Expo will let retailers harness power of technology
The organisers of RetailEX Asean, coming in September to the Impact Exhibition and Convention Centre in north Bangkok, are expecting 7,500 people to browse among the 200-plus exhibitors. The numbers represent a 30-per-cent increase over last year’s turnout for Asia’s largest such retail event.
The exhibition and conference for retailers to be held from September 14-16 will encompass ShopFIT, ShopTECH and the new InternetRetailing Expo Asean, devoted to e-commerce transactions.
The conference will cover brick-and-mortar retail, digital-empowered retail sales and marketing, payment and security, and customer experience.
Experts such as Big C and BJC president Aswin Techajareonvikul, Mall Group chief executive Franz Kraat, Anusha Babbar of Unilever and Alessandro Piscini of Lazada Thailand will give keynote speeches.
There will be panel discussions, “fireside chats” and in-depth case studies covering topics such as the online and offline ecosystem, cross-border e-commerce, Big Data analytics, content and digital marketing, cloud technologies and logistics.
“Every major retailer is thinking about their digital strategy today,” says Julia Kwan, one of the event’s organisers. “InternetRetailing Expo is the conference they must attend to future-proof their business. Retailers will learn about the online and offline trends that are shaping retail as we know it, and the strategies they need to adopt to exploit them to their advantage.”
ShopFIT is a store equipment and solutions expo showcasing shop fittings, store design, architecture, lighting and refrigeration technology, as well as in-store marketing, visual merchandising and display. ShopTECH will showcase solutions on checkout systems, merchandise management, payment systems, article surveillance technologies, communications, information and security technologies.
“Shoppers are increasingly digital-savvy and sophisticated,” notes Ton Chirathivat of Central Group. Serving them effectively will require retailers to adopt innovative, omnichannel strategies.
“Shifting marketing spend from traditional media to digital media is important, but also strategies that need to restructured towards customer-centric and data-driven in areas like analytics, digital content, ad-ops, channel optimisation and platform-based.”
Registration and more information are available at visitwww.retailexasean.comand www.internetretailingexpo-asean.com.
