Conference Agenda

1.1 Agentic Commerce: The End of Traditional Online Retail?

Speakers:  Dr. Peter Mowforth (INDEZ), Dr. John McSloy(INDEZ)

(25 min multi-speaker talk) By 2030, many of your customers may never visit your website. The traditional storefront is fading, with marketplaces dominating and your browser's AI agent handling routine "chore" purchases. So, who are you marketing to? In this high-speed relay, our speakers track the lifecycle of future transactions: from AI Agents negotiating via Commerce Protocols to dark warehouses run by robotics. We explore the bifurcated future of online retail: the Agentic Commerce of automated buying for bots, and the Experiential Commerce of deep brand immersion for humans. Is this the end of traditional online retail, or the beginning of something much more exciting?

1.2 Spin to Win

(5 min) Quick entertaining session while we swap between panels on stage with 3 chances to win £50 cash.

1.3 Cognitive Augmentation: Using AI as a Thought Partner, Not an Answer Engine

Speaker: Dr. John McSloy (INDEZ)

(25 min talk) Learn how to wield healthy "Scottish Skepticism" as your ultimate superpower to combat AI hallucinations and biases. You'll discover how to build Custom "Gems" and use "AI Assisted Iterative Prompt Refinement". Ultimately, this session will equip you with the framework to turn generative AI from a basic answer engine into a powerful, business-grade thought partner, augmenting your team's cognitive capabilities for ecommerce growth.

1.4 Reshaping Ecommerce: AI, Automation & People

Panellists: Brian Fraser (MRG ), Mark Wong (Tiso), Claire Logan (ARRAN)

(20 min panel) This session moves beyond the hype to share real-world case studies of Ecommerce teams integrating AI. Discover what happens after the onboarding: the impact on productivity, the reality of change management, and the metrics that actually matter. We’ll discuss where AI succeeds in augmentation, where it fails, and how it can help you bring skills in-house to reshape your team structure.

2.1 The Profitability Playbook: 10 Ways to Escape the Race to the Bottom

Speakers: Laura Blair (INDEZ), Dr. John McSloy (INDEZ)

(20 min talk) Are you stuck in a high-revenue, low-profit loop? This talk provides a 10-point playbook for sustainable profit optimisation. Learn how to escape the discount-driven race to the bottom with high-impact tactics across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Meta Ads, CLTV Flows, improve tracking, optimising payment fees, the uncomfortable truth about selling on Amazon, plus many more gems.

2.3 Supercharging Owned Channels & Advanced Retention Strategies

Panellists: Gemma Connolly (Kiltane), Daniela Welsh (The Paint Shed), Emma Wilson (schuh)

(20 min panel) Go beyond basic marketing. This talk dives deep into supercharging your owned channels to build powerful retention engines (e.g. organic social, advanced email/SMS flows). Learn advanced strategies to increase AOV and CLTV, implement tiered loyalty programmes, and build effective win-back strategies using predicted churn models to keep customers before they leave.

2.4 Spin to Win

Speaker: Alexandra Buza

(5 min) Quick entertaining session while we swap between panels on stage with 3 chances to win £50 cash.

2.5 How To Dominate AI Search in 2026

Speaker: Charlie Marchant (Exposure Ninja)

(20 min talk) Is your SEO strategy ready for an AI world? Join Charlie to dismantle AI Search in 2026 and learn how to increase traffic and sales from ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Mode. You'll take away a practical framework to optimise for AI platforms, uncover AI citation targets, and measure bottom-line results.

3.1 The Art of the Brand: The Importance of Brand Identity in the Age of AI

Panellists: Ann-Maree Morrison MBE (Ecommerce Club), Kieran Healey-Ryder (Whyte & Mackay), Laura MacDonald (Weber Shandwick), Alan McGarrie (Smiddy Marketing)

(25 min panel) In a digital landscape flooded with generic "AI slop", how do you make your SME stand out? While the best brands build immersive 'worlds', injecting that rich storytelling into a conversion-driven ecommerce site can often clog the customer journey. This panel explores how to balance the prestige of a timeless narrative with the gritty reality of performance marketing. Learn how to integrate "human" imperfection, manufacture missing heritage, and transition away from a price-slashing addiction toward a true 'value-add' model without killing your daily conversion rates.

3.2 Transform Your Brand with an Asset Generation Engine

(5 min short talk) This session explores how to transform your brand by building an "Asset Generation Engine". We'll dive into the strategy of creating a bespoke AI image generator for unique seasonal photography and email campaigns, ensuring perfect brand consistency. Plus, discover how to take it a step further by creating dynamic videos directly from your static images.

3.3 Does the Perfect Demand Gen & Demand Capture mix exist?

Speakers: Marty Lisle (Ardata), Dr. John McSloy (INDEZ), You the Audience!

3.4 Spin to Win

(5 min) Quick entertaining session while we swap between panels on stage with 3 chances to win £50 cash.

3.5 How to Build an Influencer Engine

Speaker: Aditya Mahapatra (Augmentum Media)

(20 min talk) Turn your influencer program into a true growth channel. This talk delivers a framework for combining strategic influencer seeding with powerful paid amplification. Learn how to find perfect-fit influencers on Instagram & TikTok, build a high-performance affiliate growth program, and master the art of scaling your influencer content into predictable profit.

4.1 From Discovery to Conversion: Connecting TikTok & Amazon for Growth

Speaker: Carina McLeod (Ecommerce Nurse)

(20 min talk) TikTok is reshaping how customers discover products, while Amazon remains a trusted destination for conversion and fulfilment. Yet many brands still treat these platforms as separate silos, even though customers experience one connected journey. This session explores how to link TikTok’s power of discovery with Amazon’s strength in trust and logistics, creating a seamless path from attention to purchase and a unified strategy for driving sustainable eCommerce growth.

4.2 Retail's Secret Weapon: Integrating High Street Soul with Omnichannel Scale

Panellists: Michelle Gunn (schuh), Mark McKenzie (guitarguitar), Ashley Farr (Tiso), Steph Briggs (Retail Champion)

(20 min panel) Your physical stores are no longer just shops, they are your brand's biggest assets. This session dives into the culture shift required to merge High Street soul with digital scale, transforming locations into both efficient fulfilment centres and rich experience hubs. This session is packed full of strategies including: in-store experiences, digital ambassadors, clienteling, real-time stock, Click & Collect (used by 69% of shoppers), plus many more.

4.3 Spin to Win

(5 min) Quick entertaining session while we swap between panels on stage with 3 chances to win £50 cash.

4.4 The Future of Selling: Evolution or Extinction?

Panellists: Alan Gormley (Shopbox AI), Zishan Ashraf (Shopify), Dr. John McSloy (INDEZ)

(20 min interactive panel) What's next for Ecommerce? Let's decide together. Join our panel for a session driven entirely by you. Using Slido, you’ll vote on the trends, quiz the experts, and debate how AI will shape the Future of Ecommerce? This is your conversation, come and shape it!

4.5 Event Close