Customer Disruption 2014

The convergence of a number of leading-edge technologies is launching a revolution in the customer experience. Mobile devices, social media, 24/7 connectivity and a blurring of the lines between formerly separate customer service “channels” have upended the rules of retail, forever disrupting the notion of business as usual. It’s a brave new world — and one that Chain Store Age will explore at its first-ever Customer Disruption event, May 7-9, 2014, at Sofitel Hotel in Redwood Shores, Calif., the Gateway to the Silicon Valley.

Here are some highlights of the upcoming event:

• A visit to the Plug and Play Tech Center, where retailers will have the chance to network with executives from some of Silicon Valley’s most innovative start-ups.


• Presentations from leading-edge retailers on how innovative technology is reshaping the very nature of retailer-customer interaction.


• A lineup of expert speakers, including Nadia Shouraboura, founder and CEO of hot retail start-up Hointer, which is reinventing the in-store experience, and Nicolas Franchet, head of retail and e-commerce, global vertical marketing, for social networking giant Facebook.


• Discussions and insight on the new technologies that are disrupting the traditional customer experience paradigm — and how retailers can get on board.


• The opportunity to network and learn from other attendees, who will include retail executives in such areas as IT, marketing, finance and merchandising.

“I look forward to the Customer Disruption conference,” said Hointer’s Shouraboura. “I see a group of retail and IT disruptors talking about innovation, sharing ideas and figuring out how to respond to mind-boggling changes in customer experience.”