16 Fascinating Tracks and Sessions You Can’t Miss at eTail West 2021

It’s that time of year again — eTail West is right around the corner!

While there are many ecommerce conferences taking place this year, eTail West is great for both retailers and ecommerce leaders alike. From networking to learning about industry disruptors, this conference will help you prepare for what’s next in the industry and your business.

eTail prides itself on having a versatile mix of industries present. Seriously, we’re talking about around 800 retailers and 400 different retail companies.

This means the conference’s content is built to offer valuable insights to all types of attendees. Don’t know where to start when creating your schedule? Continue reading to find a break down of the best sessions — by topic.

What Is eTail West?

eTail West is a leading annual ecommerce and omnichannel conference in Palm Springs, CA. Marketed as a four-day retreat, the conference is designed to provide attendees with revenue increasing strategies and insights and the opportunity to make connections with some of the nation’s most successful retailers.

When Is eTail West?

eTail West 2020 is taking place from February 24-27, 2020 at the JW Marriott in Palm Springs, CA.

Why Should I Attend eTail West?

eTail West will provide your business with valuable insights so you can increase revenue and profit. You will also be able to make connections with industry leaders. If you are looking to prepare your business for the next stage of growth, this conference is for you.

How to Get the Most Out of eTail West?

If you’ve ever attended a conference, you know they can be overwhelming.

This is why it’s crucial to create an organized game plan. When preparing for the conference, you’ll want to:

• Outline your goals for the conference,
• Identify which conference track best suits your needs,
• Identify which sessions you want to attend,
• Identify which companies you want to network with, and
• Create a tentative, organized schedule.

16 Must Attend Sessions and Events at eTail West

Like any conference, there are many sessions and events which can easily feel overwhelming.

We’ve taken the liberty of highlighting the top sessions at eTail West — so, you can focus on documenting key takeaways.

Here are eTail West’s 2020 top events and sessions.

Ecommerce and and Omnichannel Growth Drivers

Let’s start with the reason you’re most likely attending — to gain insights on ecommerce and omnichannel growth drivers! These topics are top of mind across the industry right now, so you’ll want to make sure you have your pen ready to take notes as you learn from the leaders in ecommerce.

1. Keynote: Turning Williams-Sonoma, Inc. From Traditional to Retail to Tech Retail.

On Tuesday, February 25 at 8:15 am, learn about the cultural and transformational shifts occurring in ecommerce from Yasir Anwar, CDO and CTO of Williams Sonoma, Inc. In his session, Anwar will discuss how brands need to position themselves to succeed in the future — enter the tech market or leverage technology to run your business.

2. Track: Personalization and Behavioral Marketing.

Another hot topic in the industry is personalization and behavioral marketing. With customer experience continuing to take on more importance in brands’ digital transformation strategy, learning how you can leverage technology can make or break your business.

Case Study: Personalized Product Merchandising That Gets Shoppers To Convert

Christine Ciccone, Head of Digital Strategy at Verizon, and Denise Eichelberger, Senior Manager, Digital Analytics & Insights at Verizon, dive into their conversion-driving strategy. Walk away with high-value tactics and insights on how your business can implement a personalized product merchandising strategy that results in a serious conversion rate lift.

Cutting Edge Tech Presentation with LiveIntent and quip

Nick Dujnic, VP Of Marketing at Liveintent, and Mike Schanbacher, Director Of Growth Marketing at quip, dive into how they’ve collaborated to improve the customer experience at quip. From email marketing to marketing campaigns tactics, you won’t want to miss this session.

3. Track: Engagement and Community Building.

A step beyond personalization — engaging a community of customers. Between Gen Z consumers looking for more brand engagement to the rise of social media, it’s important for brands to include engagement and community-building strategies in their digital approach. Attend these sessions to kickstart your next move.

Hyper Curation For A Community That Thrives On Values

Listen to Jeremiah McElwee, SVP, Merchandising + Product Development at Thrive Market and interviewer Daphne Howland, Senior Reporter at Retail Dive, discuss the importance of creating a community for users invested in a brand’s value. For Thrive Market, that means creating a community fit for those looking for healthier options — and, even more specifically, specific diets.

Case Study Remix: Building Your Online Community And Keeping Them Loyal

If you aren’t familiar with Chubbies, you have yet to experience what it feels like to be part of their hyper-engaged community. Rainer Castillo, Co-Founder of Chubbies, dives into what the brand has done to create an active online community while continuously giving their customers a reason to come back for more.

4. Track: Cutting Edge Omnichannel Opportunities.

Omnichannel is always evolving, and it looks different for every brand. For some, selling on Amazon may be vital to their business, whereas for others, other channels offer more value. As your brand begins to navigate where it should live in the digital (and offline) world, learn from these industry leaders to discover your next step.

Cutting Edge Tech Presentation with Lob and thredUP

Hear how Lob and thredUP joined forces to identify and execute on cutting edge omnichannel opportunities from Tatitana Afanasyeva, Head Of Marketing at Lob, and Ray Yang, Director Of Growth Marketing at thredUP.

Target Coaching: Evolving Our Role To Enable Enterprise Agility

If you’re looking for direct advice, this session is for you. Connect with Robert Whalen, Software Engineering Coach at Target, to learn how your business can benefit and enable enterprise agility.

The Evolution of Digital + Omnichannel

As time has progressed, innovation has exponentially increased across digital and omnichannel verticals. The capabilities and content we see from companies in today’s age are disrupting traditional industries as we once knew them. Listen to these speakers to understand how brands are approaching their businesses with a new lens.

