Vendor Stands of Shoptalk 2022
I was in Las Vegas earlier this week for what is becoming the most important convention in retail: Shoptalk 2022. The event featured conference talks, meet ups, workshops, various parties and networking - and the show, held at the Mandalay Bay hotel, also included a massive exhibition hall full of retail's key solution providers.
This piece is really my recording of the most engaging stands at the show. There's no winner or looser and instead I hope that this piece will help members of PSFK's community think about how they "show up" at events like this.
Stand Trends
Booth As Stage
While some vendors did give live talks to the attendees, I noted more progressive uses of the stage as a place to record - or even livestream - with talks and conversations. The pics below show shoots taking place at Elastic Path and Salesforce booths:
Magic Wheel
I'm guessing that the wheel of prizes is a trick to engage passers-by that's been around as long as conventions have. Criteo seemed to use this tactic the best at Shoptalk 2022 with upbeat contests with a high energy host.
Baristas
There were too many stands offering cappuccinos with logos in the froth! Salesforce's coffee -stand in the exhibition hall corner helped attendees grab a coffee without feeling like a sales rep was going to jump on them (or buzz them to leave).
Most Engaging Stands
Most Immersive: Salesforce
Most Millennial : Klarna
Most Off The Wall: Cart
Most Outside The Box: Pitney Bowes
Recommended by LinkedIn
Other Stands Of Note
Big Commerce
Instacart
Affirm
Uber Eats
Quantum Metrics
Snowflake
AfterPay
Untapped Opportunity Areas for Exhibiting At Shoptalk 2023 and GroceryShop 2022
An innovative solution provider could really activate the WatchParty area
There's an opportunity to promote around the electronic wayfinding stations
Providing a stage for attendees to record audio and video (vs the corridors). Could be organized directly with the hotel.
Placing seating and co-working space in the corridor between the convention center and the Mandalay Bay casino. This could be organized directly with the hotel.
A take-over of experiential mall Area15 for a party. I had a blast visiting this space, the Meow Wolff exhibit and the immersive distillery tour.
Next?
The PSFK and Retail Innovation Week teams will be at Shoptalk Europe in June and GroceryShop in September. We may also hit Cannes Lions and more. Hit me up if you want to explore how your organization could partner with us at these events.
Chief Marketing Officer | Product MVP Expert | Cyber Security Enthusiast | @ GITEX DUBAI in October
2yPiers, thanks for sharing!
Keynote Speaker/ Futurist/Cultural and Consumer Insights Specialist, Forbes Women's Council Member, Harvard Business Review Advisory Council
2yFantastic round up, Piers - thanks!
Your Future Ally
2y...While I found some of the activations visually pleasing, in the main I found the staff on these booths disinterested in anyone that's not working at a brand or retailer. Reps scan the badges with their eyes and decide very quickly whether to even engage in a conversation. I guess they're hitting quotas but the downside is that there's little engagement with anyone who could be a future employee, a strategic partner or..... maybe a certain someone who publishes a weekly retail innovation newsletter and provides vendor selection advice to major retailers and brands. :)
Thanks for the mention Piers, besides thinking outside the box we hope you managed to see what was inside too :)
Your Future Ally
2yThis piece is really my recording of the most engaging stands at the show. There's no winner or looser and instead I hope that this piece will help members of PSFK's community think about how they "show up" at events like this. And while I found some of the activations visually pleasing, in the main I found the staff on these booths disinterested in anyone that's not working at a brand or retailer. Reps scan the badges with their eyes and decide very quickly whether to even engage in a conversation. I guess they're hitting quotas but the downside is that there's little engagement with anyone who could be a future employee, a strategic partner or..... maybe a certain someone who publishes a weekly retail innovation newsletter and provides vendor selection advice to major retailers and brands. :)