UA Retail Conference To Focus On Appealing To Shoppers Emotions

“Emotionally Connecting With Shoppers” will be the theme of the 14th annual Emerging Trends in Retail conference this fall, hosted by the University of Arkansas Center for Retailing Excellence.

Each year, the event represents “an opportunity for CPGs [consumer packaged goods firms], marketers, brokers, retailers, analysts, business executives and others to hear thought leaders in the retail industry talk about what’s going on,” said Claudia Mobley, founding director for the center. 

The Oct. 8 event will feature a panel that will speak on the subject of millennial shoppers, a group that has been labeled especially challenging to market to, Mobley said. “It is an exciting addition this year.”

Speakers at the retail conference will include Stephen Quinn, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Bentonville); Judith McKenna, Walmart chief development officer; Kevin Roberts, CEO worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi (New York City); and David Horsager (Minneapolis), business strategist and author of “The Trust Edge: How Top Leaders Gain Faster Results, Deeper Relationships, and a Stronger Bottom Line.”

Matt Kistler, senior vice president of customer insights at Walmart, and Erin Campbell, Saatchi & Saatchi X (Springdale) director of planning, will participate in the millennial panel. However, some additional panelists will be added.

The conference is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development on the UA campus in Fayetteville.

Mobley said the group previously moved the event off campus, but brought it back because participants enjoy the benefits to being on campus and the proximity to the students. 

“It also creates an air of exclusivity,” she added, as there are only 300 seats available, and the conference is not videotaped, so the spots are sought-after each year. “I’ve had CEOs begging to get in in the past.”

The conference has such a draw because it always offers insights from retail gurus with strong reputations, Mobley said.

Tickets are $750 each for individuals representing board-member companies and $1,000 apiece for those with businesses not on the board for the Center for Retailing Excellence. The deadline to purchase a ticket is Sept. 24.

The executive board features 64 company members, within which there is high participation in sponsoring student programs, events and classes, Mobley said.

Money raised from the fall conference and other annual events goes to scholarships and student programs, like Students of Retailing Excellence (STORE), an organization that provides educational sources and networking opportunities for students interested in retail. 

The retail center was founded as an outreach branch of the Sam M. Walton College of Business to connect industry to education, and is the base for the planned School of Global Retail Operations & Innovation, for which Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and his wife, Shelley, pledged to donate the first $1 million in April.  

The center is beneficial to students through internships, mentorships and other programs, so events like the Emerging Trends Conference are intended to give back to the business community by offering up insights from funded research and industry experts.

The center also hosts a spring conference, geared more to middle management rather than C-suite executives, and the Venders Fore Education golf tournament each summer.

Vendors Fore Education is both a social gathering fostering relationships between the vendor and academic communities and a chance to raise money for scholarships. It has grown exponentially since it started in 2000. This year’s tournament, which took place in July, raised $64,000.

Tickets and more information about the events and the Center for Retailing Excellence are available at cre.uark.edu.