By Retail Insider
A unique event called ‘Retail Tomorrow’ will be held at the MaRS Discovery District at 101 College Street in downtown Toronto between 9:00am and 12-noon on Thursday October 4, and tickets are still available. The conference will promote the collaboration between retailers, brands, technology leaders, and universities.
Attendees will be provided the opportunity to connect to innovators, identify emerging technologies, share insights, and discover next-practices focused on enhancing the shopper experience.
“There are so many amazing things happening within the Toronto retail ecosystem, and yet, there wasn’t really a place for each sector of the industry to come together and discuss common trials and tribulations. We really believe RetailTO will help to unite the industry as a whole, and create a space where innovation and collaboration can flourish. The goal is to provide an environment free of sales pitches and plugs, ensuring the audience walks away with tactical knowledge they can really use,” said Kelly Stewart of Sampler.
It’s all part of ‘Retail Tomorrow Week’, which is coming to Toronto October 3 to October 4th of this year. Previous host cities have included San Francisco, New York City and Seattle. The week will be co-hosted by National Retail Federation (NRF), GMDC, Retail Tomorrow and Brand Innovators, and will focus on Toronto’s bustling retail and consumer packaged goods ecosystem, as well as the innovative technologies that are changing the retail landscape in the ‘Smart City.’
Toronto was chosen for the event because the city has been identified as a world leader in the realm of technology. The city recently ranked as one of the top 10 globally in terms of innovation, and it has become a global leader in terms of overall tech growth and employment, not to mention being one of the most diverse and multi-cultural cities in the world.
Alex Norman, Co-Founder of TechTO, felt it was the right time to launch a retail-focussed event, stating: “The Toronto tech sector has emerging companies in all retail related activities from traditional tech solutions (e.g. Sampler, Hubba, Shoelace), to DTC (eg Inkbox, Mejuri), to adjacent services in real estate (thisopenspace) and logistics (e.g. Rose Rocket). Various stakeholders have approached us multiple times to help build a community where they can learn from each other and build awareness around what is going on in Toronto’s retail environment. When Marie from Sampler approached us to get involved we knew it was time to launch a new community. We are so excited to bring RetailTO to this great city!”
To kick off the event series, RetailTO is hosting a launch event on October 4th. The morning session will feature speakers from various companies including:
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Matt O’Leary, Chief Partnerships Officer at Carrot Rewards
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Aran Hamilton, Co-Founder & CEO at Vantage
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Dr. Sharon Vorona, Medical Director at Figure 1
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Nicholas Reichenbach, Founder and CEO of Flow Hydration
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Melissa Batchelor, Manager of Customer Experience Strategy at Canadian Tire
The Commerce in the Smart City Panel, moderated by Kevin Coupe, will include:
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Pano Anthos, Managing Director at XRC Labs
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Chris Lydle, Retail Innovation at Google
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Darryl Julott, Senior Manager at Digital Main Street
For more information and to buy tickets to the October 4 RetailTO event, visit: TechToronto.org
A video from a previous ‘Retail Tomorrow’ from San Francisco on March 29-30, 2017:
