Home and gift show Autumn Fair is set to launch a new theatre at its September edition dedicated to optimising online opportunities for both traditional and pure play brands.
The Master Online Retail Theatre, which will be situated in Hall 5 at next month’s show, will offer advice on how retailers can ensure their e-commerce and social channels deliver greater revenues during the Golden Quarter and beyond.
The content available within the theatre will provide new insights for those pure play brands that are already embracing and maximising the opportunities of online. Traditional retailers that are using online as an additional sales channel will also find these sessions valuable with panels and presenters discussing topics such as, “Meeting customer’s changing delivery expectations”, “Using fulfilment by Amazon – the pros and cons”, “How will delivery methods be evolving – are drones a reality?” and “How to maximise your online profits this Christmas 2018”.
With 24 per cent of all retail sales taking place online, social and digital platforms continue to become an ever more important factor in consumers’ buying habits. The Master Online Retail Stage will offer advice on how these retailers can leverage business strategies such as SEO and drop shipping to improve and evolve their online offering.
Louise Young, MD of Spring and Autumn Fair at ITE Events, said: “The market is in a place now where e-commerce sales are expected to increase from accounting for a fifth of retail sales this year to a quarter in just three years.
“Mastering online retail is already an essential part of running most retail businesses, and those that do it well will continue to thrive. It’s a huge opportunity for bricks and mortar retailers, and we hope to enable them to capitalise on it. At this year’s Autumn Fair we’re also expecting that pureplay retailers will see the value in meeting face-to-face with potential suppliers, and getting their hands on a whole swathe of exclusive products too.”
The Master Online Retail Theatre will host events for the full length of Autumn Fair, from the 2-5 September.