Opening Reception at the
California Courtyard

Breakfast
Grand Ballroom Salon D

Keynote Address: "Customer Focused Multi-Channel Merchandising"
Raul Vazquez, CEO of Walmart.com
Grand Ballroom Salon ABC
Raul will be sharing the approach to site merchandising at Walmart.com.  He will provide examples of improvements that have been during the last year, the manner in which those opportunities were identified, and the additional considerations for a multi-channel site such as Walmart.com.

Networking Break
Grand Ballroom Salon D

“The Golden Rule of Online Merchandising”
Bryan Eisenberg, Co-Founder, FutureNow Inc.
Grand Ballroom Salon ABC
The golden rule states that he who has the gold, rules. However, today’s customers have the gold and they clearly have the power. The voice of the consumer has never been so simple to find and so difficult to decode. Online retailers are also being held to an unprecedented standard of accountability. So how do you balance what is right for you versus what is right for your customer? Where do you draw the lines between securing short term goals and long term customer retention? Bryan Eisenberg, co-founder of FutureNow, will address the issues in a highly tangible way based on an ongoing research study of over 500 interactive retailers. Bryan will reveal those website elements that demonstrate your shopping experience's “customer focus”. Takes notes, because with out a doubt you will walk away with actionable tips on how to optimize customer’s shopping experience while also increasing the return on your current marketing spend.

Lunch
Grand Ballroom Salon D

“The State of Retailing Online”
Carrie Johnson, VP & Research Director, Forrester Research
Brian Walker, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research
Grand Ballroom Salon ABC
Carrie will be sharing the merchandising aspects of the just-released findings of the 2008 SORO report and focus on retailer trends in regards to online and multi-channel merchandising. Brian will then provide practical and tactical steps on what this data means for retailers and how they can succeed in the changing marketplace, with a focus on issues like improving product content and usage of analytics.

"Opening Up eCommerce: Innovations in Customer Focused Merchandising"
Laura Evans, Executive Director, Retail, Resource Interactive
Steve Kahn, Vice President, Internet Marketing, DSW
Grand Ballroom Salon ABC
To feed the passion of fashionistas and customers who love to shop, retailers are being challenged to bolster their e-commerce experience with constant merchandise evolution and exciting content releases or risk losing relevance to their market. In this session, Resource Interactive and DSW will highlight the new strides in making e-commerce more engaging and open to customers. This session will share the newly launched DSW e-commerce site and their immersive online experience strategies that allow DSW customers to explore the breadth and depth of the merchandise.

“Test Your Way To Site Conversion Nirvana"
Jay Greenberg, Director eCommerce, Spencer's
George Michie, Co-Founder and VP Client Services, The Rimm-Kaufman Group
Stephanie Pike, Web Strategy, Circuit City Stores, Inc
Grand Ballroom Salon ABC
If you aren’t yet using split and multivariate testing to improve your website, the time to start is now. Whether using commercial software or Google’s free Website Optimizer tool, testing is your ticket to increased sales, happier users, and more effective advertising. In this session we’ll cover what to test, your testing options, and choosing the right methods and success metrics for your company’s tests. We’ll present case studies of retailers’ testing successes,  discuss the politics of site testing and  how to avoid common testing traps. We’ll also discuss why testing documentation matters and  how to integrate testing into an efficient, iterative design process for your site. 

Networking Break
Grand Ballroom Salon D

"Make Your Online Merchandising More Nimble by Taking a Page from Small Retailers"
Nathan Decker, Head of Ecommerce, Evogear.com
Vanessa Hofmann, Merchandising Team Leader, Gordian Project
Kevin Lindsay, Director of Marketing, MERCADO
Adam Silverman, Director of E-Commerce, Wet Seal Inc.
Grand Ballroom Salon ABC
Motivated. Aggressive. Nimble. Creative. These are adjectives that describe today’s smaller and emerging Internet retailers. The Web has created an opportunity for these businesses to take on the established online brands and many are experiencing impressive growth despite grumblings of economic uncertainty. Many of these retailers will tell you that the secret to their success is a basic approach to eCommerce that starts with knowing how to engage shoppers – from the moment of initial attraction, through to the what becomes the first of many purchases. Despite small marketing budgets and even leaner merchandising resources, today’s smaller online businesses are finding creative and cost-effective ways to acquire and convert customers – and are seeing better Web marketing ROI and higher AOV as a result. In this session, hear from three Internet retailers who are great examples of thriving online businesses and master shoestring merchandisers.  

reception sponsored by 

dinner sponsored by 

Breakfast
Grand Ballroom Salon D

Opening Remarks/Keynote
“Online Merchants: Agents of Change Today. Leaders of Tomorrow?”
Fiona Dias, EVP Partner Strategy and Marketing, GSI Commerce
Bill Bass, Co-Founder and CEO, Fair Indigo
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Successful business strategies are rooted in knowing your customers.  Yet merchandising has traditionally been product-centric and vendor-driven.  In retail, size matters, and the stores are the heavyweights. Online merchants are often tasked with replicating the assortment, pricing and promotions that work in other channels.  If you’re a pure-play merchant, these dynamics can impact you too — and you can end up copying others’ strategies.
 
Today, online merchants have an unprecedented opportunity to shift the focus of your company from selling products to anticipating and exceeding customers’ needs.  You have some of the best tools-of-the-trade at your disposal and your customers are ready and willing to give you the keys to success, telling you what they want and what they don’t.  Fiona will explain how you and your customers can together lead your entire organization down the path to a more profitable future.

Fiona’s presentation will be followed by a moderated Q & A session with Bill Bass, CEO, Fair Indigo.

Networking Break
Grand Ballroom Salon D

“Retailer Case Studies of Customer-Focused Merchandising Innovations"
Patti Freeman Evans, Research Director, Senior Analyst, Retail, JupiterResearch
Mercedes DeLuca, Global Customer Experience and Chief Information Officer, myShape
Kevin Ertell, VP of E-Business, The Borders Group, Inc.
Nancy Behrendt, Sr. Director of Global Merchandising, eBags
Grand Ballroom Salon ABC
Patti will moderate three retailer case studies that will show attendees concrete examples of innovations in customer-focused merchandising. Patti will interview each attendee and discuss in detail their philosophy about being customer focused, their thought process behind each innovation, and the results that have occurred since implementation. 

Lunch and Retailer Case Study Roundtables
Grand Ballroom Salon D