ABOUT THE EVENT

Retail Business Technology Expo and Cards & Payments Solutions provides the ideal platform for organisations to showcase the latest technology, business services, tools and solutions, as well as being the perfect environment for visitors to discover the newest and most innovative products and solutions to help them run their businesses even more effectively.  

With so many exciting new developments we’ve put together a guide to the event to make sure you get the maximum benefit from your visit to the show.

Outstanding Educational programme
Our seminar and conference programme features over 130 presentations, debates, discussions, panels and Q&A’s covering a range of subjects from multichannel, eCommerce, internationalisation, loss prevention and fraud, stores, operations, supply chain and logistics, marketing – and so much more.  There’s something for everyone, making this a must visit event for the whole team.    Where else can you come and find all the information to make yours a world class business?  ALL FOR FREE!

Retail Business Technology Theatre A&B and the IMRG Theatre
Visitors can take advantage of the FREE dynamic seminar programme in the Retail Business Technology and IMRG  seminar theatres.  The three theatres operate on a first come first served basis, so there’s no need to book for these sessions, but remember, the 2011 seminars were so well attended that there was standing room only.  Keynote speakers include Paul Coby, IT Director, John Lewis; Mark Fabes, IT Director, Mcdonalds and Paul Willows, Director of Strategy & Architecture, Boots. 

Cards & Payments Conference and Briefings
Cards & Payments Solutions is a dedicated exhibition and conference, focused exclusively on cards and payments solutions in retail co-located with Retail Business Technology Expo. Run in association with Vendorcom, the cards & payments community, it will host the first Vendorcom Quarterly Cards & Payments Thought Leadership Conference of 2012. This conference is free to attend, but you need to pre-register. Click here to pre-register for the Conference & Briefings.

Global Retail Forum at Retail Business Technology Expo
Global Retail Forum (GRF), the world’s leading professional network exclusively for retailers, is partnering with Retail Business Technology Expo to run a whole series of meetings with key industry speakers over two days during the Expo. These will be held in their own dedicated theatre at Retail Business Technology Expo, providing its members, their colleagues and non – members the opportunity to meet and network in a specially created International Pavilion. The Meetings will be free to attend but will require registration for each meeting. They are only open to senior retailers from large retail companies (500+ employees). Current members of GRF will be given first option to register and then general registration will go live in February.

Pecha Kucha Theatre
The Pecha Kucha challenge is coming!   The Pecha Kucha theatre will feature 20 presentation each day - but each one will last just 6 minutes and 40 seconds – and no longer! Pecha Kucha 20x20 is a simple presentation format where just 20 images are show, each for 20 seconds.   if you want a clear and simple overview of the industry’s key issues and topics without the waffle – Pecha Kucha is the place for you – free to attend and no need to book!

European and internalisation focus
With many overseas brands looking to join other world renowned retailers in Europe and grow their businesses, Retail Business Technology Expo provides the perfect showcase of leading retail IT solutions and strategies for both overseas, as well as domestic visitors, all in one place.

The launch show in 2011 attracted a great deal of international attention.  Major new initiatives for 2012 will see at least 500 of the most senior executives from Europe’s largest retailers joining 7,000 UK retailers creating a truly international event that has never previously been seen in Europe.   If you’ve already expanded into new territories, or you’re looking to grow your business through internalisation, then you need to visit Retail Business Technology Expo.  You can network with your peers, find out hints, tips and high level best practise thinking from industry experts AND see all the latest innovations to help you not only trade successfully in your domestic market, but also increase your market share via cross border trading.  With initiatives including the Global Retail Forum meeting; the hosted buyer programme, which will see senior retailers from Europe’s top 150 retailers invited to join study tours, numerous networking events, and of course a VIP tour of the event; an NRF/ARTS/Shop.org pavilion; the EMOTA AGM, and extensive media partnerships with leading European publications, if you want to rub shoulders with Europe’s leading retailers, than you need to attend.

