham Fagiri, co-founder and CEO of furniture resale marketplace AptDeco, told a similar story about used furniture. According to Fagiri, the furniture resale market is growing about three times faster than overall retail.
Both ThredUp and AptDeco attribute their growth to customer expectations of convenience and sustainability. For working directly with retailers, ThredUp and AptDeco both emphasized that they can attract new consumers to brands they might not buy at the original price point. AptDeco partnered with Williams-Sonoma Inc. (No. 22) to list returned or slightly damaged furniture and provide retailers with data on how to price used items.
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