What has been the most exciting retail market characterised by sustained growth over the past two decades and that it is still growing strong? It is a market enjoying a growth rate matched by no other and is virtually on everyone’s fingertips.

Welcome to the world of e-tailing! According to various independent market research, the global e-tailing market is worth well over US$2 trillion this year, and is expected to become a US$4 trillion business just two years from now. It’s easy to forget that e-tailing took shape only since the turn of the millennium.

Dedicated to creating opportunities that are relevant and forward-looking for Hong Kong businesses, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council organised the inaugural Asian E-tailing Summit last year. It was a platform on which stakeholders of e-tailing can exchange ideas and facilitate the trade. The summit returns next month at The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Wednesday, December 5.

The Asian E-tailing Summit 2018 is expected to attract more than 1300 participants, including e-tailers, e-tailing enablers, as well as business professionals from from Hong Kong, Mainland China and further abroad.

The event covers a wide range of topics, including the latest sourcing trends and market intelligence. More than a dozen speakers are prepared to share with the audience successful real-world case studies and best practices of international and regional online retailing, while other participants will showcase innovative solutions covering a wide range of the e-tailing business.

As the best possible marketplace for businesses to start and to refine their e-tailing models, the Asian E-tailing Summit should inspire any current and future e-tailing business professional.

The summit program is compacted into a single day, with a program comprising two plenary sessions, two breakout sessions and three workshop sessions, in addition to a networking luncheon and the Asia’s Best E-tailing Awards Presentation Ceremony.

The first plenary session Advances in Online Retailing Ecosystem: Everything, Everywhere, All the time: How this Dynamic Ecosystem Fuels Business Growth and Builds Brands, examines how business can take advantage of the digital marketplace, characterised by speed, simplicity, transparency and non-stop operation, to capture more revenue, while cutting costs and being ready for expansion.

The panel for this session comprises professionals with diverse backgrounds and experience. There are also technical and marketing executives from some of the biggest names in the technology and software companies in the world and key executives from fast-growing e-commerce companies in the Southeast Asia, bringing different perspectives to the stage.

The more technical-minded Clay Liao, Google’s mobile technical solutions consultant will be joined by Microsoft’s head of corporate marketing Jenny Cheung, who has more than 15 years of experience in e-commerce and digital marketing, and SAP Customer Experience’s global VP head of consumer and travel industries, Cassandra Girard, an expert in helping brands to get closer to customers using technology.

Also sharing the stage will be key executives from two leading Southeast Asian e-commerce platforms, including Josephine Chow of ShopBack and Sherry Zehr of Shopee. Their stories of their platforms’ speedy rise to frame should not be missed. The session will be chaired by Koh Yew Hong, MD retail lead for Greater China at global consultancy firm Accenture.

The second plenary session focuses on the opportunities brought about by the world’s largest infrastructure projects, the Belt and Road Initiative. Chaired by Benson Ng of the multinational professional services firm Ernst & Young, the session titled New Digital Horizons: How the World’s Biggest Infrastructure Project Drives Cross-Border E-Commerce will assemble a panel consisting of entrepreneurs, C-level executives of regionally focused e-commerce businesses and one of the world’s major investment funds.

Those seeking inspiration from successful e-commerce entrepreneurs will not want to miss the next session. CEO and founder of CloudCommerce Wootinun Sungong has a proven record of selling specific Muay Thai products from its manufacturing, marketing and e-tailing base in Bangkok, Thailand. In Malaysia, the iPrice Group is fast becoming a platform for online shoppers and suppliers alike. The company’s VP, business development Rishabh Shukla will speak about the company’s innovative solutions.

Also joining the stage will be Kevin So, CEO of Hong Kong-based E-GoGo Limited, which as an e-commerce cross-border trade enabler has grown its infrastructure to include six offices across the Greater China and Southeast Asian regions.

Moving on from the plenary sessions that offer more macro perspectives of e-tailing, the more technology-focused breakout sessions and the application oriented workshop sessions offer plenty of opportunities for online retailing professionals to keep updated on the latest developments in e-tailing. The sessions will provide numerous real-world application examples for the audience.

The first breakout session How AI and Machine Learning Create E-tailing Innovation will decode how the technologies of artificial intelligence and machine-learning solutions help businesses to anticipate demand more accurately by making the most of personalised promotions. At another breakout session How Data Stimulates Social Commerce and Improves Customer Engagement, the audience will have the chance of understanding the benefits of big data analytics and the advantages of partnering with an analyst.

Meanwhile, workshop sessions will feature industry leaders in e-tailing solutions and innovations ranging from mobile checkouts and payment security to omni-channel retailing and e-tailing best practices.

Inside Retail readers can receive 70 per cent off the registration fee to attend the Asian E-tailing Summit 2018.