1. Keynote: How ThirdLove Garnered Admiration And MegaFans To Disrupt An Entire Vertical

The brand that wants to put Victoria’s Secret in the distant past, ThirdLove took an innovative approach to disrupt the entire undergarment vertical. Hear from David Spector, Co-Founder/Co-CEO of ThirdLove, and interviewer Alexandra Wilson, Associate Editor at Forbes, discuss the steps ThirdLove took to tap into a customer base that was waiting to be heard.

2. Track: Driving Insights With AI & Data

WIthout insights, it’s difficult to measure success or learn from your work. Leveraging AI and data to reach new heights is more crucial than ever before. Looking to stay competitive in your industry? Listen to these speakers share their game plans and lessons from implementing AI and data strategies.

Determining Buyer Intent With Data-Driven Campaigns

You can’t figure out a marketing strategy if you don’t understand a buyer’s intent. Learn from Amber Hameed, VP, Information Systems at Dollar Shave Club, and Amy Labro, Head of Digital & Creative at GSK, on how to best learn from your customers, so you can create stronger marketing campaigns.

Building Lookalike Personas To Attract New Customers

Not every consumer is the same, and no matter what your personas are, they aren’t going to fit the mold of every customer. Listen to Aaron Zagha, CMO at Newton Baby, Emily Stivinson, CRM Marketing Manager at SmileDirectClub, and David Yang, Senior Director, Digital Innovation and Global Operations at Banana Republic, discuss how you can leverage your existing persona strategy to bring in new customers.

3. Track: Elevating Your Ecommerce: What’s Next

Your ecommerce strategy needs to continuously evolve in order to stay ahead in the industry today. You must understand what features and functionality is crucial for your business, and what should be implemented to offer an elevated customer experience. Learn the latest trends and strategic takeaways from these ecommerce experts.

Engaging Customers And Driving Sales Along Their Path To Purchase

Customers typically don’t convert on their first visit to your store. This is why it’s crucial to leverage your ecommerce tactics to engage your buyer throughout their path to purchase — ultimately leading to more sales, of course. In this session, hear from Fred Perrotta, Co-Founder & CEO at Tortuga Backpacks, Amy Gebler, Sr. UX Manager at Nordstrom, Rachel Tetreault, Head of eCommerce at Ferrero USA, Shyamala Soundari Kuppusamy, Senior Director of Product Management at Lowe’s Companies, Inc., and Greg Harris, VP, Strategic Services at Ezdia, share their expertise on optimizing the path-to-purchase experience.

Elevating Your UX To Keep The Customer At The Center

It’s easy to implement a lot of different ecommerce features in your online store. But, in order to optimize your UX strategy, you need to keep your customers top of mind. Hear from Ross Higgins, Sr. Director, UX & Design at Newegg, Jatin Pahuja, VP, Product at Everlane, and Chad Cornstubble, VP, eCommerce at Fossil Brands, share how their brands are staying customer-centric and innovating their UX strategies to create a perfect balance of quality features and design.

4. Track: Innovation & Disruption in Ecommerce

Innovation and disruption are not limited to DTC brands. The ecommerce and retail industry has been experiencing world-class innovation — changing the way brands market, create, and execute. Join the eTail audience by listening to the following speakers who have pioneered innovation at their brands.

Cultivating Authentic Connections That Cut Through The Noise

Listen to Jonathan Shokrian, Founder and CEO at MeUndies, share how they focused on building authentic connections with their customer base to lead to higher conversion and customer loyalty.

AI As The Power Player For Digital Development And Success

Artificial intelligence is definitely an ecommerce buzzword — but, how has it become a power player for digital development and success? Listen to Dell Hudman, Director, eCommerce  Digital Marketing at Filson, Taylor Hansen, Director, Digital & eCommerce at Kendo Brands, LVMH, and Joseph Babock, Head of Data Science at Moda Operandi, Inc., share their expertise on AI implementation.

Meet and Collaborate: Build Your Digital Future

You wouldn’t be attending an omnichannel retail conference if you weren’t ready to learn from industry innovators on how you can build your digital future. These sessions will provide high level takeaways that you can use as inspiration for your next move.

1. Keynote: Haute Looks And Hot Tech: What’s Ahead For Rent The Runway.

If you attended the 2020 National Retail Federation show or keep up with ecommerce industry news regularly, you may have heard that Rent The Runway is taking big steps toward combining technology and fashion. In this keynote session, hear from Joshua Builder, CTO & Head of Product at Rent The Runway, and interviewer Maghan McDowell, Innovation Editor at Vogue Business, dive into what the rental platform is doing to leverage technology for the benefit of their customers’ experience.

2. Keynote: D2C Expansion And Creating A Feedback Loop With Customers.

You’ll hear this message a lot at eTail West 2020 — listen and engage with your customers. Whether you are a start-up, DTC brand, or traditional retailer, we can all learn from the lessons of DTC expansion. In this keynote, listen to Alexandria Jarrell, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer at NomNomNow, Kiana Cabell, Co-Founder at Kopari Beauty, Kyle Hoff, CEO, Co-Founder at Floyd, and Ankit Patel, VP Merchandising at Boxed, discuss the cycle of communicating with customers and how to leverage feedback to propel your brand into the future.

Executive Summary

Between networking events to keynote sessions, eTail West 2020 is a conference you don’t want to miss. Besides, who doesn’t love a conference that takes place in the palm desert (and at a luxury resort like the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa)?

Don’t forget to find us at eTail West, as well! You can find more information on our booth, events, and our $500 spa giveaway here.