From omnichannel retailing to trends in personalisation and localisation, eTail West kicked off in Palm Springs last week with insights from key retail executives on how to stay relevant in today’s mobile-first world. It was all about maximizing marketing efforts to improve the shopping experience at physical and online locations.

With over 2000 attendees, eTail West brought together some of the industry’s major retailers and e-commerce innovators for a four-day event to discuss the future of the retail industry. The main themes on the agenda included omnichannel retailing, attribution and analytics, localisation, and personalisation.

Retailers are still challenged with turning mobile traffic into sales, especially within the local search environment. Much of the data and insights shared throughout the workshops and keynote sessions addressed how to build effective mobile-first strategies to either assist the sale or serve as a bridge for omnichannel success. Customers wield incredible power when it comes to digital and their buying behaviour can make or break a business. In the age of mobile-first, where you are matters as much as who you are and many key retailers are evolving their customer engagement strategy to focus on mobile-first tactics.

Building out personalised experiences and keeping customers engaged was a hot topic during the breakout sessions. Many brands like Nordstrom, Pep Boys, LensCrafters, and Kohl’s view personalisation and the use of data as an effective way to create the most efficient personalised experiences for customers.

We also met some incredible marketers from some of our favourite brands! Say hello to a few of our newest friends.

Jessica Boyd from Wyndham, Martin Baumgartel of Verizon Wireless and Ellie Brigden, Columbia Sportswear

Ishita Ahmed, Courtney Campbell and Spencer Allen from Home Depot.

Christopher Johns from Zulily and Michael Broderick, Marriott Hotels

Barry Ko and Maegan Ladeau from Tailored Brands.