Join the First AWS EMEA Retail Symposium Online: What to Expect

Across AWS EMEA, retailers have always adapted to shifting consumer trends and buying behaviours, but the global COVID-19 pandemic upended the industry and changed the retail landscape in unprecedented ways. In order to tackle these new disruptions, EMEA retailers are rapidly innovating to continue providing the best customer experiences as they look toward a future normal.

Technology enables retailers to future-proof their businesses and offer growth opportunities. To showcase what’s possible, AWS is hosting its first EMEA Retail Symposium Online for industry leaders to share innovations and ideas with their peers across the retail spectrum, as well as hear from AWS experts who understand their unique challenges.

The symposium kicks off on September 9^th and will include both business and technical leader agendas. The technical sessions, running until October 7^th, will also be offered in local languages—Spanish, French, German, and Italian—so you can create an agenda by selecting your preferred language. Each day of the event will include multiple sessions, so please check our event page here for more details.

Highlighted below are only a few of the sessions you might find interesting. The full list of speakers and topics can be found on our event page.

Analyst Keynote: The Future of B2C Buying & Retail
Speaker: Michelle Beeson, Customer Experience Analyst, Forrester Research
Session Time: 9^th September | 09:05 – 09:25am BST [Business Leader Track]

Forrester Research, a premier analyst firm with retail coverage, will highlight how the pandemic has altered consumer behaviour and influenced industry trends, utilizing key data from their B2C buying trends research. Michelle will speak to the potential behind the customer obsession concept and demonstrate how disruptor brands are filling gaps left by scale retailers.

How a Global Pandemic Confirmed Digital Agility as an Enabler for New Battlegrounds in Retail           
Speaker: Kees Jacobs, VP Consumer Products & Retail, Capgemini
Session Time: 9^th September | 09:25 – 09:45am BST [Business Leader Track]

Capgemini is a leading global systems integrator and AWS Partner. In this session, learn the potential behind a digitally agile customer engagement approach. Specifically, Kees features joint customer examples, including Unilever, and the benefits they have realized.

Co-op UK’s Innovative Digital Commerce Strategy: Enabling 1000+ Stores to Provide a 2-hour Home Delivery Service
Speakers: Chris Conway, Ecommerce Director, Co-op; Jani Jääskeläinen, Managing Director, Naveo Commerce; Scott Langdoc, Head of Worldwide Food Retailers Go-to-Market Strategy, AWS
Session Time: 9^th September | 14:45 – 15:05pm BST [Technology Leader Track]

Co-op, one of the UK’s largest food retailers, is driven to deliver value and enhance the shopping experience for millions of members. Discover Co-op’s digital commerce strategy for driving powerful customer experiences and improving operational agility with their innovative connected commerce platform.

How the Cloud Enabled McDonalds to Pivot and Transform its Restaurants for Delivery
Speakers: Phil Le-Brun, Enterprise Strategy Director, AWS (former CIO, McDonalds);
Alejandro Mondragon, Retail Lead DACH, AWS
Session Time: 9^th September | 15:05 – 15:25pm BST [Technical Leader Track]

McDonalds’ brand is unquestionable. Learn from a former CIO and now AWS Enterprise Strategy Director about how the fast-food giant deftly pivoted to address the fast-growing food delivery segment, enabled by app experiences built on AWS and the rapidly evolving convenience expectation of consumers.

Visit our event page to register and learn more. We look forward to you joining us!