Thriving in an era of change asks us to move through present time with agility. We spent a few days in beautiful Marina Del Rey at PayPal’s annual C360 customer appreciation event. It was our third year, as a guest, and we continue to be honored by their welcoming support of our small but important research community that cultivates women leaders. Would it be ridiculous to think that trusted community will change the future? With companies like PayPal, we say "no!" Their ability to see value in the larger picture makes our ongoing relationship a thrill because they attract other like-minded leaders.
Kelly Stickel, our CEO, took some time to reflect and share some of the moments that inspired her at C360: ​

We were excited to be invited to one of OSF Commerce's Days of Excellence where they celebrated their global clients, shared their new products, and sought out perspectives on innovation. The global nature of this conference was made clear when, at a casual dinner, we realized that the business leaders dining were from 12 different countries. Whether you are a mid-size merchant who is just beginning your digital transformation, or a large global enterprise who is well into their digital transformation, understanding the future of the direct-to-consumer global business was a driving theme. Building business strategies around expert, trusted community members for guidance is the key to future growth.

Shoptalk is one of the largest and most progressive retail conferences available to retailers. The Remodista team had the pleasure of attending and hosting a slice of innovation for our community.  It was an exciting few days where we explored new retail ideas and connected with some new retail friends. Here are a few take-aways we came home with as well as a recap of some of the events we ran. Take a look!

We had an exciting few days at CES 2019 with the High Tech Retailing team. With quite a bit of ground to cover, we barely scratched the surface with 2.9 million square feet of exhibit hall. We're already preparing for next year. 

- CES Website

Marketing and sales expert Jerry Talamantes is back with the final article of his three-part blog series about the in-store Customer Experience. He discusses how stores can leverage the in-store event to create experiences that solidify their connection with the customer.

​July was a busy month for Remodista and the retail community with Online Retailer’s 10th Anniversary happening in Sydney, Australia. Remodista’s founder and CEO Kelly Stickel spent some time in Sydney catching up with several leaders in our Women2Watch program and beyond. We’ll feature highlights from our latest Born to Disrupt workshop, a visit to Flora & Fauna, moments from the Online Retailer Expo and Conference, and ORIAS winners Julie Mathers, Lucy Glade-Wright, and Jo Harris.

From augmented reality to robots to holograms, brands today have no limits on new and exciting ways to elevate their store experience with technology. However, in order to ensure successful implementation, brands and retailers need a strategy for testing before a full-scale rollout can take place. If you represent an organization that is planning to leverage technology to better connect with your audience, there are a few things that you should do to prepare for a successful effort:

• Assess key questions up front
• Build a clear understanding of consumer behaviors 
• Allow for an appropriate testing period