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Back in 1999, Amazon was just beginning to move beyond books and start selling CDs, toys and electronics. Brick-and-mortar stores like Walmart and Gap are slowly building their presence online. About 100 professionals gathered in a conference room in California for the inaugural eTail, an opportunity to discuss the emerging online sales industry that will eventually disrupt all commerce.
The eTail conference, organized by Worldwide Business Research, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The network has expanded to host multiple events around the world, attracting thousands of attendees.
This year’s eTail West will kick off the day before Monday’s summit, with approximately 2,500 retail professionals expected to attend the main event from Tuesday to Wednesday. Hot topics in programming this year include direct-to-consumer business models, prioritizing DEI efforts, and (no surprise) the tactical uses of artificial intelligence. While execs on stage will talk about the ubiquitous challenges of Gen Z marketing and creating the best technology stack, many come for cocktails, wine tastings and table conversations to chit-chat and network. Meanwhile, traders are increasingly setting up eye-catching stalls and handing out swag in the halls, hoping to seal much-needed deals.
The scale and scope of e-retailing has grown in tandem with the industry. In the fall of 1999, the U.S. Census Bureau conducted its first e-commerce data collection and found that online sales accounted for 0.63% of total retail sales in the fourth quarter, or nearly $5.2 billion. By comparison, Amazon alone achieved record sales of $170 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. While eTail once hosted events for 100 people in conference rooms, the network now attracts thousands of attendees, filling hotels and conference centers for travel and restaurant industry-specific meetings.
Kristin Schoenstein, co-director of eTail West, said the conference’s goals have remained the same over the years: to provide attendees with practical insights they can take back to the office and create meaningful connections between people facing the same challenges.
“I’ve seen this happen over the years with DSW and Best Buy, or Lego and Disney,” Schonstein said. “They’re coming together, they’re collaborating, and it’s the coolest thing. Sometimes you hear case studies from the second year. We see that a lot.”
Develop together with industry
The full agenda of eTail’s early days rarely exists. But a handful of ads showcase many topics that are still relevant to today’s industry, such as email marketing, abandonment reduction, or search optimization. A 2003 ad revealed the event’s theme was “Mastering the Art and Science of Multi-Aisle Retailing,” a theme that appeared in many places on this year’s agenda.
Still, there are some outdated references. Traditional brands have sponsor logos with digitally specific names, such as “jcrew.com” or “Neiman Marcus online.” As the industry does, companies often carefully divide their online and brick-and-mortar operations, being careful not to undercut their brick-and-mortar presence with a less-than-ideal online experience. But as online shopping has become more mainstream, this strategy has become outdated, and forking out has proven to be a failure for brands like JC Penney that can’t keep up with the speed of e-commerce business.
The communication surrounding the event also reflected the history of the industry. An event in Phoenix in February 2009 called it a “pivotal year for retail,” signaling hopes that the Great Recession would begin to recede. Elizabeth Robillard, eTail Palm Springs project director, said the team went digital during the Covid-19 lockdown but still managed to secure millions of dollars in sponsorships.
“Our sponsorship team has never done that. They just have to figure out how do we sell the virtual store, and how do we get the speakers?” she said. “It’s a journey.”
Some years end up being more gorgeous than others. Last year, steady late-winter rainfall in the desert curtailed the ability for outdoor gatherings and recreation. One year, Schonstein said, a vendor brought a Hummer, “like a real Hummer,” as a giveaway to attendees. They parked at the JW Marriott’s outdoor pavilion and held a rock-paper-scissors game to see who could win.
Another year, a speaker disguised himself as a frail old man and took to the podium, confusing attendees until they realized it was a stunt about first impressions and marketing. “Without LinkedIn,” Schonstein said, there was no way of knowing who would speak.
meeting = party time
In addition to programming, networking is a major part of the conference setup – and things will look different in 2024 than they did in 1999. The company exists purely for the purpose of sending attendee emails and flooding inboxes with pitches and invitations. Karina Kogan, chief marketing and commercial officer of fitness company Pvolve, said that on site, business cards have been replaced by LinkedIn and QR codes.
“It’s very easy to stay connected with people and leverage those connections,” Kogan said.
Kogan said she attends events like eTail to meet like-minded professionals who are going through the same thing. “I’m always looking to exchange war stories, learn what works, and help each other solve problems,” she said.
As eTail grows, it becomes increasingly popular among vendors looking to drive new business. PolicyMap, a GIS software that provides a variety of demographic information, is just beginning to expand its scope of retail customers. So Ross Flaharty, the company’s head of business development, is heading from Los Angeles for his first eTail to connect with brands that could benefit from location-based demographic information.
“Meetings are an important part of our business development strategy,” he said.
While eTail was once a niche event, it is now part of the retail and digital conference circuit. The National Retail Foundation has been hosting events since its founding in 1911, kicking off this January with the Big Show in New York City. Shoptalk launched as an industry-wide event in 2015, and SXSW continues to grow its commercial component alongside its entertainment and media core. But eTail West is unique in that it’s held at a luxury resort near Palm Springs, California, rather than in a big city like New York, Vegas or Austin.
Robillard said one of the things that sets eTail apart is its focus on connecting attendees to each other, rather than high-profile entertainment or paid speakers. Panelists are typically executives or professionals from the brand rather than celebrities, and sessions are structured to allow for enough time and space for one-off sessions, as well as focused “tracks” that help keep disciplines like supply chain or marketing together “.
“You definitely get a lot from our speakers, but there’s also a lot of value from the audience,” Robillard said. “It’s an incredible audience that’s all going through similar challenges and maybe just doing something you didn’t expect. So I think connection and networking are a big part of this event. I think we’ll Try to create as many moments as possible where people can do that organically.”
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