Hamburg, 25 September 2017 – Commerce Summit 2017, hosted by ePages (www.epages.com) an innovation leader for online shop software, commenced in Hamburg 21 & 22 September. A packed Curio-Haus enjoyed discussion of cutting edge and disruptive trends, technologies and innovations in the SMB retail space. The conference programme, including tracks for Strategy, Technology and Merchant areas, attracted strategic thinkers from all aspects of the online retail spectrum – exploring evolving technologies, shopping trends, marketing and social shifts.

The event was kicked off with an analysis of just how far small business retailing has progressed since the last Summit in 2014. Wilfried Beeck, CEO ePages, showed how the modern consumer journey –from search to social, brand experience and customer management – now challenges and empowers SMBs in equal measure. New consumer devices and touchpoints mean that shopping is truly everywhere.

Future-proofing SMB merchants
Announced at Summit, ePages and 1&1 partnered to launch a new range of cloud-driven 1&1 eShops, based on next generation ePages Now software. Available first in 6 countries, the shop packages specifically address the key modern requirements for rapid ecommerce success.

With over 50 million small companies in Europe and North America alone, Robert Hoffmann, CEO 1&1 Internet, delivered a rousing keynote on the huge untapped opportunity and responsibility the industry shares to inspire, equip and educate SMBs. “We must support SMBs well in their big decisions of selecting the right business applications. ePages and 1&1 is a great example of best of breed technology partnership”.

The transformational power of mCommerce was further underlined by ecommerce pioneer and CEO NewStore Stephan Schambach, who summarizes, “Retail needs a makeover. Millennials get their brand inspiration via mobile devices – seamless integration of mobile and in-store is absolutely needed. Multichannel should mean truly friction-less selling across channels”.

High Tech empowers and challenges equally
The most high tech innovations such as artificial intelligence, cognitive business and machine learning are already making marks on SMB retailing. There was a consensus at Summit that AI is now being used to disrupt and transform business processes – a trend that could be a powerful asset for SMBs with limited resources.

Gabriel Vizzard and David Hogg from IBM Watson reported how Watson is expected to touch 1 billion people this year. AI is coming closer to the reach of SMB owners for live interactions with customers and powerful personalization. In the coming years, AI will offer SMB retailers deeper learning and the freedom to focus more resources on their core challenges.

Renowned futurist Theo Priestley concurred with this trend, observing how “China is the region progressing AI for SMBs most right now”. He advises SMBs, “Think about the future of your business in terms of connecting different types of intelligence. It’s time to really know your customers contextually. Tech has removed the barriers of size, now join networks and create experiences”.

As well as shaping new consumer touchpoints, AI is on the way to becoming a strong support with back-office ecommerce processes – with ePages demonstrating how Alexa can assist merchants with tasks like managing open orders and administering shipping.

SMBs must target for niches, fulfil like a multi-national 
Ann-Kristin Hamke from Statista showed how mobile shopping remains the biggest game changer, with same day delivery, virtual wardrobe and social commerce gaining pace as important trends. The digital platforms that most thrive succeed in decentralizing consumer touchpoints and ensuring simplicity with a plug & play ecosystem.

Achieving success from marketplaces remains mission critical for most retailers. Thennarasu Ponnusamy, Principal Engineer at eBay, offered new strategic advice on how a cost per sale model can maximize SMB sales and ad investments.

SMBs can and should borrow from enterprise retail techniques – and often have the agility to gain the best impacts. For example, consumer psychology is more relevant than ever, with Internet Psychologist Graham Jones using the “Sex & Shopping” adage to prove how unconscious consumer preferences and impulses can be harnessed by SMBs. “Shoppers are making decisions before they even know consciously what they’re looking at”, he advises.

The use of pricing psychology also offers great effects according to Professor David Loschelder, Leuphana University, who delivered research on pricing models and what degree of choice will optimize consumer confidence. For example, “When to ask for payment information in customer journey remains a critical science – too soon or too late can wreck confidence”.

Interactive merchant advice
A unique and thriving aspect of Commerce Summit was the live workshop theatre tackling practical topics for SMB retail success. Speakers on marketplace and price comparison strategies included Torben Schwanke from eBay, and Erik Meierhoff from Idealo. Shop usability is nowadays a success factor as well as a concern, with a session from Johannes Altmann from Shoplupe.

