Paris Retail Week 2018
A 4th edition dedicated to the theme of Smart Phygital
Paris Retail Week, the European event dedicated to 360° retail, will open its doors from September 10th to 12th, 2018 at Paris expo Portede Versailles, Pavilion 1.
For this 4th edition, the Store/Equip mag sector will be part of Paris Retail Week’s offering, presenting the latest developments and challenges within the sector of layout and equipment for retail outlets.
A comprehensive overview of retail, Paris Retail Week will bring together European retail and e-commerce professionals to explore the concept of Smart Phygital: the global and agile retail ecosystem.
Smart Phygital: back to basics
In 2017, Paris Retail Week shed light on Live Retail – human and authentic business. This trend goes even further today. Indeed, consumers, who are now connoisseurs, more connected and alert than ever, have embraced a return to basics: the search for meaning and value. They demand a purchase experience (no longer just a simple transaction), and a brand’s positioning, state of mind, and values are as important as the product itself. AI and new technologies are necessary for retailers to meet the expectations of their customers: fluidity, experience and ultra-personalisation on the one hand against grouped, streamlined and standardised messages on the other.
This is well understood by retailers who now design stores that make you feel at home. They take into consideration the ecological footprint in the optimisation of their supply chain. Today, artisans are the new marketplace heroes, and data is used to speak intimately to consumers.
And what about stores? After being written off a little too soon, they have achieved a particularly successful revival and found a new lease of life by also returning to the source: the senses. Obviously, equipment is this phenomenon’s cornerstone; there can be no successful store experience without furniture designed for this purpose. Store layout is dead – long live scenography! These sensations are enriched by digital technology with a synergy that allows you to experience a positive and satisfactory purchase, takes into account actual needs (thanks to data) and offers real added value, including service. So, by digitizing, stores are rehumanizing the purchase process: CRM makes it possible to personalise offers, vendors equipped with tablets can answer all the customer’s requests, the transaction becomes invisible, and click & collect reconciles on and offline.
For the three days of Paris Retail Week, national and international experts will analyse and debate this new paradigm. Plenary conferences will develop the Smart Phygital theme from different angles.
Paris Retail Week: the meeting place for experiential and connected businesses
After three editions, Paris Retail Week has confirmed its legitimacy and become the key event in the retail sector. This 2018 edition will showcase the entire full-circle business value chain: new distribution models, layout and design, consumer journey, web-to-store and store-to-web, CRM, omnichannel, shopper marketing, agile logistics, and more.
For three days, 40,000 professionals and 800 participating companies (exhibitors, speakers and partners) will gather in Paris.
The flagship event of the season will present solutions, services and products to professionals in the sector, looking for innovative providers in:
- IT for Commerce
- Retail Tech / Digital in Store
- Layout / Equipment
- Payment solutions
- Marketing, Data and Customer Relationship
- Logistics, e-logistics and Supply Chain
In addition to these areas dedicated to the main offers of the exhibitors present at the show, Paris Retail Week will also host a Start-Up Area, bringing together young companies that will showcase the most innovative retail solutions, as well as a Brand & Innovation Village.
With more than 820 scheduled appointments in 2017, Business Meetings are back to bring a dynamic spirit of exchange and collaboration to the show. This service makes it possible to plan and prepare meetings between exhibitors and qualified project holders.
Arnaud Gallet, the new Director of Paris Retail Week, says: "This new edition of Paris Retail Week promises to be particularly rich for professionals. They will be able to benefit from providers’ proven experience thanks to the Solutions Workshops, discover the novelties and trends of the market, gain insight with keynotes delivered by the greatest retailers out there and learn from some of the online retail leaders too... Paris Retail Week is a unique annual opportunity to meet all the players involved in this constantly changing sector. We can’t wait to open the doors of the show and launch this 2018 edition!"
Discover tomorrow’s gold mines
Paris is an inspiring city, and its retailers are passionate about creating new concepts and unique scenography. In order to discover the most innovative, high-concept, and techforward retail spaces, Paris Retail Week will organise in parallel to the show three Paris Retail Tours in the streets of the capital.
Moreover, the Paris Retail Awards, a true institution in the sector, will reward the best innovations and projects. These awards allow service and solution providers to build brand awareness and reward the efforts of an entire team. Several winners of previous editions have particularly benefited from financial or human springboards after receiving an Award.
The Rookie of The Year prize will highlight 3 start-up finalists, who will pit their projects on D-Day before the public vote gets to decide who the final winner is. The awards ceremony will be held on Monday, September 10, as part of the fair.
This new edition of Paris Retail Week is built on the keywords of discovery, expertise, business, meetings, and innovation, and is set to be an exciting and can’t-miss event for professionals in the sector!
