Internet Retailer 2008 Conference & Exhibition June 8, 2008

Come to IRCE 2008 and Stay Ahead of the Web's Learning Curve

Not since shopping malls sprouted more than fifty years ago has the retail landscape changed as dramatically as it's changing today. The agent for this change is the Internet. E-retailing has revolutionized the way all retailers relate to customers, expanded the average merchant's market from regional to national, created thousands of new merchants, redefined the very meaning of retailer, ushered in the age of multi-channel retailing and ended the malling of America.

The Web Enters Retailing's Mainstream
No longer a sideshow, the Internet is now in the mainstream of America's retail industry and even its culture. The country's fastest growing and most innovative merchants are web-based. Some of the biggest brick-and-motor chains have lately put the web at the core of their growth strategy. E-retailers are also leading America's evolution toward an Internet society by exploiting social networking, rich media, mobile commerce and other emerging technologies.

Competition in e-retailing has gone mainstream, too. You can no longer prosper on the web simply by finding a new niche; segment after segment is now crowded with web merchants, each trying to outperform the other with new web site features and designs. Staying in business requires staying ahead of the web's learning curve.

These trends comprise the content of—and primary reason for attending—the 4th Annual Internet Retailer 2008 Conference & Exhibition, by far the world's largest e-retailing event, to be held June 9-12 at Chicago's new McCormick Place West. Last year, IRCE drew 4,100 attendees, more than all other e-retailing shows combined, by offering the most informative agenda and by staging the largest display of e-retailing technology ever assembled. Attendee responses to post-conference surveys were overwhelmingly favorable (see attendee ratings).

IRCE 2008: Most Speakers, Attendees, Exhibitors & Bonuses
For IRCE 2008, we are looking to exceed last year's record-setting attendance by featuring 125 expert speakers—each objectively chosen by our editors based on their proven expertise. The theme of this year's agenda—"Web Merchants Dive Into the Mainstream"—highlights all of the competitive, marketing and technological trends which define an e-retailing industry that it's changing the way America shops.

IRCE 2008 will again feature the largest exhibit hall in web retailing with 325 exhibitors from all segments of the e-commerce solutions market occupying 130,000 square feet of exhibit space—45% more than last year. It will offer unmatched networking opportunities, two Cyber Cafes, ample food and beverage stations and the highly popular Win-the-Wheels Tour, which this year features a 2008 Cadillac CTS.

Conference registrants will receive all the free bonuses they have come to expect from paid IRCE conference registrations, including the 380-page 2008 Edition of the Top 500 Guide (a $60 value compliments of Venda), a notebook or CD containing all slide presentations, tickets to a networking dinner, and a free copy of our 288-page Guide to Web Site Design & Usability.

After you see what we have in store for you at Internet Retailer 2008 Conference & Exhibition, your choice may not be whether to come but how many people your company will send. I hope our 25% discount on group registrations of three or more from the same company makes that choice easier.

Whatever registration plan you choose, we welcome you to attend IRCE 2008 and look forward to seeing you at the world's #1 e-retailing conference.

Jack Love
Publisher

Official Website: http://www.internetretailer.com/irce2008/