DFNI Future Consumer Conference – postponed

DFNI’s new conference will focus on the connected consumer journey within the travel retail marketplace, putting the international travelling consumer and business of shopper marketing under the spotlight.

There is heightened focus around digital strategy within the Global Travel Retail industry. With fresh urgency, the travel retail industry has realised the connected-commerce opportunity of its most valuable asset: passenger data. Welcome to the new age of frictionless travel retail.

This call to arms for the GTR marketplace has lead DFNI to launch a new conference event: The Future Consumer Conference will be held in London on 1st and 2nd December 2020 (new date).

The event will host marketeers, brands, travel retailers, media agencies and airports/airlines where together, we will be able to gather, discuss ideas, collaborate, network and hopefully innovate around what the future travel retail experience will look and feel like.

“We need to move the conversations of the health of the [travel retail] ecosystem outside of meeting rooms into the open, where they can be recognised and we can all do something about it. Ultimately, if the traveller is the true source of fuelling our ecosystem, then the capacity of the traveller should drive all future investments into the channel,” he said.

In recent months there has been increasing focus from travel retail operators discussing future-facing omnichannel strategy.

A highlight was from DFNI‘s interview with Julian Diaz, CEO Dufry who emphasised how omnichannel is one part of the company’s ‘E-motion’ strategy. “Omnichannel in travel retail today makes more sense than it did a few years ago,” said Diaz. “We try to collect as much information as possible from passengers through digital technology and then we learn how to adapt retail outlets to new technologies.”

Meanwhile for Lagardère Travel Retail Chief Business Officer Ambroise Fondeur, omnichannel is a key part of the travel journey. “It is an opportunity to engage with the traveller before they travel and for them to discover, buy or even just browse the offer. It’s really important that it’s fully integrated within the global traveller’s journey.”

The two vital touchpoints for the traveller are the airline via ticket booking and airports, with their applications or websites. “We need to better integrate our own solutions within these ecosystems,” he pointed out.

“By launching this new event, we will seek to consolidate opinion and showcase leading thinking, innovation and opportunity to increase awareness of how the channel has been disrupting around digital strategy,” said DFNI Associate Editor, Alison Farrington. “The Future Consumer Conference event will focus on key digital players and technology companies in order to create business opportunities. We want to ask: In the brave new world of phygital travel retail, who are the disruptors joining the dots for a more connected customer journey?”

The programme will include keynote presentations and panel debate from leading omnichannel GTR operators, e-commerce specialists, digital payment solutions and future technology platforms. We will cover a wide range of industry topics and trends as diverse as AI-led data mining, frictionless retail, digital eco-systems, mixed-reality contentainment and the new era of KOL and influencer marketing.

Speakers and companies presenting new research include: KPMG, m1nd-set and specialist KOL marketing agency Emerging Communications. More names to follow.