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Welcome and Introduction: to MENA’s Inaugural edition of INTERNET COMMERCE SUMMIT
MAIN STAGESharing the big picture thought on the Theme: ‘Digital Democracy : Accelerating the Future of E-Commerce’
Digitization: Way forward for MENA Retail
MAIN STAGETechnology has been evolving faster than ever today and so are consumers. While existing business models are still playing catch up, new business models are emerging rapidly to cater to this widening gap. As both traditional and online businesses are getting disrupted and challenged, the recipe to success is no longer a clear formula. The fundamental pillars of retail – assortment, engagement, experience, channel & fulfilment, may still be the same but digitization has certainly disrupted each of these pillars. We aim to shed light on some proven trends that have created value in the recent years, such as leveraging data and AI or Connected Commerce, as well some promising upcoming ones, such as the Metaverse, that players in MENA retail industry should pay attention to in order to survive disruption. Further, we would like to share our perspective on what are some fundamentals that businesses can anchor themselves on today as they look to pivot towards the future as well as some common challenges & pitfalls to avoid on this long journey ahead.
Accelerate Digital Transformation for Your Business and Make the Power of Internet Work With 3x Efficiency
MAIN STAGE- Outlook for the Ecommerce and Digital industry over next 5 years: 2023-2028
- Trends that will define the future of e-commerce in this decade and ideas on increasing the consumption pie
THE MENA CATALYST – Accelerating the Future of e-Commerce through a New Age of Digital Democracy
MAIN STAGE- Evangelizing the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) – advances in AI, cloud computing, robotics, 3D printing, IoT, advanced wireless technologies, quantum computing
- The Future of Lifestyle Management – AI, Robots, Apps, Deep Machine Learning commanding how we work, sleep, learn, socialize, entertain
- Vision, Values, and Velocity – Middle East’s vision of 2071
- Internet for Human Development - means to achieve social and economic equality, inclusiveness, access to market choices
- Internet for the Environment – fighting waste, building energy efficiency, green initiatives, achieving climate change goals, environmental and sustainability goals of enterprises, promoting a recyclable and circular economy
- Internet Freedom promoting Human Capabilities in the Digital Age - empowering Entrepreneurs to build newer businesses, greater opportunities for work, increasing livelihoods offering choice of work across greater range of time and distances, greater choices and flexibility to Consumers
- Make Commerce Human – Choices, Accessibility, Ease, Opportunities
- Smart homes, Connected automobiles, Intelligent appliances - allowing people to have more time at hand to do things they really enjoy that give them greater fulfilment
- How the ‘Internet Leadership’ has helped Middle East score Social and Economic benefits
CXOs Conclave: MENA’s ‘The Internet Way’: The Opportunity, Challenges, and Success Stories
MAIN STAGEMiddle East in already a digital powerhouse. Technology is no longer a vertical of the MENA economy; it is a horizontal enabler of every MENA economic sector, from transportation to education. For the world’s largest tech multinationals, regional banks, and garage startups, the Middle East presents a large and rapidly growing opportunity. MENA leaders have walked the talk on Technology becoming a pillar of their knowledge economies by investing five times more in IT than the U.S government, in proportion to their GDP.Case in point being UAE and Saudi - being laser-focused on AI, genomics, and blockchain, and technology is writ large on disrupting numerous industries, including food, transport, financial services, healthcare, real estate, and this is just the beginning.How do we take this exponential growth opportunity ahead, what are the pitfalls to watch, and how we can accelerate ideas to transform our businesses into digital powerhouses and capture a bigger consumption pie of the digital economy.
Evolving to the Next-Generation of Omnichannel Retailing
MAIN STAGELast year, global online retail sales surpassed $5 trillion dollars – that number is expected to grow by 56% over the next four years, reaching more than $8 trillion dollars in 2026.A leading unified customer experience platform has come out with the 3 top retail trends in 2023, that will be integral to online retail success next year.Retail trend #1: An omni-channel approach The customer journey is far from linear – consumers jump from one channel to another throughout their day and expect a consistent brand experience along the way.Retail trend #2: User generated content Research shows that consumers crave a more authentic experience online and trust other customers more than they trust ads, making UGC a crucial component of a successful online strategy. Ninety percent of consumers claim UGC holds more influence over their buying decision than other marketing and sales content.Retail trend #3: Live video Live video is still catching on, but it will grow in popularity as consumers seek more personalized experiences online. Last year, live video shopping in China drove $300 billion in sales in 2021 and is expected to deliver nearly $480 billion by the end of this year.Let’s discover how these trends can capture value and create profitable marketing, sales, and service strategies for your online business.
