Of the 86 retail companies in the Fortune 1000, 13 had a woman as their CEO as of July 2023, down slightly from the year before, according to the executive recruiting firm Heidrick & Struggles*.
Shoptalk Meetup for Women was born out of this undeniable need to champion diversity and propel more women into leadership roles across the global retail and brand ecosystem.
The three day virtual event provided mutually matched meetings and curated roundtable discussions with incredible industry experts, delivering a powerful platform for today and tomorrow’s women leaders to develop career allies and share knowledge to take their career to the next level.
It was this mission that gave Shoptalk Meetup for Women its power - a single cause that resonated deeply across the retail community which sparked a wave of true advocacy across social media unlike any other previous Shoptalk show had seen before.
The team’s strategy to drive awareness and registrations harnessed this energy of “cause based marketing”. At every customer touchpoint the messaging drilled home that the show was not a platform for doing business or pitching products, (although we’re certain new partnership opportunities were made), but rather a unique space for the industry’s most inspiring women to pave the way for rising leaders.
The strategy worked.
Uniting just shy of 700 women globally, Shoptalk Meetup for Women catalysed a community of some of the world’s biggest retailers and brands including the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch, Amazon, American Eagle Outfitters, Burberry, Danone, Diageo, eBay, Gap Inc., Google, H&M, Hermes, Homechoice, JD Sports, Macy’s, Mars Wrigley, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Ralph Lauren, Reebok, Sephora, The Kellogg Company, The LEGO Group, Tropicana, Walmart and countless more.
The event facilitated over 83 roundtables and 4,500 meetings with an incredible 88% completion rate. To put that in context this is the same meeting engagement rate Shoptalk sees at its live shows. Pairing this with the event receiving an NPS score of +28, it proved that when the product is right, a virtual show can still deliver powerful connections and true value for our customers.
Shoptalk Meetup for Women has big plans for 2024, with two virtual shows planned as well as introducing live meetups for the global community to connect in real life in major cities around the world along with VIP gatherings at our live events.
