eTail Canada 2021
2021
Toronto, ON
Day 1 | Get Uncomfortable, That’s Where the Sales Are
Innovation in retail is a powerful phrase, so large as to be almost overwhelming. We’re kicking off eTail Canada 2019 by breaking down this ideal into digestible, actionable insights and this as our focus: what are companies trying that is outside their comfort zone to increase sales? Delve into company makeovers, test and learn, and clashing perspectives on which way to go on everything from actual personalization to delivery – it’s an exciting time to be in retail!
8:00 am - 8:40 am Continental Breakfast & Registration
8:40 am - 8:45 am Welcome Remarks and Icebreaker
8:45 am - 9:00 am Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Ann-Marie McIntosh
Managing Director - Marketing & Corporate CommunicationsFedEx Express Canada
9:00 am - 9:20 am Keynote | Omni-Channel As A Universal Application of Digital Strategy
Kick off your eTail Canada experience with a look at how a global retail juggernaut is leading the charge to the next level of e-commerce. Join Lee as he shares how Alibaba, the biggest online marketplace in the world, has escaped the confines of the digital environment to upend the physical retail experience.
· The viral expansion on online marketplaces
· The bedrock of your business must be understanding your customer
· Where will retail be in 2, 5, 10 years?
9:20 am - 9:40 am Keynote | Evolution in Even the Most Long-Standing, Rigid Business Models Is Possible
The process of buying a car has been the same for close to a century, and the purchasing experience hasn’t kept pace. It’s the same song and dance for consumers – they go to a dealership and hope that the visit provides them with enough information to confidently make the single largest discretionary purchase of their lives.
It’s clear that change in automotive retailing is long overdue, but how do you evolve an age-old model when you’re selling such a high-involvement, high-cost product?
Don will share insights on how Hyundai, as well as its luxury division Genesis, are disrupting the industry by introducing omni-channel models to better meet the needs of today’s consumers. The two brands are taking different approaches to digital retailing, a process that requires a high level of trust and transparency - traits that the traditional auto purchasing process infamously lacks.
For Hyundai, success was found in modernizing the customer experience by bringing more of the purchasing process online while introducing new digital elements to dealerships, creating a seamless transition between the two mediums. Genesis takes this a step further by completely flipping the traditional business model on its head. Having launched in 2016, Genesis took the opportunity to reinvent the foundation of automotive sales by bringing the entire customer transaction process online, supplemented by at-home service and a growing network of boutique-style showrooms.
Don will explain how both brands have successfully broken through the walls of traditional brick and mortar retail, providing a strong case study that proves evolution in even the most long-standing, rigid business models is possible.
9:40 am - 10:20 am Panel | Shipping Showdown
Are you shipping out of store or warehouse or out of 3PL or none of the above? Odds are you don’t think your approach is perfect, and are wondering, is there something other people are doing that you could learn from? Here’s a chance to get down into the pros and cons of how folks are choosing to get product to customers as quickly and cost effectively as possible.
Ann-Marie McIntosh
Managing Director - Marketing & Corporate CommunicationsFedEx Express Canada
10:20 am - 11:00 am I Like It a Latte: eTail Expo Hall Grand Opening with Specialty Coffee Barista Cart & Networking Break (Meet Up - eTail First-Timers)
11:00 am - 11:20 am Keynote | No Time to Waste: Pushing Through Internal and External Dubiousness to Achieve Sweeping, Transformative Change
- Engaging stakeholders in every part of the process from manufacturing to internal staff to shipping partners
- Celebrating incremental improvements versus expecting perfection overnight
11:20 am - 11:40 am Keynote | Innovate or Die - How Do We Go Beyond E-Comm to Reinvent Ourselves?
We all know there’s a need in retail for constant reinvention, that the chase for innovation is never ending. But there’s no need to wait for a complete overhaul of your business. Innovation can be piecemeal, and small changes can yield significant returns. Frederick will share six strategies he think every company can choose from, and focus on, as the first step in working to survive in the rapidly changing retail landscape.
11:40 am - 12:00 pm Keynote | Reinventing Installment Payments for E-Commerce: Lessons Learned from the Pay-Later Revolution
Installment payments have a long history as a tool used by in-store retailers to increase customer conversion and order value. In the past few years, the “Buy Now, Pay Later” model has exploded into e-commerce around the world - and is being offered by retailers in more product categories than ever before. In the face of growing retailer demand, PayBright launched Canada’s first fully-integrated e-commerce payment plan in 2017. To bring its offering from bricks-and-mortar to the e-commerce channel, PayBright had to quickly learn a whole new way of doing business. PayBright will share the challenges faced and lessons learned in building a solution to meet the needs of today’s e-commerce shoppers and leading digital retailers.
12:00 pm - 12:40 pm Panel (Tonight Show Style) | It’s Not Easy Being Green (The Other Kind of Green) - How Companies Are Growing Their Offerings to Keep Pace with Changes in Perception and Regulation When it Comes to Cannabis
An entirely new retail category has emerged in Canada, and it’s smoking hot. This session will delve into the nascent opportunities in cannabis as indicated by developments in medical and recreational Government is the only one that can supply medical for now. Consensus if that the medical side is expected to grow now that the stigma is going away. We’re thinking about the medical side for us, what would that look like?
