Events

The Best Virtual and Live eCommerce Events

A Concise and Transparent View of All eCommerce Events

Derric Haynie

Nov 20

mins

Aug 11, 2020

November 20, 2023 2:35

The 4 Different Types of Ecommerce Events

Not all events are created equal...

Some are meant to motivate, some to educate you, and others might be designed pretty much to just sell you something...

Here are some things to know about Ecommerce events:

1. "Sponsored" Events. Typically, if it's hosted by a software vendor (Klaviyo, ManyChat, Zendesk) it will keep the theme of "buy our software" throughout the event. This isn't necessarily bad, and doesn't mean their events aren't good events... But it is what it is, a tech company putting on an event to gain/maintain thought leadership and drive acquisition and retention. I've actually found most of these events to be fairly well-rounded, with a good price point and decent lineup. And of course, we host this style of event ourselves and we consider it very much value first.

2. Entrepreneur events. If the event is hosted by some sort of famous entrepreneur then it will likely end in an upsell to a mastermind course, private community, or some other high-pressure sales pitch. Again, this isn't necessarily bad, it just is what it is.

3. Industry-leading events. These are the best of the best events, typically ran by larger events companies that have been doing it for years. Their goal is to provide value (and of course make good money through sponsorships and attendance), and keep the audience engaged and coming back. I find these events to typically be the most valauble for CXO's and Ecommerce leadership.

4. Niche events. Examples would be a Customer Experience Summit or Facebook Advertising event. These events are highly tactical and can be very educational for the right team member or manager. They are typically smaller in size, but bring in the best talent on their niche topics.

One other thing worth mentioning is that you could consider a grading scale for events:

A-list events are those that are large, established, and have big budgets and at least a dozen noticeable speakers, sometimes with big name keynotes like Michelle Obama.

B-list events are typically medium-sized and may bring in 1-2 notable speakers as well as lesser known speakers and experts.

C-list events are small in size and low in budget. Typically they have no big names, but a few lightweight speakers and influencers.

Whether A, B, or C, you can get good value out of any size and type of event...

Except for the D's and F's, which I would say are posers to quality events.

These would be ultra-low quality events, where the speakers are really giving mediocre or outdated information, and the organizers are pitching, selling your information to 100 vendors, etc.

We will never list D's and F's on our site.

We will do our best to update this weekly, and keep the events in chronological order.

Not all events are created equal...

Some are meant to motivate, some to educate you, and others might be designed pretty much to just sell you something...

Here are some things to know about Ecommerce events:

1. "Sponsored" Events. Typically, if it's hosted by a software vendor (Klaviyo, ManyChat, Zendesk) it will keep the theme of "buy our software" throughout the event. This isn't necessarily bad, and doesn't mean their events aren't good events... But it is what it is, a tech company putting on an event to gain/maintain thought leadership and drive acquisition and retention. Very rarely have I seen companies be able to overcome this... Inbound comes to mind as an example where it wasn't overpowered by the host company, Hubspot.

One other thing worth mentioning is that you could consider a grading scale for events:

A-list events are those that are large, established, and have big budgets and at least a dozen noticeable speakers, sometimes with big name keynotes like Michelle Obama.

B-list events are typically medium-sized and may bring in 1-2 notable speakers as well as lesser known speakers and experts.

C-list events are small in size and low in budget. Typically they have no big names, but a few lightweight speakers and influencers.

Whether A, B, or C, you can get good value out of any size and type of event...

Except for the D's and F's, which I would say are posers to quality events.

These would be ultra-low quality events, where the speakers are really giving mediocre or outdated information, and the organizers are pitching, selling your information to 100 vendors, etc.

We will never list D's and F's on our site.

We will do our best to update this weekly, and keep the events in chronological order.

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For a list of past events, go here.

All The Best Upcoming Virtual Ecommerce Events

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All Ecommerce Events in the United States and Canada

Past Events:

Future Events (updated frequently):

Traffic and Conversion Summit - San Diego, CA (Cancelled, Date TBD)
ConversionXL Live 2020 - Austin, TX (Cancelled, Date TBD)
Ecommerce Operations Summit - Marriot Orland World Center, Orlando, FL (Cancelled, Date TBD)
D3 Retail Supply Chain USA 2020 - Marriot, Brooklyn Bridge, NY (Cancelled, Date TBD)
Retail Summits Southeast Ecommerce - Renaissance Nashville Hotel, Nashville, TN - April 29-30, 2020
Retail Asset Protection Conference - Dallas, TX (Cancelled, Date TBD)
Etail Canada - Hyatt Regency Toronto, ON - May 4 - 6, 2020
Shopify Unite 2020 - Toronto, Canada - May 6 - 8, 2020 (SOLD OUT) (Cancelled, Date TBD)
Sellers Summit 2020 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - May 6-8, 2020 (Virtually Held Event)
De:brief - Toronto, Canada (Cancelled, Date TBD)
CNP Summit Fraud and Risk Protection - Marriott Marquis, San Francisco, CA - May 21, 2020
Retail Summits iNStore North - Minneapolis, MN - June 4, 2020 (Postponed from originally April 9, 2020)

IRCE @ Retail X - Chicago, IL - Jun 9 - 11, 2020
Indie Beauty Expo - Dallas, TX - Jun 10-11, 2020 (Postponed from originally May 13-14, 2020)

Retail Delivery Connect: Supply Chain - JW Marriott Marquis, Miami, FL - Aug 10 - 12, 2020
Etail East - The Sheraton, Boston, MA - Aug 10 - 13, 2020
SuiteWorld by Netsuite - Las Vegas, NV - Aug 10 - 13, 2020 (Postponed from originally Apr 20-23, 2020)

Indie Beauty Expo - New York, NY - Aug 26-27, 2020
ChannelAdvisor Connect 2020 - New Orleans, LA - Sep 9 - 11, 2020
Connected Commerce 2020 - New York, NY - Sep 10, 2020
ShopTalk 2020 - Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV - Sept 14 - 17, 2020 (Postponed from originally Mar 22-25, 2020)

Grocery Shop - Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV - Sep 14 - 17, 2020
Klaviyo:BOS - Boston, MA - Fall 2020
Parcel Forum 20 - Nashville, TN - Sep 28 - 30, 2020
Retail Global North America - September 2020
Click Summit - Raleigh, NC - Sep 29 - Oct 1, 2020 (Postponed from originally May 5-7, 2020)

North American Etail Operations Summit - Dallas, TX - Oct 5 - 6, 2020
EcommBash - Austin, TX - Oct 6 - 8, 2020
DTC Day - Los Angeles, CA - Oct 14 - 16, 2020 (Postponed from originally May 14-16, 2020)

Ecommerce Day NY - New York, NY - Oct 20, 2020
Consumer Returns - Hilton, Austin, TX - Oct 26 - 28, 2020
SubSummit - Dallas, TX - Nov 4 - 6,2020 (Postponed from originally May 27-29, 2020)

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Other Ecommerce Events in North America

Shopify Pursuit - Mexico City, Mexico - Mar 11 - 12, 2020

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All Ecommerce Events in Europe

Past Events:

Future Events (Updated Frequently):

All Ecommerce Events in Asia / Australia

Past Events:

Future Events (Updated Frequently):

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About the author

Derric Haynie was the founder and Chief Ecommerce Technologist at eCommerceTech.io – Where Ecommerce stores go to research, discover, and buy the right tools to grow their store. Half of his day is spent reviewing tech tools, and the other half is talking with merchants to help them discover which solutions are right for them.