On Wednesday 25th September I visited the Olympia in London to attend the eCommerce Expo 2019 exhibition. It is an event that is seen as a must-do for all that is involved in B2B and B2C commerce; as well as anyone that is interested in digital marketing and development.
I attend the event in 2018, as was really impressed with how the organisers had managed to improve the event with more top businesses attending, as well as more talks, including Google Garage. For myself, learning and developing is something that I love, so coming to a place such as this is great. I learnt that there is a lot still to be learnt within the online and digital space, as well as that, there are some really interesting companies making and designing some extraordinary things.
If learning about what is hot in the online eCommerce space, then perhaps 2020 is the year that you should look to attend. My top 5 favourite things Ecommerce Expo 2019 were:
Top Quality Talks
There were a number of different talk stages at the event. Some were fully packed, some not so. But, whichever one you decided to attend, you were sure to be left inspired and with a head increased with the knowledge of how you can run your business better. There were talks about digital marketing, social media and influencer marketing, handling and fulfilment, the customer buying journey, copywriting, and also talks from the Google Garage team about getting about using Google’s online tools such as Search Console and Analytics.
Large Businesses
Companies such as UKFast and Imrg sponsored the event, and they had some amazing stands. The other big boys at the event included the aforementioned Google Garage team, Magento, Barclaycard, Shopify Plus, Feefo, Review Pilot, Royal Mail, SnapFulfil and many more. It was great to see some big names at the event, and also to see what they were up to.
Small Businesses
As well as the big names, this event is filled with many unknown names too. From startups to businesses that have been trading for a while, but are creating great things without you knowing about it. Some of my favourite businesses that I came across were ThreeKit – These guys are marketed towards the big boys in eCommerce; they create amazing photo editing software, as well as amazing end-to-end product visualisation technology that aims to create stunning product images for your site.
PHP Workshop is another too; they specialise in virtual assistance services, and their prices are extremely generous. Not to mention, they also have a very good star rating on Google.
Video Sherpa. This a tech company based in Galway, Ireland that has created a brilliant way of creating social media content. Their kit contains a tripod that will fit snuggly with any smartphone, and also software that allows you to create short collections of video. The purpose of the short videos is that it requires the speaker to be ‘snappy’ and to the point with their content. Once the user/s are happy the footage, angles and the has completed editing, they then can save and upload to their various social media accounts. Unfortunately, Instagram and Tik-Tok aren’t on the list at this moment-in-time, but once they have permission from these outlets then you the user will have even greater power at your fingertips.
Innovation
Lots and lots of innovation, from ThreeKit’s impressive display to a startup that created a camera and software that would allow for easier content creation and uploading to businesses that dealt in data cleansing. A lot to be inspired by at the eCommerce event. Of course, AI, robots and creating a sustainable world were hot topics at the event too, if many businesses offering valuable solutions.
Relax
And lastly, to finish the day I decided to have a massage. There were two businesses that provided portable desk/seat massages, and trust me they were worth it. In a world where we are seemingly always hunched over at a screen and not taking enough time to take care of our bodies, a massage is a much-needed relief. They cost anything you like from as little as £10.
If you are thinking about going next year, check out the site https://www.ecommerceexpo.co.uk/exhibitors for more information.