- What do recreational retailers have to say 6 months in?
- How are traditional retailers thinking about it?
- Making sure the customer is well informed
- How people are approaching parallel products such as those containing CBD oil
12:40 pm - 1:40 pm Lunch for All Attendees in The King Street Social Restaurant
Problem Solving Workshop |Social
1:40 pm - 2:30 pm You’ve Got to Show Me Love: Approaches for Nurturing Your Affiliates and Influencer Relationships
Affiliate marketing is proving to be a powerful tool when it comes to visibility, acquisition, sales, customer retention and loyalty. Taking a proactive approach to mobilizing what can effectively be an external salesforce can help your company leverage the power of social media while staying on brand. This discussion will go beyond the superficial “here is x dollars for a post” transaction that has lost the impact it once had to a more nuanced, and dare we say, satisfying approach to working with these fab fresh voices.
- Picking your influencers with an eye to ensuring they are on theme
- Ex. Amazon affiliates can create their own stores
- It’s about more than money – what are companies doing beyond commission to connect with affiliates
- Making the approach easier
Problem Solving Workshop | International
1:40 pm - 2:30 pm You Should Care Because Singles Day Crushes Black Friday: How Canadian Retailers Can Build Name Recognition and Market Share with Chinese Consumers
Given the rapid changes in consumer behavior, it’s hard not to feel unsettled. Why put all your eggs in the Canadian marketplace when there are so many other markets that might also want your eggs? Like China. This session will take a look at a great stepping stone towards this behemoth pool of potential new customers.
- Meeting expectations for global shipping
- Which alternate payments are a must for ensuring a smooth check out
Pierre-Paul Larivière
Digital Ecosystem & Experience DirectorCirque du Soleil Entertainment Group
2:30 pm - 2:50 pm Ramping Up with Amazon: Experimenting with Retail Insights to Drive Rapid Growth
- Retail display
- Organic placements
- Search
2:30 pm - 3:20 pm PROBLEM SOLVING WORKSHOP (INTERNATIONAL) Evolving Your E-Commerce Approach to the North American Standard
The truth hurts: Canada’s retailers are striving to catch up to practices that many comparable international retailers put in place ten years ago. However, the truth is also an important sticking point to move forward, embrace change, and transform. Join Richard and Charmaine as they share and challenge you to work through the big strategic things to keep in mind when it comes to retail disruption and applying innovation in the choices you make to move your company forward.
- You have to disrupt your business before someone else disrupts it for you
- Equipping yourself with language and thinking that feels true to what makes Canada special and will equip you to go compete
- Thinking about your business in the context of international business
Case Study
Case Study
3:20 pm - 3:40 pm Total Makeover: We’re Going from Omni-Channel to Pureplay Subscription
Join Kristy as she shares a behind the scenes look into the decision making process that accompanied completely changing her business model.
- Factors for consideration when looking at tech and logistical changes
- Shedding major aspects of the business like brick and mortar locations
- Looking back, what were the biggest challenges and pitfalls?
- Progress to date and what’s next
3:40 pm - 4:20 pm Refreshment Break & Networking in the eTail Expo Hall (Meet Up: Pet Parents)
Roundtables |A highlight of eTail Canada, roundtable discussions are your best opportunity to deep-dive into discussions and idea-share with your peers. You pick 2 themes during this session. We know things have gotten noisy in past years (lots of great conversations!) so this year we are splitting the roundtables between rooms and organizing them by theme.
4:20 pm - 5:20 pm Optimizing Your Approach
Optimizing Your Approach
1. “Leveraging a Mix of Stores and Distribution Centers to Maximize Product Availability and Fulfillment Speed” led by Lou Mellet, Sales Director, East, Radial
2. “Understanding the Challenges and Applications of Facial Recognition and Facial Analysis in Retail”
led by Riccardo Badalone, CEO, C2RO Cloud Robotics
3. “Channel Surfing: Picking and Optimizing Your Distribution Channels”
led by Mitchell Wein, Vice President, Marathon Watch Company
4. “Adventures in Site (re)Launch!” led by Richard Sejean, Director of E-Commerce, Browns Shoes
5.“Doing Away with Digital Silos and Leveraging Data to Build Winning Customer Experiences” led by Kevin Bonilla, Sales Director, ContentSquare
4:20 pm - 5:20 pm Driving Digital Business Strategy
6. “Seeing is Not Believing: Engaging and Converting Your Customers Through Next Level Video Ads” led by Ken McMillan, Director of Sales, Canada Exponential
7. “How Are Shifting Trends in E-Commerce Payment Methods Impacting Conversion, AOV, and Repeat Purchases?” led by
Wayne Pommen, President & CEO, PayBright
8. “Using Influencers to Reach Outside Your Core Customer Base” led by Bianca Torchia, Manager, Email and Consumer Engagement / CRM
Spinrite Yarns
9. How We Boosted Customer Engagement and Loyalty with E-Mail” led by Maggie Bettinson, Country Manager, Canada, Return Path
10. “Positioning Ecommerce and Online Financing for Generation Z” led by Gaston Siri, Chief Technology Officer, Flexiti
