What's the schedule for the Online Merchandising Workshop?
The Shop.org Online Merchandising Workshop kicks off with a reception on Monday evening (July 16) at the La Costa Resort and Spa, in Carlsbad, CA, near San Diego. Workshop sessions will take place on Tuesday, July 17 and Wednesday, July 18. Please review the agenda, details are updated regularly and are subject to change.

How much does it cost to attend?
See the pricing grid for event registration fees. Shop.org retail members can claim one free pass up until July 16. Additional passes can be purchased at the prevailing rate depending upon your company type and membership level.

How do I get to the La Costa Resort & Spa?
The La Costa Resort & Spa is just nort of San Diego in Carlsbad and is convenient to two airports. The San Diego International Airport (SAN) is just 35 minutes away and the Orange County John Wayne Airport (SNA) is just 60 minutes away from the resort. For directions, please visit the resort's direction page.

Who attends the Online Merchandising Workshop?
The Workshop attracts omni-channel retail leaders (including VPs, Directors and Managers) from all sorts of companies - large and small. To keep the event intimate, the workshop is limited to 300 attendees.

How can my company sponsor or exhibit at the Workshop?
For more information about sponsoring or exhibiting opportunities, contact Tami Sakell at ( 202) 661-3044 or sakellt@nrf.com.  Check out the available exhibit and sponsorship packages.

What do I wear?
Business and business casual attire are both acceptable for the event.

Back to top

Maybe you’ve wondered how we come up with the content for our events…or perhaps you’ve been thinking that you should get up on stage to share your know-how with your eCommerce colleagues. For anyone who is interested in the process of how we at Shop.org go about finding topics and speakers for our events, here is a FAQ that might help.

How does Shop.org choose the topics for its presentations?
We ask a lot of questions! We talk to Shop.org members, we work with the Shop.org Content Committee, we read industry publications, we even send out online surveys to our members. We try hard to deliver content that helps you do a better job, no matter what you do in the world of e-commerce. Presentations can range from keynotes meant to inspire and challenge all of us in this industry, to very practical, tactical discussions with practitioners who have learned from their years in e-commerce and who share their experience and advice. We even have retailer case studies where they show in detail innovations and features on their web site that have directly improved their business. If there is a topic you’d like us include in an upcoming Shop.org event, don’t hesitate to let us know.

How does Shop.org choose its speakers?
We are fortunate to know many experienced and accomplished e-commerce professionals, many of whom are extraordinarily generous with their time. We often reach out to these folks to help us: either to brainstorm about content or to actually participate in an event as a speaker. But we learn about great speakers from Shop.org members, from our Board of Directors, and from attending events in other industries. We try hard to find speakers from within the Shop.org membership—both our retail and associate members—because we know how many talented folks are part of Shop.org.

Is there a formal process for submitting an idea for a session or for proposing a speaker?
We had a call for speakers/presentations process which ended on March 9, 2012 for this year's event.   You can still submit your topic for the Shop.org Annual Summit 2012.

Who can speak at a Shop.org event?
We draw from a wide range of professionals to speak at our events. Though we love having our members speak, we also tap into the wider business community and invite CEO’s, authors, academics, analysts, and others. If we think that someone has something to say to our community—something that will instruct, challenge, inspire, or encourage—we will try to get that person to speak for us.

Do you have to be a retailer to speak at a Shop.org event?
Anyone who can help teach, encourage, and inform our membership can speak at our events. Retailers have a lot to say about their experiences and can be great speakers. But our associate members have a lot to share, too. They are often subject matter experts with years of expertise, and they can provide insights and advice that many of our attendees find invaluable. Many of these associate members have also worked in retail at some point in their careers, making them doubly qualified to be effective presenters.

How does Shop.org ensure that speakers don’t use their presentations to make a sales pitch?
We work with all of our speakers ahead of time, reviewing their presentations and talking to them about what they will say. We gather audience feedback after every presentation, and we sit in the audience for every session. If we hear a pitch, or if an audience member feels that the presenter was “selling,” we would be extremely reluctant to ask the speaker back again.

Back to top

How do I register?
Register online by clicking on the pricing/registration page. If you have questions about registration, please call our registration company, Compusystems, at 708.786.4100.

What are the onsite registration check-in hours?
Registration check-in will take place at the La Costa Resort & Spa.
Monday, July 16- TBA
Tuesday, July 17 - TBA
Wednesday, July 18- TBA

What are the Registration Policies?

1.) Important: The Online Merchandising Workshop is a Shop.org retailer-only event. Shop.org reserves the right to deny admittance to this event to non-retailers. A non-retailer is anyone who seeks a business-to-business relationship (client, pertner, etc.) with retailers. Shop.org makes every effort to notify as soon as possible non-retailers who register for a retailer-only event by accident. If you have any questions about your retailer/non-retailer status, please contact Sara Greene in membership before you make travel plans for this event.

Click here for further clarification on Shop.org's definition of a retailer.

2.) Please be aware: in order to protect the interest of our exhibitors who have made a considerable investment to reach our Shop.org event attendees, we do have a "NO Suitcasing" Policy which prohibits non-exhibitor vendors from soliciting sales or sales leads on the tradeshow floor, in the aisles, or in the lobbies, and/or representing their services or soliciting Shop.org attendees for conflicting social activities or in the Shop.org event hotels.

3.) Shop.org 2012 Online Merchandising Workshop registration will not be processed without a credit card hold or FULL PAYMENT.