Making Internet RELEVANT for STORES – Crafting the Internet Experience for Our Retail Stores
MAIN STAGEInternet can not only enable our digital footprint via the e-store, website or app where sales happen and brand gets built, but can also be a very valuable asset to increasing the Customer Experience and Fulfilment inside our stores.A new way to look at Internet for Brick-n-Mortar:
- Customer experience curated with Digital integration and power of Internet in our Stores
- ‘Physical Meeting Points’ made effortless for the customer with integration of tech and digital:
- Wayfinding and In Store Navigation
- Digital Self-Service Kiosks in Stores
- Digital Signage and Engagement
- Range Experience and Exploration
- In Store Analytics and Computer Vision
- Collection Experience (Click & Collect)
- Returns & Waiting Experience
- Future Store Experience
How Internet Can Help Scale New Markets, Reach International Customers, and Help Establish on a Global Scale
MAIN STAGEWe learn how these companies have driven sales in newer markets, grown sales in same markets, broadened their appeal to reach a new segment of customers and used newer channels combining the best of traditional retail and digital enabled commerce:setting up their online websites, digital payment mechanisms, international campaigns, shipping and logistics, order fulfilment, combining their strengths with marketplaces and aggregators. …
MENA’s Iconic Entrepreneurs : Lessons in Creating a Valuable Business, and Brands That Have Created a New Identity for the Middle East
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WORKSHOP
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“Traversing The Metaverse World – Setting The New World Of Engagement”
MAIN STAGECovering step by step guide to building your brand on Metaverse. Live examples / Case studies on successful Metaverse deployment.
How To Design The Right UX For The Digital Centric And Mobile-First Customer
MAIN STAGEAre you being served – Why UX is now as or more important than marketing or customer serviceSurfing experience (on mobile) is the new currency for brand love. And people are 100 times more impatient online, than they are in physical realityYour customer is always on their phone. Many of us still make the mistake of prioritizing web first.The truth is, if your offerings and user interface isn’t optimized for mobile, you’ll miss out on a ton of conversions.
- Why you should design for mobile first
- Expert tweaks to apply that will lead to a massive increase in conversions
- Why you should keep things clear and simple without overdoing your design
From E-Commerce To V-Commerce: Exploring The Future Of Virtual Shopping Experiences
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The New Age of Banking and Fintech – Emergence of a Digital World of Financial Services
MAIN STAGE“Banking is necessary, but banks are not”, Bill Gates said in 1994 when he was Chairman of Microsoft.As if Online Banking and then Mobile Banking weren't enough change to last for a few decades, the industry’s drive to satisfy customer’s constant and insatiable need for information has recently driven us toward Real-Time Deposits, Mobile Payments and Branch-less Banking, Apps for every conceivable need of Financial Planning.In recent years, the number of financial services around banking has exploded, which has led to a decentralisation of the finance industry, with a myriad of third parties.How are banks, new-age fintech companies, insurance companies gearing up to offer the new-age banking experience in the digital world:
- What digital innovations and best practices have worked in marked increased in customer satisfaction?
- How has been the ROI on investments in digital and technology?
- What are the latest products and innovations that will mark a profound change in how banking is done and how customers buy financial products?
- Digital inclusion and financial education platform for teens and youth (under 18) – Creating money-smart teens before they become your full-fledged customers
Curating the Next Level of Customer Experiences
MAIN STAGE#The Power of Curated Customer Experiences on Sales and Profits #Adapting to Consumer Expectations in the Digital Age and Delivering Meaningful ExperiencesA generational shift is taking place on what consumers seek and value. In order to stay relevant in the digital age, companies must react to behavior that has been digitally disrupted by offering personalized experiences and be able to create memorable moments for their customers.According to experts, customers demand three things from a great digital experience – speed, convenience, and consistency. In other words, modern customers demand quick and easy access to information, fast and reliable customer service, and a consistent and seamless experience on each touchpoint they use to interact with a brand.Our experts will share more insights on:
- A Curated Guide to Customer Experience Optimization
- How to build a “CX native” company
- Focus on creating a connected experience
- Problem-seeking and problem-solving by thinking from the user’s perspective
How To Build Your Superior MarTech for the Digital HyperExpansion Era
MAIN STAGEMaking your #brand more relevant and relatable to the new age customers and media.“If marketing is about the story you tell, MarTech is about how and well you tell it in the customer journey”.In the hyper-expanded digital world, customer engagement and experiences have shifted from monolithic experiences to hyperpersonalized, contextual experiences that are delivered in real time.Learn how to craft a well-honed MarTech stack to gather customer data, create distinct profiles, communicate with customers, identify and nurture leads, monitor customer service and feedback, and track campaign success.
- The State of Marketing Operations and Key Trends for 2023
- How MarTech can make a big difference if used effectively – use cases and case study examples which have delivered spectacular results
- Some new-age tools that offer cutting-edge marketing solutions for your business and how to implement them
- How to build your MarTech strategy – when you are attempting it for the first time?
- What to include in a MarTech stack - with over 9,000+ MarTech tools available in the ecosystem, how do you select the relevant tools aligned with your business goals?
- Which tools are Marketing Ops leaders looking to invest in?
- How to prove the ROI of your MarTech investments?
- How to integrate your marketing technology tools – when a typical enterprise will have more than 100 applications
- Creating a measurable MarTech strategy – so that your Board/C-suite backs it up fully
- Futureproof your MarTech stack – so that it doesn’t get obsolete in the next 2 years
- Growth Hacker Insights
How To ‘Up’ the Cool Quotient With Latest Technologies and Innovations ..
MAIN STAGE.. for Building Your Brand, Elevating Customer Experiences and Breaking the Clutter
THE LEAP CLUB – Internet Powering the Growth of the Most Admired Ecommerce Brands
MAIN STAGEThe Brands and Entrepreneurs Making a Big Splash.. with fascinating concepts, inspirational journeys, and unique modus operandis ..Hear these entrepreneurs share their fascinating story. Each making a 5 minutes Presentation to share the Brand Story, Retail Penetration, Funding successes, and Plans to Scale Up …
- Product – where the USP lies
- Journey so far …
- Key Milestones
