Retail & Brand Experience confirms its commitment to the digitalisation of stores and brands

The event closed its first edition with the participation of 210 speakers and 100 companies

Retail & Brand Experience confirms its commitment to the digitalisation of stores and brands

Retail & Brand Experience World Congress lowered the curtain last wednesday on a first edition that highlighted the need for the sector to adapt to the current technological transformation, with highlighted presentations from leading industry experts and innovations presented by participating companies.

The director of the Retail & Brand Experience World Congress, Alba Batiste, stressed that “in this first edition we have been able to see the great interest in the transformation that brands and businesses must face at a key moment of change in the digital environment and in the way customers buy and consume”. In this sense, Batiste added that “the event has managed to place Barcelona as a benchmark and lever for the digital transformation of the retail sector”.

During the three days of the event, 120 sessions were held around six themes (customer experience, omnichannel and digital, real estate sector, retail technologies, personalisation and new models and trends) and eight sectors (fashion, mass consumption, department stores and shopping centres, beauty, electronics, online, furniture and banking). Standing out among the sessions that had the most follow-up among the visiting public were ones that addressed changes in the customer experience in the era of the big e-commerce operators; new retail formats in China; personalisation and the digital experience; the digital transformation among the big retailers; smart data; the future of food retail; omnichannel strategies; or new business models.

In total, more than 210 speakers from leading companies such as Ikea, Purina Petcare, British Airways, Google, Carrefour, Hoff, Mvideo, Renova, Value Retail, Levi’s, Via Emilia, El Corte Inglés, Casa Ametller and Muji, among others, took part.

As for the exhibition area, the technological applications from companies like Cisco, SAP, Accenture, Beabloo or Deloitte, such as interactive mirrors, smart labels, robots, cameras that detect products and recognise faces, or solutions that allow for the all types of data analysis, have raised great interest among visitors.

Best Start-up Awards

Likewise, start-ups have also played a leading role, with an exhibition area, an auditorium and a conference area, which saw the participation of 64 newly created companies. The event has awarded the best emerging proposals with the “Next Awards.

Oyper won in the disruptive technology category with an intelligent shopping assistant; Aura Vision, in digital initiative for a camera that detects the busiest areas of stores and the age range of visitors; and Localoo, the best digital brand, with an application that makes it possible to manage and enhance the web visibility and GPS of stores. Also, the routes through certain Barcelona stores currently applying the new retail trends, which were organised by the trade fair over the three days, were very well received by visitors.

The event closed its first edition on wednesday afternoon with nearly 5,500 visitors. The second edition of the Retail & Brand Experience World Congress will take place in May 2020 at Fira de Barcelona.