Last week I was in San Diego for Internet Retailer 2011 - it was my first time going to this show. I go to the usual shows(AdTech, Affiliate Summit) and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. My initial thoughts are that this is a very good show for certain suppliers to ecommerce but I found that traffic within the actual show floor wasn't as great as I would have liked and it seemed to be concentrated to one end more then the other. I think that alot of the attendees were busy most of the day in sessions and didn't have a huge chance to walk the floor. The people I want to speak to are the online merchants, and there weren't THAT many walking around. It seems it was alot of exhibitors and as much as I love the "maybe we can setup a referral partner" conversation...its not the best for business and I find those conversations don't usually lead anywhere.
I was expecting a completely different crowd, but I did get to see some familiar faces from the other shows I attend and hopefully can do some business with those guys. I also did get a chance to speak to a few new potential clients and I think something can happen there.
The days were very long (9AM- 7PM) so I know that next time I need to wear better shoes. Also, San Diego is a very beautiful city, its clean and from what I can tell very safe. The weather was slighlty colder then I expected, and seemed to get very nice everyday after 12 PM.
All in all, I dont think that this is the best show for the majority of online marketers, maybe a good show for retail companies that are looking to, or already have an online presence which I guess is the type of merchant they are going for considering its called Internet Retailer.....
Some of the exhibitors were Daily Deal companies that were looking for merchants to sign up. I see this as a waste or money. This was not the right show for that.....
All and all a great show, but I am happy to be home now. Travelling is overated sometimes...especially when you have been doing it for a couple of weeks.
