Executive Summary

The Coresight Research team will be attending and participating in the Shoptalk 2018 conference in Las Vegas March 18–21. Billed as the world’s largest conference devoted to retail and e-commerce innovation, Shoptalk will cover “the rapid evolution of how consumers discover, shop and buy—from new technologies and business models to the latest trends in consumer behaviors, preferences and expectations.”

• On March 18, Coresight Research CEO and Founder Deborah Weinswig will emcee a startup competition between 15 innovative, early-stage companies at Shoptalk. Two winners will be announced, one chosen by a panel of judges and one by audience vote, and each will be awarded $25,000. Each day leading up to Shoptalk, Coresight Research will publish an overview of one of the participating startups’ technology solutions.
• Engagement Agents, one of the pitch competitionparticipants, aims to help retailers reclaim lost traffic andsales by using the digital and physical marketing channels that their shopping-center landlords have already established. The solution automates distribution of and promotes retailers’ digital and marketing campaigns via their shopping centers’ mobile sites, websites, social media accounts, email lists, apps, events and in-mall digital signage.
• On March 20, Weinswig will participate in “Overview of Retail and Ecommerce Innovation in China,” a session that will cover technology and business model advancements in areas such as checkout, payments, delivery, logistics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics.