The 2010 Internet Retailer event was the most well attended ecommerce event ever with 6,371 attendees (4,250 paid) and the most content rich with 4 tracks on a variety of digital commerce related topics. The event also featured a large contingency of over 400 exhibitors ranging from ecommerce platforms to mobile storefronts to social applications. The keynote session commenced with an industry update that featured a 14% growth in sales for Q1 2010 over Q1 2009 for the US. Also, the ratio of overall web revenue to in-store revenue grew from 7.2% to 8% year over year for Q1, strengthening the claim that retailers can no longer be channel neutral. What struck me most were four recurring themes that echoed throughout the event: multi-channel integration, mobile, social, and international expansion.

Multi-channel Integration
Retailers have been talking about true multichannel integration since 2000. At IRCE several retailers presented multi-channel examples of how they have realized this goal. None was more heartening then the presentation by Imran Jooma's, Sears VP of E-Commerce, who spoke about their "Manage My Life" initiative. I highly recommend you see firsthand how Sears has unified the purchasing experience between the online, call center, and mobile channels for creating customer convenience. It was abundantly clear that retailers are thinking beyond just sharing basic order data across customer touch points, but are now focused on differentiated strategies for consumer interactions.

Mobile
Although there were many topics covered during the sessions, a good number of them discussed how mobile would affect their business. An eye-opening number was delivered during the keynote that currently 60% of people on earth have a cell phone. Of that 60%, smartphones are now making up 30% of the mobile phone market. Brian Walker from Forrester shared a stat that up to 3% of purchases made online were influenced by a mobile device. The overall view across the retail community is that within the next 2 years, transactions made on a mobile device would represent a significant portion of overall revenue.

Social
Social marketing took center stage as a number of retailers presented their best Facebook and Twitter campaigns. What I found most interesting was hearing that retailers were making money selling through Facebook; there were many applications that were built to allow consumers to find products and transact without leaving the friendly confines of their Facebook page. Open Graph was a hot topic as many retailers discussed the indexing of their product pages into Facebook and seeing results. Twitter on the other hand, had mixed reactions as to its level of success, many citing that their customer base did not use Twitter often enough to make it a worthwhile marketing medium.

International Expansion
Retailers are now seeing the advantage of using digital channels to expand their brand reach into other countries. For the first time in recent memory I heard US brands clearly articulate strategies as to how they would go into other markets.

In conclusion, though there is plenty of room for growth in the online retailing sector, retailers have truly embraced and realized the benefits of selling through digital mediums. A sign of good things to come.

By Troy Brown, Demandware Retail Practice

I'm pumped! You know why? We just finished Demandware's first ever XCHANGE workshop. Over 100 people attended including: clients, channel partners, implementation partners, LINK technology partners, our client advisory board, and of course the Demandware team. Yeah, yeah, it was a conference. Big deal you say. So what? Well, here's how I see it.

We have incredible customers and partners - awesome individuals. People, who desire to work with us and with each other collaboratively to learn, improve and drive ecommerce growth. People who are engaged. We have a COMMUNITY of like-minded individuals. Everyone has a voice. Everyone can contribute.

The networking aspect of the event was phenomenal: Merchandisers building relationships with other Merchandisers, Developers connecting with our just announced beta Developer Community and eCommerce executives sharing ideas with other ecommerce executives. I feel so fortunate to be able to work with so many people who are so tightly aligned. Why? Because EVERYONE in this community cares about the same thing: each other's success. It's a bond that enables us to transcend the occasional speed bump, process glitch, or software bug. It's a commitment that is creating profound loyalty in ALL directions. Look, I've been around the ecommerce space for a while, and this type of harmony is UNPRECEDENTED. Ok, ok, maybe I'm a bit giddy. But seriously, if you aren't a Demandware customer, how happy are you and your peers on that "other" ecommerce platform? Really.

But another reason I'm so pumped is that the CONTENT met the mark according to our event surveys. This was not a bunch of individuals taking the microphone to pontificate about conceptual ecommerce ideas. This was down and dirty, practical, hands-on, in-the-trenches, boots-on-the-ground, get-your-hands-dirty work. People went home with ideas that are impacting their business NOW. The Business Track featured great workshop sessions on how to optimize on-site search, implement Active Merchandising, improve search engine optimization, shape our roadmap, and how to really leverage our new LINK program.

The Technical Track unleashed the power of Demandware's multi-site capabilities to quickly enable international expansion or multi-brand rollouts, demonstrated how to build sites for scalability and growth, outlined how to use our mobile cartridge to launch your own mobile storefront, shared tips for ramping new developers and showcased the benefits of using automated testing tools.

The Client Advisory Board ("CAB") came together again to help Demandware executives shape the future of Demandware. We have a terrific CAB made up of engaged business leaders who are capable of thinking like a client and like a Demandware shareholder.

And thank you to our LINK partner Fluid for sponsoring the Red Sox game for XCHANGE attendees. Luckily, the Rox Sox won. Some of us, including me, even got to hang with Will Farrell!

If you missed the event, no worries. I'm sorry we had to turn some of you away. We didn't expect such an overwhelming demand. I'm just glad the fire marshal didn't show up since we filled the rooms (and then some). Want the content? As a client, log on to our XCHANGE portal and download the presentations directly. Talk to your Client Relationship Manager. Engage!

And better yet, plan ahead! We're planning a to blow it out of the water in Spring 2011 with an even bigger, better event. Bring your entire team and experience what the game-changing combination of accessible expertise, a vibrant community and empowering technology can do for you!

By Stephan Schambach, Demandware Founder & Executive Chairman

Are you interested in the state of ecommerce in Europe? One of the best ways to get a first-hand introduction is to attend Mail Order World in Wiesbaden, Germany. It is the largest trade show & congress about ecommerce and the mail order business in Europe, with a 10,000 square meter (107,000 square foot) trade show floor, 5,000 attendees, 370 exhibitors, keynotes, presentations, break-out sessions, awards, parties...you name it.

If you are familiar with the annual Shop.org Annual Summit, then you may think of Mail Order World as Continental Europe's version of that event—with a few differences. While Shop.org focuses on ecommerce only, Mail Order World originally started as an event for the catalog industry and sports a multichannel mix of 2/3 ecommerce and 1/3 catalog. Since it takes place in Germany, most exhibitors and attendees are of Continental European origin—some presentations are in German and others in English.

Demandware is a proud sponsor of the community, not just in the US but also in Europe. Thus, we attended as a premium sponsor, with our own booth which was run by our German marketing and sales team. Many of our European customers and partners visited us during the show—obviously enjoying the networking opportunity. Booth traffic was terrific, there is a lot of interest in on-demand ecommerce.

My general impression is that traditional mail order business models still play a larger role here, but that brands and retailers have recognized the opportunity and invest aggressively in ecommerce. For example, the retailer Goertz Shoes recently relaunched its ecommerce site with Netrada, a Demandware partner, and won the "Best Online Shop of 2009" at the show's award ceremony. This very coveted prize is the equivalent of the "Oscar" for ecommerce sites. The jury was impressed with its outstanding and innovative user experience and excellent multichannel integration with its stores.

Aside from the usual assortment of vendors and services providers, there were quite a number of local, highly innovative on-demand software companies at the show. They provide add-on niche services for ecommerce sites with a "European" flavor, such as payment gateways, fraud detection services, shipping, mobile payment, recommendations, etc.

If you are interested in expanding with your brand into Europe via ecommerce, I highly recommend attending this show. Use the networking opportunities to learn from retailers and service providers alike. It's the cheapest way to get educated on the "European flavor" of ecommerce. Alternative: Shop.org has an event in Amsterdam, which is getting better every year.

By Zachary E. Cook, Demandware Interactive Marketing

While everyone else is mourning the end of summer, we know that cooler days and longer nights means it's time to head out to Las Vegas for Shop.org Annual Summit 2009! This year we are more excited than usual since we have so much to share-both in terms of company news and great giveaways in our booth-so here are your top five reasons to stop by booth 707 at the show:

5) Meet the Family
Learn about our latest partnerships with some of the world's biggest brands-including Crocs, Columbia, Rachel Roy, s.Oliver, Liz Claiborne, Frederick's of Hollywood, Anne Klein and many more. As a bonus, we will have a lot of these clients hanging out at our booth throughout the show, why not stop by and hear what they have to say about working with Demandware? They know better than anyone.

4) Fill Your Schwag Bag
No offense to those who would rather a key chain or some other forgettable chotchkie, but we're pretty sure that free Crocs will be high on every retailer's list. So swing by our booth, kick off those uncomfortable wing-tips and slip on a pair of comfy, custom Crocs-you deserve it. And while you're at it, enter our drawing for a custom Burton snowboard-just in time for our Winter '10 release.

3) Kick the Tires
Whether you're a seasoned ecommerce veteran or a brand looking to dive in for the first time, this event is the perfect opportunity to get a hands-on, in-person demo of our industry leading on-demand ecommerce platform. Stop by our eCommerce Studio to learn how our on-demand ecommerce platform can help your online business grow.

2) Join the ecommerce (r)evolution
Full-featured ecommerce platform. Integrated development environment that enables full customization. None of the technology burden and IT capital investment required with in-house applications. That's an ecommerce (r)evolution. Stop by to learn what this could mean for your business.

1) Get Ready for Winter
With summer in our rearview mirror, its time to start getting ready for the launch of our newest release, Demandware Winter '10. In addition to 55 new features and enhancements, Demandware Winter '10 gives merchants access to a full-featured, customizable mobile storefront designed to optimize the speed of transactions made through a mobile phone.

Bonus: A Demandware for Every Retailer
Different strokes for different folks, we hear ya. Some people want all the control. We can do that. Some people want to outsource everything. We do that too. Others want to be guided to launch quickly. Yup, that too. Some even want to see the servers blinking away in their office. We've got you covered. Swing by to learn more about how our new delivery options can be tailored to fit your brand's needs.

By Jamus Driscoll, Demandware Marketing

Boston here we come! (oh yeah, we live here)

Going to the Internet Retailer show? Hey, us too. When you're there, please swing by to see us at Booth 1039. We're featuring a new offering (shhhh...don't tell anyone...it launches on Monday) that wraps our platform, partners and expertise into one value-price package that gets great sites live muy rápido. Here is a sneak peak at what's coming:

• Demandware-leading on-demand ecommerce platform: advanced merchandising, complete control, and automatic product upgrades-worth their weight in gold!
• Feature-rich, online storefront purposefully designed and optimized for the needs of fashion retailers and consumer brands-start here, go anywhere!
• Plug-and-Play Integrations with leading technologies, including analytics, payment, campaign management and others.
• Best Practices Methodology-16 week implementation program that includes strategy site design, integrations, and QA.

I could go on and on, but stop by booth 1039 and see for yourself. Oh, and not only are we experts in ecommerce, we can point you to a ton of great things to do in town, none of which are in the tourist guides. See you there!