The Innovision 2018 conference is now in full swing in Fort Lauderdale, launching the event with messages of creativity and innovation while overcoming our greatest challenges through the power of planning, determination, and teamwork. By putting intelligent minds together to share ideas in a comfortable environment, a primary goal of the Innovision conference is to engage participants to push and challenge the solution providers to find productive solutions in a dynamic and evolving retail environment.
Following introductory statements by host Vy Hoang, executive vice president of sales and marketing at i3 International, Doug Stephens, one of the world’s foremost retail industry futurists, provided the lead keynote presentation. Stephens emphasized having the courage to influence change in a world where everything about how, when, where, and why we shop is changing. He discussed how media is becoming the new store, determining in large part how we display, distribute, and purchase products. As a result we must engage customers at a deeper level by creating unique experiences, personalizing that experience, surprising the customer by doing something that they didn’t expect, and demonstrating the ability to execute perfectly every time.
Stephens’ remarks were followed by a keynote presentation with David Allison, a technology futurist, who discussed how we can use research and science to transform disruptive change into welcomed opportunity. Allison discussed the concept of “Valuegraphics,” stating that research has shown that we should look to identify our focus groups by shared values rather than age groups such as Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millenials.
“What we value determines what we do,” said Allision. “Largely as a result of technology and our access to information, we are basically all the same age now. Our sense of belonging, family, and relationships remain our most important values, driving what we do, what we buy, and how we purchase goods. By looking at the basic concepts that motivate people, we can best determine how to meet their needs. The age of age is over—values are the new age, and should be used to help us profile individuals.”
Following the morning presentations were breakout sessions with attendees splitting into different focus groups, discussing create ideas and talking points that will drive the Innovison mission for the coming year. A group conversation will follow on Wednesday to discuss these ideas with all attendees as a team.
Afternoon breakout sessions included a session on the application of artificial intelligence in quick service restaurants and a second on “The People Strategy at Home Depot.” Attendees were then given the opportunity to meet in individual sessions with the different solution providers at their discretion to further discuss product questions as well as business needs, options and opportunities.
A busy and productive Day 1 concluded with a networking dinner complete with live music, activities, and entertainment, as well as high expectations for the busy schedule ahead on Day 2 of the event.