The largest online retailer conference in Australia, Online Retailer supported by Australia Post, held its annual event at the ICC Sydney on 19 and 20 July with over 130 exhibitors at the two-day expo, designed for retailers and brands to access tailored education, networking events and a variety of solution providers.
The Conference concluded with the Australia Post Online Retailer Industry Awards (ORIAS) on Thursday evening to celebrate excellence in online retail throughout the year.
Retailbiz attended Online Retailer and received positive feedback from key exhibitors about their experience on the show floor and beyond.
Afterpay country manager, Katrina Konstas said, “Once again, the Online Retailer Conference and Expo has delivered the goods. Our team was delighted to be on the ground for both days taking the opportunity to meet, listen and learn from hundreds of Australia’s best and brightest retailers. From the insightful workshops to the glamorous awards nights, as always, it was an incredibly valuable experience for all in attendance.”
Aramex chief marketing officer for Oceania, Cherie Kellahan said, “We had a fantastic time at Online Retailer. We think it’s one of the best e-commerce exhibitions in the country. It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet business owners looking for our services. It’s also a great way to catch up with supply partners, and people in the industry that we work with throughout the year. We have already re-booked for 2024. We wouldn’t miss it.”
BigCommerce partner marketing manager, Vivian Luo said, “Online Retailer Conference and Expo is an annual highlight on the APAC ecommerce calendar. The BigCommerce team was delighted to host hundreds of retailers over the two days at our booth to discuss their ecommerce needs. BigCommerce was honoured to participate in the inaugural B2B conference track which was dedicated to helping B2B companies embrace digital technology and business transformation by illustrating new channels for growth. Many congratulations to our merchant, Birdsnest for taking out the Online Retailer of the Year award at the ORIAS 2023.”
BigCommerce CEO, Brent Bellm, alongside Matter Design & Digital, spoke in two sessions on the B2B track. BigCommerce also sponsored ShipStation’s sessions which featured joint merchants Lyre’s Spirit Co and SKDA Moto Creative on the topic of cross-border expansion. Jordan Sim joined BigCommerce tech partner, Avalara for the NORA (National Online Retailers Association) podcast: ‘Going International – How to Scale Your Tech and Sell into New Markets’.
ChannelAdvisor senior marketing manager for Asia Pacific, Helen de Souza said, “Online Retailer was quite successful for us. We had over 400 people visit our stand. Our claw machine was a hit with so many people coming by the stand for a play. Our manager of account services for APAC, Alana spoke in a session with a couple of our customers – Ken Ayling from Mosaic Brands and Ronnie Karam from SourceCo.”
CouriersPlease CEO, Richard Thame said, “Our team has been attending the Online Retailer conference for many years now, and we were thrilled to be back again representing CouriersPlease and connecting with new and familiar faces from the retail industry. Events like these are a great opportunity for Australian brands to network, collaborate, and inspire new ideas and conversations, all under one roof. We’re looking forward to next year’s conference already.”
Dropshipzone general manager, John Barkle said, “With Dropshipzone being a tech business, the opportunity to connect with customers in real life at Online Retailer is invaluable. Some of the key thematics coming through conversations were AI, personalisation and how to expand channel strategy. For online retailers and suppliers alike and changing market dynamics, it’s a question of whether to go wide with channel strategy and product range, or niche down. The lines between B2B and B2C are increasingly blurred and we love to see both markets learning from each other and borrowing the best parts from their respective worlds.”
Podium growth marketing manager, Stephanie Peet said, “It was a great opportunity to connect with customer-centric retail businesses from all across the country.”
preezie CEO and co-founder Michael Tutek said, “Attending the Online Retailer Conference was absolutely worthwhile from both a networking and product demonstration perspective. It was fantastic to see the digital, retail, and technology communities come together to share their challenges, insights, and innovations. In-person industry events are definitely back and it feels great.
“A few of our partners were on the ground at the conference, such as Dan Ferguson from Adore Beauty and Kaitlin Trew from Brand Collective. During their sessions, they spoke to other retailers about their experience utilising our brand-to-brand referral network ‘nextbuy’, which led to plenty of potential clients approaching the preezie booth to have in-depth chats about how nextbuy and the wider preezie offering could boost their brand and sales potential.
“The event couldn’t have ended on a better note with the Australia Post Online Retail Industry Awards fostering plenty of kudos, camaraderie, and fun. We were thrilled to be a table sponsor and left with plenty of optimism about the year ahead for Australian retail.”