The revolution starts now

Over 200 WPP clients, partners and agency team-members met to learn, share and be inspired by the very latest in commerce. The theme – ‘Commerce Revolution’

Over the last quarter century, technology has put power in the hands of shoppers, evolving rapidly from single channel promotions centered on the store, to end-to-end unified commerce that can happen anywhere in the purchase journey.

But this year, it’s not about more evolution, it’s about revolution. Discussion from attendees at WPP Commerce in Miami was that 2023 will require a revolutionary response from brands, retailers and their marketing partners. More than tech, it will take genuine partnerships and an explosion of creativity to engage consumers and shoppers.

In the future there will be no distance between ‘brand love’ and ‘brand buy’. The Commerce Revolution will bring ‘brand’ and ‘business' together, and WPP Commerce 2023 sought to shine a light on the new challenges, channels and changes that are altering the landscape forever.

New challenges

This is the era where building brand equity and building baskets will be one and the same. Panelists unanimously agreed that a step change in the way we work, and the way we collaborate must evolve. Advocating for adaptability and transparency across organisations, we need to speed up, break down internal silos and focus on what really matters – the consumer and their purchase journey.

New channels

With the explosion of retail media, social commerce and shoppable video, plus the long-awaited surge in livestream shopping, we heard from early movers on how they’ve optimised success to deliver brand and sales conversion across new channels and platforms. At the same time, everything old is new again – we explored ways the store is being reinvented and digitised as a powerful medium to deliver experience.

New changes

Has the marketing world moved on from the Metaverse? It was missing from discussion at WPP Commerce 2023, but perhaps in name alone. We saw new ways to use AR/VR and AI in our Tech Lab and covered the continued rise of immersive digital shopping experiences in China – the TMall Luxury Pavilion being a prime example.

For more take-outs from WPP Commerce 2023, click here.