IMRG Managing Peak Performance Connect Conference 2016

Overview

The Christmas peak period keeps evolving – what’s going to happen in 2017?

Peak has undergone significant change in recent years – with Black Friday serving to pull a huge bulk of sales forward into November. The logistical issues experienced in 2014 have not been repeated since, but it remains difficult to predict exactly what will happen due to the sheer scale and pace of the Black Friday period.

What does seem to be apparent though is that Black Friday is a unique time of year – customers behave differently and retailers find themselves under different kinds of pressure.

So what’s going to happen in 2017?

This conference will look in detail at everything we know so far, identifying the ever-evolving character of Black Friday and helping you build a strategy for securing your share of spend during the busiest time of year.

We will also be publishing a ‘planning for peak’ report (supported by Salmon) at this event.

Keynote Speakers

Sally Heath Minto

ex-eCommerce Director, New Look

11.40 - 12.00

Sally was ecommerce director at New Look and brings a wealth of experience of Black Friday trading that she can share. Sally also previously held positions at All Saints and House of Fraser.
Emma Moorman

Senior Product Manager, Hitwise

14.20 - 14.40

An experienced agile Digital Product Manager with over 8 years’ global experience in digital marketing management, Emma is responsible for bringing Hitwise’s AudienceView data insights platform to market in the UK.
Rob Watson

Head of eCommerce, Hotter Shoes

10.15 - 10.35

Rob Watson is Head of eCommerce at Hotter Shoes, the UK’s biggest shoe maker. At Hotter he has stabilised the site reliability, launched the brand into Germany, introduced advanced personalisation and dynamic merchandising. Before Hotter, Rob was Head of Ecommerce at The Fragrance Shop where he launched the retailer online and delivered significant growth in a highly Q4 peak focussed product sector.
Una Mangus

Head of E-Commerce, Temperley

11.40 - 12.00

Una will be joining Sally Heath for our fireside chat on Black Friday discounting.

Agenda

09.30 -
09.40

Welcome from IMRG

Justin Opie, Managing Director, IMRG

An update on the latest IMRG initiatives and overview of the day.

09.40 -
10.05

Best practice for Black Friday

Andy Mulcahy, Editor, IMRG

Black Friday is no longer a surprise – we know it will happen, though knowing exactly how it will manifest itself each year is always slightly elusive. What have we learnt so far about the Black Friday period and what best practice exists?

10.05 -
10.15

Black Friday and Christmas Preview 2017

James will briefly outline the operational considerations for Black Friday peak periods.

James Webster, Head of Managed Services, Salmon

10.15 -
10.35

Keynote

Hotter Shoes: preparing for a national TV advertising campaign peak - Rob will be covering:

- What happened in 2016 around Black Friday?
- Preparing for a Sales “Peak” 2017
- Forecasting Peak Day versus Normal Day activity
- Scalability and operational considerations - hardware, licensing, hosting, optimisation and maintenance
- Getting buy-in from the Board

Rob Watson, Head of eCommerce, Hotter Shoes

10.35 -
11.10

Panel session - Black Friday as retail exception

Black Friday is different from other times of year in terms of scale and intensity. What do you need to consider to ensure you are set up for success? More details here.

11.40 -
12.10

Fireside chat with...

Sally Heath Minto, ex-eCommerce Director, New Look

Una Mangus, Head of eCommerce, Temperley

12.10 -
12.45

Panel session - Coping with the pressure

This panel will discuss the huge potential upturn in traffic that can arrive on your site. More details here.

13.45 -
14.20

Panel session –The changing customer

The scale of Black Friday was a surprise in 2014, but shoppers are used to it now. So how do they approach the event. More details here.

14.20 -
14.40

Keynote

Emma Moorman, Senior Product Manager, Hitwise presents 2016 peak trading insight, with a particular focus on what worked during Cyber Week, covering:

- Overview of the festive season: Key shopping dates and online sales performance
- Cyber Week hour-by-hour: How was search, social and email to drive traffic?
- Top retailer performance: How did Amazon, Curry’s and M&S perform?
- Key takeaways and action points for 2017

Emma Moorman, Senior Product Manager, Hitwise

14.40 -
15.15

Panel session -Understanding what works for you

There is so much competition during the Black Friday period, but retailers have slightly different propositions and target customer demographics – so how can you identify the right approach to suit your business? More details here.

