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IRCE 2009: Why We Expanded Everything But the Price
To E-Retailers Everywhere:
It's not easy to attend conferences in the middle of a scary recession. But there's a self-fulfilling prophecy that plays out when you eliminate all of them: You lose touch with a fast-changing market like e-retailing and the technology that drives it just when you need that connection the most.
The Best Informed E-Retailers Will Become the Leaders in 2009
That is particularly true right now. While online sales growth rates are down, e-retailers still have positive growth rates—which is more than can be said for store chains. E-Retailing is an island of hope in a depressed retailing market. That's the good news. The bad news is that everyone wants to move there, which means 2009 will be the most competitive year yet in the e-retailing market. It will be the year which likely separates web merchants into two groups: the long-term leaders and the also-rans. This is not a time to retreat; it's your time to shine.
That's why we've done something that few show organizers do in a recession year: We've expanded everything about the conference—except the price. We know that more than ever you need the practical tips for improving the marketing and operation of your retail web site that our 179 expert speakers will be providing in 93 targeted conference sessions at the Internet Retailer 2009 Conference & Exhibition at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center on June 15-18, 2008. It is the quality of IRCE's conference content that has fueled the show's impressive growth—a record that was recognized in November 2008, when Tradeshow Week named IRCE the fastest growing of all 13,000 conferences and trade shows held each year in North America.
How IRCE Became America's Fastest Growing Show
We achieved this milestone by responding to the needs of e-retailers. We founded the conference on high standards of content when we completely removed the selection of speakers from all control of sponsors (our top editors select them without influence from sponsors) to insure that our agenda was informative and objective—not the sales pitches you get from vendors at some e-retailing events. We also responded with more day-long workshops when attendees expressed their desire to dig deep into a single area of e-retailing.
And in IRCE 2009, we are responding to requests from attendees who want the show to continue to relate to their specific needs even as it grows into a huge event. To make that happen, we reduced the number of general sessions at IRCE 2009 and greatly increased the number of specialized track sessions to allow e-retailers to choose from a broader array of topics to find those that most meet their needs. For the 2009 show, IRCE features:
- 179 Expert Speakers: Up 24% More than IRCE 2008
- 94 Conference Sessions: 21% More than IRCE 2008
- 170,000-Square-Foot Exhibit Hall: 30% bigger than IRCE 2008
More Content, More Technology, Even Lower Price
The only thing that hasn't increased at IRCE 2009 is our registration fees, which have always been 50% or more below our competition. And, by signing up by June 12 for the standard two-day conference, you pay just $895—fully $100 less than the on-site fee that goes into effect after June 12. We've also reduced conference hotel rates as well and arranged for discounted fares on American Airlines and Amtrak for travelers attending IRCE 2009.
Why have we done all this? Because if you are cutting all but one e-commerce conferences from your 2009 schedule—we want to be sure that IRCE is the one you keep. And if you're thinking about cutting out all shows in this critical year for e-commerce, we want to give you plenty of reason to think again.
Kindest Regards,
Jack Love
Publisher