The opportunity to use machine learning to recognize behavourial patterns in shops was explored by Olaf Brandt from etracker, proving that the simple linking of web analytics data to programmatic advertising can greatly optimize sales conversions for SMBs.

Best practice payment options were discussed by Markus Fuchs from PayPal, Marcus Lilienthal from Ingenico and PAYONE founder Jan Kanieß. Opportunities for merchants to leverage apps and integrations were showcased by eTrusted, Sendcloud, and rankingCoach. With social media now shaping revenues as well as branding and communication, Teja Töpfer, from Facelift, offered merchants up to date case studies and the latest practical tips.

Developing ecommerce for 2030
The Technology track of Commerce Summit attracted developers and technologists from across the ecommerce ecosystem. There was consensus that cloud-based ecommerce with an API approach offers the best possible catalyst for SMBs to compete online. Workshops explored both single ‘micro’ and wider ‘macro’ architecture with communication patterns, APIs, operational requirements and guidelines covered. Coding workshops included topics such as OAuth 2.0 and webhooks.

Harm Behrens, CTO ePages, explained, “Microservices allow us to try out and quickly bring new innovation to our merchants, without putting proven functionality at risk. An API approach means greater customization for niche retailers whilst the platform itself can remain focused on optimizing the key competencies”.

Ecommerce platforms face the challenge to handle modern consumer interfaces such as voice devices and virtual reality applications. Highlights included a demo of online shopping using Microsoft HoloLens and its underlying technology, courtesy of Luis Gomes of commercetools.

Beeck adds, “As well as being highly enjoyable, our largest Commerce Summit to date proved the importance of collaboration – it’s through being able to come together, discuss and measure progress and potentials within each facet of commerce that we can work best with SMBs to drive their use of technology and future success”.

Sponsors of Commerce Summit included Aruba Cloud, Amazon Pay, Open-Xchange, CM4all, Ingenico ePayments, flour.io, PayPal, Shoplupe, .SHOP, SendCloud, etracker, Händlerbund and TrustedShops.

Press contact
Richard Stevenson
Head of Corporate Communications
ePages Software Inc.
press@epages.com

About ePages
ePages (www.epages.com) is a global leader for online shop software. 140,000 companies in 75 countries run professional online shops based on ePages products; complete with up to 15 languages, search engine optimisation, individual design and optimised for tablets and smartphones. Thanks to regular updates, ePages online shops are always up-to-date with the latest eCommerce trends. The company collaborates with more than 80 technology partners such as online marketplaces, comparison shopping websites, payment providers and ERP vendors. Sales partners are hosting providers as well as logistics, telecommunications, and yellow pages companies who provide best of breed eCommerce solutions to their SMB customer base. Both ePages partners and customers benefit from over 20 years of experience. The company headquarters is in Hamburg with additional subsidiaries in London, Barcelona and New York.

Experts from Google, eBay, PayPal, IBM Watson and 1&1 speak at Curio-Haus, Hamburg, 21 & 22 September // ePages to unveil next generation software for SMB ecommerce

Hamburg, 31 August, 2017 – ePages (www.epages.com), a leading international provider of online shop software, today revealed further details of the speaker line-up for the Commerce Summit 2017, www.commerce-summit.com – an event shaping-up to become Europe’s leading small business ecommerce conference. On Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd September the conference will deliver attendees strategic insights, as well as actionable, practical advice for SMBs.

Commerce Summit 2017 will bring together a community of leading experts and retailers to share the cutting edge and disruptive trends, technologies and innovations in the online retail space. The conference programme (across English and German languages) includes educational tracks for Strategy, Technology and Merchant areas.

The event has attracted strategic thinkers from all aspects of the online retail spectrum – exploring the evolving technologies, to shopping trends, marketing and social shifts. The Summit will hear from expert speakers from around the world. Below are extracts from topics which they will explore within the agenda:

“Retailers have seen a huge increase in mobile traffic, yet conversion rates for many remain low. This means mobile has much untapped potential for retailers, large and small. Learning how and why to capitalize on the m-commerce revolution is now critical even to SMB success”, Stephan Schambach, Ecommerce Pioneer & Founder of Intershop, Demandware and NewStore 

“The principle ‘survival of the fittest’ not only applies in nature but also in the digital environment. SMBs need to rethink their business and constantly adapt it to the high expectations of their customers. To achieve this, they need a strong partner that ensures a suitable technical environment – SMBs can thus concentrate on their core business and assert themselves in the competition”, Robert Hoffmann, CEO 1&1 Internet 

“Big tech shifts are happening – from artificial intelligence, chatbots, voice recognition, big data, micro services etc. But how can small retailers get a piece of the action? Which of these innovations hold the greatest promise for SMBs – let’s explore the reality of tomorrow”, Theo Priestley, renowned Futurist and Technology Evangelist

“SMB retailers can profit greatly from an understanding of the online behaviour of its customers and potential clients. Every retailer today should think about the connections and emotional transactions they can implement to help achieve their goals”, Graham Jones, Internet Psychologist

“Online identity and visibility are key considerations for retail success. There is clearly nothing worse than having a beautiful online shop that struggles to reach its audience. Let’s explore what smaller retailers must do to ensure they stand out confidently in today’s crowded Internet”, Hiro Tsukahara, CEO of GMO Registry, Japan

“For many SMBs, the missing link to success is the pricing strategy for their goods and services. An understanding of the science of pricing can equip entrepreneurs with a confidence and clarity to achieve pricing sweet-spots and increase profit margins in their target markets”, David Loschelder, Professor at Leuphana University

Further high-profile additions to the Strategy track include Niklaus Waser, Head of IBM’s Watson Internet of Things division, Michael Jäschke, Head of Channel Sales DACH at Google Marketing Solutions, and Thennarasu Ponnusamy, Senior Principal Engineer at eBay.

ePages’ CEO Wilfried Beeck comments, “We received a strong response since announcing Commerce Summit 2017. There’s clearly a need for an event that delivers a deep dive into the vast possibilities for ambitious SMB retailers. We look forward to a packed agenda of great speakers, top insights and fun interactions”.

Next generation ePages software
At the event, ePages will unveil the next generation of its popular cloud-driven ecommerce software. Over 140,000 online merchants worldwide are using the ePages platform. The company will set out both its technical direction and roadmap for its software and offer hands-on demonstrations to attendees.

The Summit’s Technology track, to be attended by developers, technicians and product managers, will explore the direction of development for ecommerce, and what impacts and opportunities elements such as micro-services architecture and cloud ecosystems offer.

A wealth of merchant advice 
The Commerce Summit includes a unique workshop series (in German language) tackling key areas for SMB retail success. Speakers on marketplace and price comparison strategies include Torben Schwanke from eBay, and Erik Meierhoff from Idealo. Usability is a key concern, with a session from Johannes Altmann from Shoplupe. Machine learning will be explored by Olaf Brandt from etracker. Best practice payment options will be discussed by Markus Fuchs from PayPal, Marcus Lilienthal from Ingenico and PAYONE founder Jan Kanieß. Opportunities for merchants to leverage apps and integrations will be discussed by industry figures including Bastian Dahm from eTrusted, Andreas Krause from Sendcloud, and Daniel Wette from rankingCoach.

Sponsors of Commerce Summit include Aruba Cloud, Amazon Pay, Open-Xchange, CM4all, Ingenico ePayments, flour.io, PayPal, Shoplupe, .SHOP, SendCloud, etracker, Händlerbund and TrustedShops.

Furthermore, the event is supported by the media partners OnlineHaendlerNews.de, EcommerceNews.eu, Tamebay.com, Start Your Business Magazine, WHIR.com and iMiller PR.

Full details of the conference programme can be found at www.commerce-summit.com/en/agendaand tickets can be purchased at www.commerce-summit.com/en/#tickets.

Press contacts
Richard Stevenson
Head of Corporate Communications
ePages Software Ltd.
press@epages.com

About ePages
ePages (www.epages.com) is an innovation leader for online shop software. 140,000 merchants in 75 countries run professional cloud-driven online shops based on ePages solutions; complete with up to 15 languages, search engine optimisation, individual design and full optimisation for mobile devices. Benefiting from software-as-a-service, ePages online shops are always up-to-date with the latest ecommerce trends. The company collaborates with 80+ technology partners including the most important online marketplaces, payment and logistics companies, and ERP vendors. Sales partners who resell ePages include hosting and cloud providers as well as logistics, telecoms, and yellow pages companies. The company is headquartered in Hamburg with additional subsidiaries in New York, London and Barcelona.