Every year, industry leaders and business owners convene in Chicago for four days of insight, discovery, and connection. With over 200 speakers, 600 vendors, 16 tracks, and hands-on workshops, the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE) will leave you with a head, and goodie bag, full of information.

And though the crowd of 10,000 may overwhelm, it just takes the one—one insight; one discovery; one connection—to propel business forward. Optimize your time with these four tips to get the most out of IRCE 2017.

Connect Smarter Not Harder

Take chance out of the right encounters with Connect, a new online networking tool from IRCE. Here you can search for attendees or exhibitors with shared interests and request a meeting on-site. IRCE Connect also includes an interactive floor plan to highlight the booths you want to visit.

Although Connect is not available until you reach the conference floor, the IRCE app offers a pre-planning feature called Attendee Networking. Here you can search and contact attendees via email to set up a meeting in advance.

Pre-planning is key at any large-scale conference. From Connect to the app full of features to fulfill your game plan, take advantage of the tech available at IRCE.

Look For The One at IRCE

With so much splash vying for your attention, don’t let IRCE pass like a blur. Leave feeling accomplished by answering this question:

What is one big win that’ll make IRCE worthwhile? 

A conference such as this is designed to meet the needs of many. The tools at your fingertips make networking efficient; the tracks and workshops drive action.

Perhaps you’re interested in B2B strategies to capitalize on this $1 trillion market. Or maybe you’ve needed to sync your business across all channels, but don’t know where to start. Based on the goals of our enterprise ecommerce clients, the B2B Workshop and E-Commerce Technology tracks are a great jump-off point.

It’s common to attend a conference and leave feeling overwhelmed with all the information in reach. Look to meet even one goal with actionable steps to better your business, and the trip will pay for itself.

Understand What Works For You

Now that you’re brimming with knowledge from all the sessions, put your pedal to the metal on the exhibition floor. Don’t just seek a product or service that works; find what will work well for you, and with you.

The exhibit hall allows you to vet each solutions provider—both their product or service, and their people. Take advantage of this time to gain insight on your specific need, yes, but also to gauge the personalities behind each booth. Meeting in person provides a better read on a potential working relationship than a phone call ever could. 

A Network For Your Needs

Another advantage of the IRCE exhibit hall is the network of partnerships in reach. Our solutions architects are available to address your challenges and explore how our partnerships can help:

• Retailers have seen as high as 50% conversion through email automation. With the MailChimp module, you can easily add a newsletter signup box to your Miva Merchant Store.
• Ongoing changes at the state and federal levels make sales tax compliance difficult. Take out the guesswork and deliver accurate returns with Avalara.
• Meet customer demand and shave hours from your day with shipping software ShipStation. ShipStation enables automatic decision-making through automation rules, customization, and more for efficient fulfillment.
• See how PayPal provides a trusted, frictionless shopping experience to generate more revenue—and even helped one merchant make $800 at our last conference overnight!
• Managing site search internally is not always an option. Through relevant and personalized product discovery experiences, Unbxd has helped merchants increase revenue 45%.
• Finally, UPS offers enterprise-grade merchandising at a special price for Miva merchants. Together, UPS and Miva will allow your growing business to add features and functionality to your store, customized to your unique needs.

We’d love to talk with you at Booth #1807 about how Miva’s partnerships can help grow your business and streamline operations.

All Work and No Play? Call It A Day

Sure you’re attending IRCE to immerse in new tech, hot trends, and field knowledge. But you’re also in the city hailed for its champions, world-renowned architecture, and our favorite: deep dish pizza.

Make time to step out and sync to “the pulse of America”. Whether stopping by the historic Wrigley Field or to find your reflection in The Bean, Chicago yearns to leave you inspired.

Are you a veteran of the conference, or will 2017 see your first visit? Let us know your tips to making the most out of IRCE on Twitter, then schedule a meeting to design your retail game plan live.