With the marriage of smart devices, advanced connectivity, and e-commerce, smart retailers worldwide are adopting and embracing various technological breakthroughs that are gradually changing how businesses and consumers interact.
While every retailer has a Point of Sale, in-store signage and BTL activities to engage the customer, the Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as one of the most talked about technology trends today.
Internet of Things (IoT) is characterised by the automated transmission of information over a network, without need for human interaction. In a nut shell, IoT connects people, machines, items, and services to streamline the flow of information, enable real-time decisions, and heighten consumer experiences.
Of all the technology trends taking place right now, the biggest one is the Internet of Things. It is the one thing that’s going to give businesses and consumers the most disruption as well as the most opportunity.
Just as there’s no pause button between one year and the next, technology doesn’t wait for laggards to catch up. Understanding this need of walking in tandem with technological changes, the 12th edition of India Retail Forum will be hosting a never-before session on IoT in retail on September 16, 2015 under its concurrent event India Omnichannel Forum(IOF).
The session will witness tech geniuses of India’s biggest retail tech specialists exploring ways to fit the Internet of Things into retailers’ game plans in the most effective ways. The line-up includes: Veneeth Purushotaman, Head IT, Bharti retail; Ranjan Sharma, Head – IT & Supply Chain Bestseller Retail; Chirantan Kisale, CIO, The Mobile Store; Jaspreet Bindra, Sr VP, Digital Innovation, Mahindra Group and Sunil Nair, Head Technology & Business Solutions, Max Hypermarket.
IOF 2015 is a tailored and one-of-its-kind technology forum for business owners, business leaders and technology teams to meet, engage and conceptualise the next-generation of consumer experiences. Enriching the quality and expanse of retail experiences across physical and digital worlds through intuitive consumer engagement and technology enablement is the vision of the India Omnichannel Forum. Mirroring this vision, this inaugural year’s theme will be ‘Consumer Centric Commerce’.At IOF 2015, hear the accounts of brick-and-mortar retailing giants transitioning with new consumer behaviours, technology thinktanks laying out the hidden science of data and consumer behaviourial scientists telling you how the omni-channel customer can be made to behave – as you want him or her to.
About IRF
IRF’s tag line “Know Everything in Retail, Know Everyone in Retail” is well supported by the unique format and content, which is made possible by the outstanding quality of speakers and participants. Chaired by Krish Iyer, President & CEO, Walmart India, the two-day event encompasses KNOWLEDGE SERIES delivered by global experts, a power packed CONFERENCE, inspiring 18-minute SOLO (Stories, Opinions, Learnings, Outcomes) talks, a unique EXPOSITION and a glittering AWARDS evening that celebrates exceptional achievements in the industry.
This year, this annual event will bring together over 2,500 delegates, 150-plus distinguished speakers from around the world, 100-plus exhibitors of innovative products and services for the retail sector, and innumerable opportunities to tap this high potential market. The stellar line up of speakers include some of the most prominent and influential speakers from the retail industry, who are all set to outline the course of modern retailing in India with their path-breaking ideas at IRF.
Some of the key names among the close to 150 speakers at the event include: Philippe Nobile, MD, Javelin Group, Kabir Lumba (Managing Director, Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd), D Shivakumar (Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo India Holdings, Govind Shrikhande (Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop Ltd), Amit Bahl (Head of Online Technology – Omni Channel, Future Group), Ganesh Subramanian (COO, Myntra.com), Rohit Chadda (Co-founder and MD, Foodpanda.in), Abhishek Ganguly (MD, Puma India), C K Venkatraman (CEO – Jewellery, Tanishq), among many other prominent names.
At IRF, with its stated mission of being a catalyst for profitable retail, technology will be featured in a stand-alone status as both a key challenge and facilitator for consumer-facing businesses. With this in mind, the inaugural edition of India Omnichannel Forum (IOF 2015) is being organised alongside IRF 2015, and will focus on Customer-Centric Commerce –Engage, Experience, Enable.
