Shoptalk has grown at a tremendous pace since its inaugural show in 2016. The flagship event, Shoptalk Spring, welcomed 10,000+ retail and ecommerce professionals earlier this year in Las Vegas, and more than 4,000 at its Barcelona-based show, Shoptalk Europe.
Shoptalk events sit at the forefront of retail and customers were keen to tell us that, with so much ambition in the space, one US touchpoint wasn’t enough. And we like our customers, so we launched Shoptalk Fall.
Shoptalk’s Global President, Sophie Wawro said:
"The scope of innovation is so wide; we can only scratch the surface at one event. There’s an unmet demand for connections and a gap in the retail events calendar in fall. So, in our endless pursuit of bringing people together to transform retail, we recognised that more work had to be done to meet the dynamic pace of change that occurs within a singular calendar year. Just as the retail industry continues to evolve, we at Shoptalk push ourselves to evolve alongside it."
The team were determined to make that ‘Mission Possible’, and even made this the show’s theme.
Event Director Mike Antonecchia and Global President of Shoptalk Sophie Wawro
Mission Possible: Bringing that Shoptalk magic to Chicago
Of the 3,000+ attendees, one in three were C-level, ensuring the high level of decision-making that Shoptalk is renowned for was front and centre. In addition to many return customers, the new Fall event also welcomed a whole host of brand new Shoptalkers, with 75% of our retailers and brands attending for the first time. Adding some extra magic to the show was a return of the Shopwalks programme launched in Vegas earlier in the year, offering curated tours of the most exciting local retail store experiences, and our onsite creche, to lighten the load on working parents who don’t want to miss out on the most important retail events in the calendar.
Mission Possible: Connecting retail’s best minds, one meeting at a time
One of the most effective gadgets in Shoptalk’s briefcase is Meetup - the legendary programme that over the years has facilitated thousands of business meetings across the industry. And, of course, we brought it to Chicago.
In the words of Corrina Sanni from Bambuser, it’s “the way to meet the best minds in retail.”
An outstanding 20,000+ one-on-one, double-opt-in meetings were facilitated connecting retailers, brands, startups, tech players and more. And for the very first time, the show also featured a Meetup solely for women, facilitating 1,000 one-on-one meetings and delivering the largest-ever in-person meetings programme for women in the retail industry.
Mission Possible: Leverage the power of Shoptalk to address gender diversity
Speaking of gender parity, our Shoptalk team didn’t stop there. The team also featured the industry’s first all-woman mainstage keynote lineup among the 150+ speakers that lit up our stages.
“We saw an opportunity to highlight some of the most dynamic women leaders within our industry while addressing the continued lack of gender diversity that persists within retail's C-Suite” said Sophie Wawro, Global President, Shoptalk.
Female powerhouses graced the main stage including Co-Founder and CEO of Rent the Runway, Jennifer Hyman who used the Shoptalk stage to announce the company’s new vision, while CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Sharon Price John, shared how creating memorable customer experiences has been key to achieving record breaking financial results.
Mission Possible: Put on a mind-blowing wrap party
And what better way to celebrate a successful launch than throwing ourselves back to the 90s and partying with Busta Rhymes?
We are delighted to see such a warm and positive response to our very first Shoptalk Fall. Huge congratulations goes to our brilliant Shoptalk team for delivering a launch to remember.
Over and out...
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