PeSA Takeaways 2015
Technology, internationalization, and personalization stood out at PeSA 2015
Author: Ross Wood
Last week my colleague, Jeremy, and I represented Shipwire at the annual PeSA Conference on Australia’s Gold Coast. Our second year attending was even better than the first.
If you weren’t there this year and just stumbled upon this post, PeSA is a conference for retailers by retailers and it features influential speakers like Bob Schwartz of Nordstrom. It’s a great event to connect with and learn from others doing e‑commerce successfully.
Technology takes center stage
This year, e‑commerce technology was a major topic of discussion and in his keynote, Schwartz spoke about the state of e‑commerce today:
'Time to retire the e in eCommerce. In fact let's just say: Technology enabled retail', @BobSchwartz #PeSA15
— Retail Global Au (@RetailGlobalAU) May 28, 2015
"Retail is going through a massive change, and we are only at the beginning…" @BobSchwartz #PeSA15 @ECOMapac
— Alana Jane Fennessy (@alanafennessy) May 28, 2015
Bob Schwartz rocking today's keynote… #PeSA15 @ Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre https://t.co/02gRN9Qm9F
— Ethan Giffin (@opie) May 28, 2015
Retail technology in particular has developed quickly and put pressure on other technologies to keep pace.
@BobSchwartz talking about how #Magento enables the success of #Ecommerce Ecosystems @PeSAConference #pesa15
— James Horne (@jamesdhorne) May 28, 2015
Demand is high for e‑commerce integrations that connect to marketplaces, shopping carts and other services, which is why we feel strongly about the importance of building solutions on powerful platforms and APIs.
We have advanced to the point where customer-facing technology is expected to function seamlessly, and it follows that “behind the scenes” technologies work with the same ease and transparency.
The "zero friction" consumer loves services like @Uber where the transaction is effortless #PeSA15 @ECOMapac @PeSAConference @ecominoz
— Alana Jane Fennessy (@alanafennessy) May 28, 2015
In the world of e‑commerce, this generally translates to B2C technology being a step ahead of B2B technology. However, given the demand and evolving expectations, we’re starting to see B2B technologies come up to speed and anticipate this trend to continue and accelerate.
Open platform is crucial to online business development and growth #PeSA15 pic.twitter.com/4PRHNkc5a4
— Retail Global Au (@RetailGlobalAU) May 28, 2015
The world is getting bigger
International expansion was another hot topic this year. Focus centered on reaching markets in the US, UK, and Hong Kong, which offer significant opportunity for retailers.
A time- and cost-effective option for selling to overseas customers is to partner with a global 3PL provider. By housing inventory in facilities local to customers, retailers can use domestic carriers and save significantly on shipping costs, in addition to speeding up the time it takes for products to reach customers.
Selecting a 3PL is a serious decision. This guide points out things to consider in choosing right partner.
Future-Proof Commerce: The world is moving online. Global #ecommerce sales to reach $1.2T this year. #PeSA15 pic.twitter.com/QcVyerEsiz
— BigCommerce (@BigCommerce) May 28, 2015
Ben Franzi @australiapost explaining the Asia Pacific eCommerce opportunity @PeSAConference @ECOMapac #PeSA15 pic.twitter.com/SRB6JAmzaO
— Alana Jane Fennessy (@alanafennessy) May 27, 2015
Virtual, but personal
While there were a lot of other things covered at PeSA 2015, the final one we’ll mention for now is personalization. Personalization has come up a lot this year, and it’s something that extends beyond shoppers’ online experiences and continues all the way to their doorsteps.
If you haven’t thought about it yet, take some time to consider the impact of personalized deliveries and custom messaging. If it’s an important factor to your business, make sure your order fulfillment provider can accommodate it.
ePitch continues with @Osricp of @barilliance talking Personalisation #pesa15 pic.twitter.com/kFaDo7wAEy
— Retail Global Au (@RetailGlobalAU) May 28, 2015
Thanks to all those we met at the conference this year. We look forward to keeping in touch and are excited for what’s to come! What did you learn this year? Leave your takeaways in the comments.
VIDEO: Want to know what happens at the warehouse? See how #ecommerce orders are fulfilled: http://t.co/pW7fSB7daX pic.twitter.com/bJbiUpSrXw
— Shipwire (@shipwire) May 5, 2015