When the largest ecommerce event in the US announced it was coming to Europe, expectations were high. And so far, Shoptalk Europe has certainly delivered.

Key themes

For Erik Wallin, Co-founder of Northfork, the three themes that really stood out during the second day of the event were prices, pressures and partners. All three elements are impacting the way that retailers approach their ecommerce offering.

Price inflation in particular is adding to the pressure on grocery retailers right now. Frans Muller, President and CEO Ahold Delhaize, flagged price up as a key responsibility for retailers. He also showed that being relevant is more important than ever, with customer ecosystems driving relevance. Muller shared the example of his firm's work in Benelux, where the company is linking accounts, bundling brands, providing easy linked checkout experiences and bundling delivery and returns. The result is a blending of pure play and bricks and mortar propositions.

Retailer pressures and partners

Ahold Delhaize's Frans Muller also touched on another pressure facing grocery retailers: convenience. Convenience has moved beyond just fast delivery. Now, this multi-faceted area is also about connecting user journeys and meeting families' desire to cook more, post-pandemic.

This is where partnerships can shine, as the Northfork team knows from its experience of working with retailers around the globe to provide seamless shop-by-recipe experiences.

At Shoptalk Europe, Balki Subramanian (VP Digital Demand, Mars), Vincent Cotte (Group E-commerce Strategy, Carrefour) and Anna Farberov (GM, PepsiCo Labs), spoke of the importance of partnering. They pointed out that even in a single aspect of ecommerce - last mile - companies can't do it alone. Ordering, picking and delivery all require effective partnership networks.

With so many key players at Shoptalk Europe, the potential for forming those partnerships has never been greater. Anyone wishing to speak to the Northfork team is welcome to visit booth G63 in Shoptalk Europe's Startup Street. Co-founder Erik Wallin and VP of Sales Jez Collins will be delighted to meet potential new partners.