#SHOPTALK 2019: 5 Hot Takes

eCommerce
Written By Rick Watson

TL;DR Loved my first Shoptalk!

Just some impressions….

  1. Great show, well done. Well organized.

  2. Great networking. Lots of high quality people here. It's really can't miss from this point of view.

  3. Several attendees I met with reported fewer CEO attendees/speakers than previous years. I can't validate this on my own but enough people mentioned this that I thought I would mention it.

  4. Fake news is not just for Presidents. The talks you just simply know are not true from direct evidence or backchannel communications. Almost any talk about innovation falls into this category. It's not that the speakers weren't happy or well-intentioned. It's just that they were written by the PR team. Any time you are not authentic, it hurts your personal brand and the company's brand. Every time.

  5. Talent retention is a huge issue. So many people I met were looking for work, recently moved, or wish they could move on. So. Many.

I'm flying back to NYC today - if you didn't get to go, go next year! If you did and I met you, great to catch-up!

Rick Watson

Rick Watson founded RMW Commerce Consulting after spending 20+ years as a technology entrepreneur and operator exclusively in the eCommerce industry with companies like ChannelAdvisor, BarnesandNoble.com, Merchantry, and Pitney Bowes.

Watson’s work today is centered on supporting investors and management teams incubating and growing direct-to-consumer businesses. Most recently, in partnership with WHP Global, Rick was a critical resource in architecting the WHP+ platform, a new turnkey direct to consumer digital e-commerce platform that powers AnneKlein.com and JosephAbboud.com.

Watson also hosts a weekly podcast, Watson Weekly, where he shares an unbiased, unfiltered expert take on the retail sector’s biggest players.

In the past year alone, Rick has spoken at many in-person and virtual events as well as podcasts on topics ranging from retail/ecom to supply chain/logistics and even digital grocery including CommerceNext IRL, ASCM Connect, and Retail Innovation Conference.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/
Previous

The One Thing Missing From Your Project Plans
Next

If Software Ate the World, Why Do I Feel Chewed Up and Spit Out?