Heavy eCommerce and multichannel focus
With well over half the educational programme dedicated to multichannel, and leading exhibitors from this area including K3 Retail, BT, Shutl, Ukash and Paypal you can’t afford not to visit if multichannel is a core part of your business. Retail Business Technology Expo and Cards & Payments Solutions 2012 has been designed to cater to the full spectrum of retail business models emerging in response to today’s multichannel retailing customer.

Cards & Payments Solutions
The ability to process payments is the one facility no retailer can do without. And the ability to secure them is a critical business imperative. To address the growing importance of this business critical area,  Cards & Payments Solutions is a dedicated exhibition and conference with an exclusive focus on cards and payments solutions in retail, co-located with Retail Business Technology Expo.

Global Retail Forum’s International Pavilion
For UK and global retailers alike, with plans to expand into new territories, the addition of the Global Retail Forum (GRF) to the expo will offer invaluable networking prospects. GRF, the world’s leading professional network exclusively for senior retailers, will be holding a two day series of meetings at the show to provide its members, their colleagues and non-members the opportunity to meet and hold strategic discussions in a specially created International Pavilion at Retail Business Technology Expo.

Innovation Overload
Our visitors told us they wanted to see more even more innovation – and that’s what they’re going to get.  We know that tough times call for innovation in the fight for survival! In addition to 300+leading industry suppliers showcasing the latest innovations, solutions and products there are a huge range of features to knock your socks off!

Innovation Showcases
That’s right, Showcases – not just one but TWO chances to see the most innovative solutions and products in retail.  This is bluesky thinking at its best, giving visitors the chance to see the latest in back office and customer-facing technology development all under one roof and free of charge. 

The Future of Retail – Lighting up the High Street
Global technology provider BT will use the show to host an innovation technology showcase called “The Future of Retail – Lighting up the High Street”.  With one of the biggest research and development centres in the world, BT’s Future of Retail demonstrations will include Wi-Fi, digital signage, augmented reality, RFID, social commerce, assisted service via iPads, retail analytics, managed payment and fraud reduction services and contactless payments to name a few.

NordicID RFID Zone
With all the  questions around RFID, Retail Business Technology Expo will offer the perfect opportunity to see all elements of RFID in a practical environment in the NordicID RFID Zone. This feature will provide the definitive stage for the latest in the practical application of track and trace technology from the point of manufacture to the store, including radio frequency identification (RFID)solutions.              

VIP Club
For the second year running, Wipro, a leading international IT and business services company, is taking headline sponsorship of the VIP Club. The VIP Club offers senior industry directors a dedicated VIP Lounge within the show and also fast track VIP entry, plus access to a VIP cloakroom. VIP status is by invitation only.

Champagne Bar
See and be seen – centrally located right in the heart of the show, the Champagne Bar is the ideal meeting place to sit and unwind, relax and network with your industry peers.

Outstanding networking programme
Networking events from breakfast briefings and lunches through to informal networking receptions giving the industry the chance to network with each other.

Partner Pavilions
New for 2012, the National Retail Federation (NRF) will be hosting a pavilion in association with ARTS and Shop.org.  IMRG will also be in strong attendance.  As well as the IMRG seminar theatre and pavilion, IMRG will be using Retail Business Technology Expo and Cards & Payments Solutions as the platform to host the Annual General Meeting for the European Multichannel and Online Trade Association (EMOTA).

EMOTA is the European trade organisation that represents all aspects of distance selling in general and eCommerce in particular. On behalf of its 20 member associations, EMOTA advocates a barrier-free European single market for distance sales and collaborates with business partners that actively encourage cross border distance selling across the European territory as a whole. IMRG is hosting EMOTA’s Annual General Meeting and also a board meeting at Retail Business Technology Expo within the meeting area in the expo’s International Pavilion.

SO now you’ve seen what’s on offer, you can’t afford not to be here. 
Register today!