eTail conference unveils trends in e-commerce, marketing & digital world

Berlin, Germany [March 19—20, 2024]

eTail Germany is a prominent DACH conference dedicated to e-commerce, marketing, and digital technology leaders. Bringing together more than 400 of the region’s leading retail experts, eTail Germany is not just an in-person conference but a true platform that shapes the retail media landscape and enables the personalization of content.

Through intensive discussions and interactive working groups, e-commerce leaders from the DACH region have the opportunity to exchange experiences and highlight practical applications of new trends in digital commerce.

This conference sets the standard in the industry, presenting fresh perspectives and technological innovations that are shaping the future of retail.

Dieter Dirkes, our Sales Director, and Corinna Strebel, our Chief Product Officer, attended the conference to learn more about e-commerce and e-/retail trends that keep our clients in the e-commerce industry busy, expand our network, and meet prospects. Here are some insights from their side.

eTail – A new era unfolds

Create videos easily for every team

During the event, our team had the privilege of being introduced by the conference’s host, Prof. Dr. Christian Stummeier to the remarkable HeyGen showcase. HeyGen stands as a groundbreaking platform that facilitates seamless video translation across multiple languages.

With its AI-powered capabilities, HeyGen empowers users to effortlessly create videos tailored to their specific needs in just a few simple steps:

• Choose or create your preferred avatar.
• Record your own voice or select from a range of options.
• Begin your project using a pre-existing template or start from scratch, all with utmost ease and efficiency.

User journey & third-party solutions

​​Boris Prondzinski of MediaMarktSaturn highlighted the imminent transition from first-party cookies to third-party cookies. In the third quarter of 2024, the Chrome browser will block third-party cookies by default.

Therefore, the retail media landscape requires a robust third-party cookie management solution. Consequently, this highlights the critical importance of understanding customer journeys, especially in the context of an omnichannel strategy.

Christian Klecander from Jentis further delved into the cookies discourse, underscoring that the demise of third-party cookies results in data accuracy plummeting to only 35-45%.

Addressing this challenge necessitates initiatives such as internal data generation, the adoption of centralized user IDs, and augmenting data with external statistical sources rather than relying solely on Google.

Revolutionizing e-commerce with generative AI

During discussion panels and talks, we learned that e-commerce businesses, such as Zalando and Alibaba, are investing heavily in generative AI to create high-quality content about their items and give those tools to their marketplace sellers so that they can deliver outstanding content as well.

Empowering business through customer understanding

Sarah Sunderbrink from Zooplus spoke about knowing your customers on social media platforms. The entire performance on social networks should be focused on users, what they like, and how they react emotionally. It is important that that moment is activated in the first second of the video content.

Also, she emphasized the need to create user-centric content–information consumers care about and stimulate them in a world where the average TikTok attention span is shorter than one second and only slightly longer on Instagram, about 1.7 seconds.

Guiding the way to customer dedication

Emre Coskun, representing Niche, provided valuable insights into evolving customer loyalty trends during his panel discussion. These trends include the rise of “Buy Now, Pay Later” options and a strategic emphasis on the top 10% of customers, who typically generate 50% of total revenue.

Looking into the future, the social commerce landscape stands ready for substantial growth, with a significant uptick expected in live broadcasts and the integration of WhatsApp marketing.

The key focus remains on not only identifying the ideal customer base but also delivering personalized benefits such as tailored purchase incentives, exclusive discounts, and curated product samples.

Personalized user journey

We can create a personalized customer journey using the Okta service as an SSO provider. Karim Hartweg from representative Okta talked about this. He highlighted the challenges associated with guest checkout, fake accounts, and diminished trust, resulting in missed opportunities for user engagement.

Furthermore, without user login, there’s a risk of signal loss. Hence, obtaining user consent becomes imperative to craft a tailored user journey. Okta presents a comprehensive solution by seamlessly integrating disparate data sources, including CIAM (Customer Identity and Access Management).

Transformation of business practices

The Alibaba representative, Patrick Keuhl, talked about the advantages of services and prices that Chinese platforms like Temu offer nowadays. To stay ahead of competitors, he emphasized the importance of careful supply chain management and strategic inventory planning, which Alibaba does due to its over 20 years of e-commerce experience.

Alibaba offers visionary advice for forecasting sales trends and global commerce. It offers a wealth of payment options and innovative tools like advanced image search and product development, supported by live streams and intelligent communication tools.

Exploring the future of AI: Metaverse insights and innovations

During one panel, organizers presented a survey on the topic: Will Generative AI replace the need for human creativity in the next five years? 68% of participants spoke against this claim, while 32% supported this concept.

Volker Harbrecht from Meta showed his RayBan glasses that use integrated AI technology, which is not recognizable as AI glasses anymore like it was back then in the era of Google glasses.

Furthermore, he presented stories from big players who invest in the Metaverse, e.g., H&M, which has its own stores and accepts payment via NFTs. It also has its own building, organizes events, and collaborates with artists.

Manchester United is working on building a stadium and plans to sell tickets in the Metaverse. Also, in 2020, Fortnite generated $1 million in revenue per day from virtual clothing sales.

Summary

In essence, the eTail conference unveiled numerous trends and outlined the trajectory of technological advancements shaping the future.

Amidst economic uncertainties, the German e-commerce sector thrives, offering abundant prospects for retailers ready to embrace evolving consumer demands.

To thrive in this landscape, retailers must redefine their strategies and enhance their digital prowess to deliver seamless shopping experiences. Success demands innovation, a profound grasp of customer preferences, and adept utilization of technology to foster a streamlined and effective commerce ecosystem.