I’m no stranger to trade shows and conferences. Having come from another B2B environment where trade shows were a huge part of the annual calendar, I know the drill. But Luxury Interactive was different from any show I’d ever been to. There was more information thrown around in a two-day period than I could have learned in weeks of research.

Mind you, I am new to this game. Not the blogging, social media, conference game, but the eCommerce (and in this case, luxury eCommerce) game. In the past two weeks I have come to understand some key topics in the field, and much of that came from the past two days.

Perhaps the most compelling piece of information I took away from the show was the amount of work it takes to optimize an  eCommerce platform to get the most out of it from a brand loyalty and a revenue perspective. Ten years ago, as some of the attendees pointed out, companies were uncertain whether eCommerce would ever work. Today it’s become a serious part of retailers’ business and those same people are now debating whether mobile commerce will work…and most are surely leaning toward a yes.

The seminars ranged from discussions on understanding the future of luxury to evolving with today’s online fashion buyer to understanding how to use editorial to engage customers. Retailers like Kenneth Cole, LaCoste, NARS Cosmetics and more were there to speak and learn about how to improve and evolve their eCommerce efforts. It was a general consensus that the eCommerce customer is changing and now expects more from an online experience – whether that be on the level of social networking, editorial or increased product value. While people were receptive to such changes, most were interested to learn how new initiatives are implemented at other companies since surely they are struggling themselves with how to reshape their strategies.

What ideas do you have for reshaping your eCommerce strategy to meet the demands of an evolving audience of buyers?