E-commerce Berlin Expo🎙️The Interview

Aleksandra, can you tell us how the idea for the E-commerce Berlin Expo was born?

The E-commerce Berlin Expo started in 2016 as a 1 day event. It was then an ambitious project with big hopes of attracting the right crowd for the possibility to expand to today’s well-known and constantly growing e-commerce B2B event in Germany, blending exhibition and conference formats, and offering many networking opportunities. Our dedication, team efforts and appreciation of clients and visitors alike made it possible for us to expand to a 2 day event guesting over 12,000 e-commerce professionals from Germany and 30+ international markets which will have its 10th anniversary next year. With time we also developed side projects around the Expo, like EGN Podcast where we interview C-level guests from the biggest e-commerce brands, both global and German born, for example Miss Sophie, Flix, Shopware or Westwing to name a few. In 2017 we also started our contest E-commerce Germany Awards in which we reward companies pushing boundaries, solving industry challenges, and defining trends in the DACH online retail landscape. Another worth-mentioning initiative is our portal E-commerce Germany News where we share information about the Expo and news about the e-commerce industry which attracts thousands of readers from Germany and international markets, like Great Britain or the United States.

What e-commerce trends have emerged in the latest edition?

The last edition of the E-commerce Berlin Expo strongly focused on changes and therefore challenges standing before the e-commerce industry. With AI going deeper and deeper into our lives, we need to be prepared to welcome a future when many things that we knew will become obsolete and many processes will be more and more automated. There’s also a problem of economic uncertainty. Businesses face rising costs, shifting consumer behaviors, and fierce competition which makes innovation and strong differentiation necessities rather than things to consider. Also it’s more important than ever to focus on your customer and their needs, actually at our conference we had a big debate on how community-driven brands turn customers into advocates who actively shape brand success. Besides that, there’s a strong need for deeper personalization and understanding of your customer, which goes beyond writing them an e-mail starting with their name. Brands have many tools to catch customer’s attention now, including gaming and immersive technologies. It’s the right time to take interest in them and stand out from the crowd.

What are E-Commerce Berlin Expo’s goals for the future?

Our biggest dream would be to become a top of mind event for the e-commerce industry in Germany. I believe that, taking into account everything we’ve done so far with our main project and side ones, expanding to a 2 day event, a move to Messe Berlin next year and most of all strengthening ties between the city of Berlin and E-commerce Berlin Expo, we’re on a good way to achieve it. We also hope to attract even more well-known brands in the e-commerce industry, including DACH and global leaders as we see that it’s something that our audience wants, however, we don’t plan to close our doors to trailblazers, as they’re also an important pillar of our event. With each edition, we strive to strengthen the community we’ve built over the years, uniting a diverse network of professionals who share a common vision: advancing the future of e-commerce. Our goal is to foster a space where ideas can flourish, partnerships are forged, and businesses can thrive. Through this commitment, we continue to shape the future of e-commerce, one connection at a time.