K5 Future Retail Conference: How Problems are Solved and Challenges are Overcome

1. K5 Conference 2023: Diverse program and top speakers
2. We surprise our partners
3. The most important learnings from the K5

Inspiration and networking at its finest: For the eleventh time, the movers and shakers of the e-commerce industry gathered on June 20 and 21, 2023 at the K5 Future Retail Conference. The current economic situation leaves no one in the industry cold, but giving up is also not an option. Therefore, the conference took place under the motto "Black Ocean - successful trading in uncertain times". With the words "nothing changes if nothing changes" Verena Schlüpmann, managing director of K5, welcomed the 250 speakers, 200 exhibitors and 4,000 visitors and encouraged them to take action. We didn't want to miss this and were also there to visit. 

K5 Conference 2023: Diverse program and top speakers

The K5 event area had a lot to offer: On two main stages, four expo stages, in numerous masterclasses as well as networking and fun areas, a diverse program took place. Not to forget: the concentrated woman power in the exclusive Female in Retail Area and the Green Zone, which was newly introduced this year and offered a stage for exhibitors with sustainable solutions. Speakers included Tarek Müller, co-founder and managing director of About You, Johannes Kliesch, co-founder of Snocks, and Tina Müller, former CEO and board member of DOUGLAS.

And the diversity in terms of content could not be greater: In addition to growth, customer satisfaction, internationalization and circularity in the customer journey, they also discussed how to best master complex customer requirements. Anyone who wanted to take a look behind the scenes of sustainable e-commerce shipping got to enjoy circulating myths and solid facts.

"The talk CDP and Animal Love: Fressnapf and diva-e create a tailored customer experience for two and four-legged friends was my highlight", says our colleague Vincent Bast. "Here it was shown at a good height how a customer data platform can help marketing teams develop and implement better and more efficient marketing campaigns. They also spoke briefly and succinctly about the most important questions and milestones of such an implementation process.

At the end of the first day there was also the K5 Commerce Award to be won: In twelve categories, online shop providers were rewarded with the award for the best performance in the e-commerce sector. Congratulations!

We surprise our partners

Felix Rahlmeyer, Vincent Bast, Jana Heckmann and Marvin Müller (from left to right). from OMR Reviews were on site and distributed badges to our partners.

By the way, there were also awards from OMR Reviews, because what would the K5 be without badges? We didn't ask ourselves that for long, but drove to Berlin to visit our partners. Our colleagues Felix Rahlmeyer, Vincent Bast, Jana Heckmann and Marvin Müller were there. They distributed badges to the most popular tool providers on OMR Reviews, met our vendors Minubo, Magnolia, SCAYLE, Shopware, Sinch Engage, TRADEBYTE, commercetools, ODOSCOPE and plentysystems and exchanged ideas with them.

So we were not only able to surprise our software providers at the OMR23 with our badges: "The positive reactions and the honest joy about our badges were my highlight on the partner side", says Vincent after the conference.

Anna Augsburger, Senior Project Manager at Sinch Engage, is happy about the Leader Badge for the Mobile Marketing Software.

Our colleague Jana Heckmann also found the K5 great for getting an insight into the current topics and challenges of the e-commerce industry. "My personal highlight was definitely getting to know our partners on site and exchanging ideas with them. In addition to exciting talks, the K5 offers a great opportunity for networking", she says.

Jana Heckmann (l.) presents Lisa Wiedemann (r.), Senior Digital Marketing Manager at minubo, our Proud Partner Badge.

Despite or perhaps because of the many digital work processes in e-commerce and in the entire digital industry, personal contact plays an important role for us. "One of my highlights was talking to Lisa Haak from plentymarkets about the development of our platform and performance components", says Marvin, emphasizing the importance of communication in real life. If you have the opportunity, you should definitely visit your partners at events and engage in personal exchange with them.

The most important learnings from the K5

Capital shortage and consumer restraint are just two of the current economic challenges facing online retail. The K5 Future Retail Conference offered the opportunity, to exchange ideas within the industry with like-minded experts. Hardly anyone left the largest e-commerce conference in the DACH region without learnings. 

Our colleague Vincent reviews his impressions after the K5: "The e-commerce industry and all companies, traders and B2B companies involved, face major challenges. The current economic situation is challenging for all sides", he says. "The focus is primarily on efficient growth and business. Profitability is certainly the most important key figure currently. To achieve this, it is also necessary to have the right tools at hand in the tech stack. New tools must be able to quickly create added value and value.

Did you miss the K5 Future Retail Conference or need further input? Luckily, it's only halftime: Many more exciting events on online retail are taking place until the end of the year. On OMR Reviews you can find an overview of all important e-commerce fairs in 2023.