Retail West 2013: Recap of the Show

As the 2013 Retail West conference came to a close, it was apparent how true a quote from that morning’s opening Keynote was. The quote came courtesy of Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) CEO, David Labistour, as he depicted the new retail reality of 2013. “This is the end of retail as we know it,” he said, referencing the way retailers are rapidly redefining their shopping experiences to serve evolving consumer expectations.

The OrderDynamics Team at Retail West 2013

The second annual Retail West conference in Vancouver last week supplied no shortage of ecommerce discussions. In fact nearly all of the conference's content was centered on ecommerce – a stark difference between it and the 2012 version of the conference, which encompassed a more general overview of Canadian retail operations as a whole.

Ecommerce is a Top Priority for Canadian Retailers
It was refreshing to hear many of Canada's top retailers focusing operations on their customers, using ecommerce as the lynchpin of the strategy – a concept that a 2013 Forrester Research report, 'The State of Online Retailing In Canada' reinforced earlier this year. Labistour touched on a number of customer-first efforts MEC have put in place over the last 18 months. His thoughts and experience with in-store technologies - such as iPads for customer services reps to engage and better serve shoppers - were fascinating. His views were that the iPads were cumbersome and didn't add enough value to the overall shopping experience. But the iPad test helped MEC identify areas for improvement in its mobile sites and apps to support in-store shopping experiences. Using mobile sites and apps as customer shopping tools is consistent with the approach Lowes Canada have begun to take with mobile commerce as well.

Retail West 2013 Exhibition Room

Labistour also spoke at length about new distribution models for faster, more efficient fulfillment. He stressed the idea that “ship products from anywhere” is a new reality consumers expect, and that Omni-Channel retailing is here to stay. His Keynote presentation made for a seamless transition into the Omni-Channel panel that was hosted and moderated by OrderDynamics CEO Michael Benadiba.

OrderDynamics Omni-Channel Presentation
Michael Benadiba, alongside Josh Johnston (Ecommerce Manager, London Drugs) and Tony Holbrook (Ecommerce Operations Manager, MEC) dug into the Omni-Channel shopping expectations of Canadian consumers and how brick and mortar retailers are leveraging store fulfillment and cross-channel shopping experiences as differentiators over dominant web-only retailers. In the case of London Drugs, Josh Johnston revealed that the prominent Western Canadian retailer actively uses ecommerce tools, promotions and tactics to drive localized store traffic. Much of the discussion was about Ship-From-Store capabilities and the operational efficiencies gained from this strategic fulfillment initiative. Tony Holbrook's view of in-store fulfillment summed up where many feel Omni-Channel commerce is heading when he said, "I see convenient fulfillment methods as one of the most strategic investments Canadian retailers can make in the next few years." As ecommerce continues to grow in Canada and abroad, it’s clear that fulfillment is the next “battleground” for retailers to optimize and take advantage of.

OrderDynamics CEO Michael Benadiba with Josh Johnston of London Drugs and Tony Holbrook of MEC

OrderDynamics would like to thank everyone who came and participated in our Omni-Channel presentation and panel. We would also like to thank Josh and Tony for contributing to one of the day's best presentations.

Certainly the 2013 Retail West conference will be remembered for its digital-heavy content and that's very appropriate given the state of the Canadian retail industry today. While Canadian retailers continue to play catch-up to US retailers who, in some cases, have been operating best of breed Omni-Channel shopping experiences for years, it's clear the gap is closing. Omni-Channel is continuing to capture greater acceptance within the Canadian retail community, although questions of “how” continue to linger. We are already looking forward to the 2014 Retail West conference to see the evolutions between this year and next.
OrderDynamics would also like to thank everyone we had the pleasure of speaking with during the conference and the Retail Council of Canada for hosting the event.

In the meantime, we invite you to visit our website at www.orderdynamics.com to learn more about our ecommerce platform and retail order management system.

OrderDynamics CEO, Michael Benadiba, and President, Michael Turcsanyi

Sincerely,
The OrderDynamics Team
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