4.) Badges and credentials will be available for pick up onsite at the registration area during hours of operation. Please print your confirmation and bring it onsite to expedite this process. Be prepared to show identification in order to pick up your badge and credentials.

5.) Transfers or substitution of a pass to a colleague from the SAME RETAIL MEMBER COMPANY as the original pass holder can be made online through the link provided in your confirmation. Registration and badges cannot be shared among attendees and transfers and substitutions cannot be made once a pass holder has checked into the event. This includes the reception and dinner events. To request a transfer or substitution send an email by June 25, 2012 to merch@compusystems.com.

6.) JUNE 25th CANCELLATION DEADLINE: To receive a full refund, cancellation requests must be received (via email to merch@compusystems.com) no later than June 25, 2012.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR FREE PASS HOLDERS: Persons who register for a FREE PASS but do not sign-in on site, transfer or cancel their registration will be assessed a $325 "no show fee" to help offset costs incurred by Shop.org based on expected attendance. All other attendees who were charged for registration but do not sign in, transfer or cancel their registration prior to the above deadline will not receive a refund.

7.) Registrants are responsible for their hotel and travel accommodations.

8.) Registration will be accepted onsite if space is available.

9.) Registration fees are subject to verification of your company's membership status.

Notes:

• Not a Shop.org member? Learn how to get a free pass by joining Shop.org now.

• If your company is not listed on the registration pages or is not a member of Shop.org and you want to learn about the benefits of membership, please contact Sara Greene at 202-626-8113 or greenes@shop.org.

• Separate registrations must be completed for each person registering. If you would like to register multiple people, you will be able to add more people once each order is confirmed. If you wish to pay by check, please request a registration form from Susan Cuevas at cuevass@nrf.com.

Can I register onsite?
Registrations will be accepted onsite, only if space is available.

Where/when can I pick up my badge?
Badges will be available for pick up onsite at the designated registration area during hours of operation. Please print your e-confirmation and bring it onsite to expedite this process. Be prepared to show some form of identification in order to pick up your badge and credentials.

How can I get a receipt for my registration?
Upon completion of registration, a confirmation letter is sent to the email address provided by the registrant. If you have not received a confirmation, please call Compusystems at 708.786.4100 or email merch@compusystems.com.

What if I can't attend after I have registered for the event?
For anyone who is unable to attend and cannot transfer your pass, then a written cancellation notice to merch@compusystems.com is required. A full refund will be issued for cancellation notices sent prior to the June 25th cancellation deadline.

Anyone who registered for a free full conference pass and cannot attend will need to cancel or transfer their pass to a co-worker prior to the event date. If you cannot attend and do not cancel formally, in writing to merch@compusystems.com prior to June 25th, or transfer your pass, you will not receive a refund. For Shop.org retail Members who receive a free pass and do not transfer or cancel in time, you will be assessed a $325 no-show fee.

PRICE

How much does it cost to attend the event?
The registration fee is based on a few factors: when you register and your company's membership level - retail membership or retail non-membership.
To see the fee structure, please click here.

Is there a special rate on hotel rooms?
There is a discounted hotel room block at the La Costa Resort & Spa.

Shop.org has secured a block of discounted rooms at the La Costa Resort & Spa for the nights of July 16 - 18, 2012. We cannot guarantee discounted rates outside of these dates, but every effort will be made to accommodate your request. If, after attempting to make reservations, you learn that rooms are not available for the nights you're requesting and they are outside of July 16 - 18, 2012, please call either (888) 889-6404 (US & Canada) or (972) 349-7467 (Internationally) and Shop.org Housing can help you with your room request.

La Costa Resort & Spa
2100 Costa Del Mar Road
Carlsbad, CA 92009

How do I get to the resort?
The La Costa is just 35 minutes from the San Diego International Airport.

For directions, please visit the resort's direction page.

Back to top

HOW TO TRANSFER YOUR PASS

Any attendee who wishes to transfer a pass, must follow this procedure:

A transfer may be completed online. To do this go to the registrant's original e-confirmation, which was sent via email at the time of registration. Click on the personalized registration URL (under the heading "Registration Online Access") within the body of that e-confirmation and make your changes. Or you may send an email to merch@compusystems.com. Please be sure to add the name of the person to whom you are transferring your pass.

If the transfer must take place onsite, then the substitute registrant should bring the e-confirmation issued to the original registrant.

Transfers and substitutions cannot be made once the pass holder has checked in to the event or sub-event.

Back to top

CAN PRESS ATTEND?
No, we do not have press attending this workshop. To find out about other events at which we accept press, please contact Kathy Grannis at (202) 626-8189 or grannisk@nrf.com.

Back to top

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved at the Shop.org Online Merchandising Workshop. Exhibit booths are now available for purchase and sponsorship packages will be available shortly.

Contact Tami Sakell, Sr. Director, Exhibit & Sponsorship Sales, Shop.org at  202.661.3044.

Back to top

Networking @ the Workshop

The Shop.org Promise
We are so confident that retailers attending Shop.org events will acquire valuable strategies and tactics to improve their online and multichannel retail business. If not, let us know and we'll refund your registration fee.

Questions?
Contact us with questions or help with registration.

Sponsor/Exhibitor Information
Contact Tami Sakell, Sr. Director, Exhibit & Sponsorship Sales, Shop.org at  202.661.3044.