Panel Sessions

Black Friday as retail exception - 10.35 - 11.10

Black Friday is different from other times of year in terms of scale and intensity. What do you need to consider to ensure you are set up for success? This panel will look at:

• The different ways in which Black Friday trading is different
• Adapting elements of the customer promise
• What role do stores have to play – can it become multichannel again?
• Use of fulfilment options over the peak period

Coping with the pressure - 12.00 - 12.35

The huge potential upturn in traffic that can arrive on your site. This panel will look at:

• Operational considerations – managing the traffic and ordering spikes
• Risks associated with peak – increase in attempted fraud activity
• Managing the pressure on customer services
• Managing use of fast delivery options

The changing customer - 13.45 - 14.20

The scale of Black Friday was a surprise in 2014, but shoppers are used to it now. So how do they approach the event, what are their expectations and how has their behaviour changed over peak generally? This panel will look at:

• The behavioural trends we saw in 2016
• Are customer expectations different during peak?
• Identifying the different kind of shopper around peak
• All about price? Techniques for increasing conversion

Understanding what works for you - 14.40 - 15.15

There is so much competition during the Black Friday period, but retailers have slightly different propositions and target customer demographics – so how can you identify the right approach to suit your business? This panel will look at:

• Doing things differently – what has worked in previous years?
• Which options should you offer – payment, delivery etc
• Marketing and advertising campaigns
• The multichannel mix – how stores and online can complement each other

We would like to thank all our sponsors:

Headline Sponsor

Event Sponsors

We’ve had 3 years of this new format peak trading now and the first year (2014) was a bit traumatic. Retailers don’t want to (indeed, can’t afford to) miss out on having a successful peak, so they do what seems to work.

But this thing doesn’t stand still. It’s shown a remarkable capacity for evolving in size and scale each year and the opportunity for innovation is absolutely ripe for those who find clever ways to stand out against their competition.

This report looks ahead to what might happen during peak 2017. There are some fairly established best practice techniques you can apply and we cover those of course, but always with an eye on where we might just see some innovative strategies creeping in this year. This thing won’t stand still and neither should you. This report is supported by Salmon.

Who Should Attend?

The whole programme for this Managing Peak Performance Connect Conference is designed to provide retailers with key learnings around strategic planning, dealing with high traffic and order volumes, finally the operational aspect of fulfiling the items. We will look at the impact this has on the business and teams within. If you want to understand the latest trends and developments in these areas this conference is a must-attend for you. If your role or responsibility falls into one of the below, you will benefit from attending the IMRG Peak Connect Conference:

Heads of eCommerce
Heads of Multichannel Retailing
Global Heads of eCommerce
Heads of Logistics/ Delivery
Heads of Marketing
Managers / Directors
Marketing Directors

This event is open to all IMRG retailer members*, and IMRG Supplier members at no charge**.

*An online retailer would be a B2C operation selling products or services, via a website with transactions completed fully, including payment, via any interactive channel, from any location. These operations may have a social media presence, store, or be linked via a marketplace but would operate primarily via their own domain and not via a marketplace alone. Unfortunately 3rd party agencies who have retailers as clients are not classed as retailers themselves but would be a solution provider.

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**Attendees registering under incorrect ticket types will be reviewed and cancelled with access to the event refused.

Where Is It?

IMRG Managing Peak Connect Conference will be hosted in Cavendish Conference Centre.

Registration from 08.30, starting at 09.30 and finishing 17.00 with networking drinks till 19.00.

Cavendish Conference Centre

22 Duchess Mews
London
W1G 9DT

Google map

Nearest Tube Stations:

Oxford Circus
- Bakerloo Line
- Central Line
- Victoria Line
Regent's Park
- Bakerloo Line
Great Portland Street
- Circle Line
- Hammersmith & City Line
- Metropolitan Line

IMRG Account Login

Event Details

Peak Connect Conference

Overview

Keynote Speakers

Sally Heath Minto

Emma Moorman

Rob Watson

Una Mangus

Agenda

Panel Sessions