Epic show report

MCRS 2005

Multi Channel Retail Show
Venue: ExCel Conference & Events Centre, Docklands, London
Date: March 15th & 16th 2005

Report by Matt Dolan, Marketing Manager, Epic

The Multi Channel Retail Show (MCRS) 2005 took place this year on March 15th and 16th at the ExCel Conference and Events Centre, Docklands. Overall, the event must stand as a disappointment to organisers and exhibitors alike but as with a house party, the enjoyment depends on those who turn up and this year’s show was deflated by poor attendance. It left one wondering whether the magnificent exhibition facilities offered by ExCel are suitably located.

That said, the event was a success insofar as those who did attend received premium attention from the exhibitors and the quality of visitors to the Epic stand suggests that training in the retail world is a fast-maturing area.

To emphasise this, in its second year, MCRS 2005 featured an e-learning village, one of 8 distinct zones, themed to address concerns for retailers. It was interesting to visually categorise retail issues like this and certainly helped the visitors to orientate themselves. The results of pre-show research that Epic undertook was underlined in that retailers are increasingly concerned with fraud, as legislation is changing in the wake of Chip ’n’ Pin, and also the use of Radio Frequency ID tags. Each of these areas of concern occupied its own zone and were reiterated by numerous speakers throughout the two-day event. Card fraud costs the industry almost £500m annually and with new technologies emerging, retailers need to train their staff quickly and efficiently. Other areas included a kiosk zone, a customer management zone and a supply chain zone. There were also many stands offering back room systems both for HR and for stock control and Epos matters – this will lead to a call for staff upskilling. As this show did not focus specifically on training, some of the delegates Epic met were unfamiliar with the surrounding training issues. However, the majority of visitors that did approach our stand were very well informed and excited by the prospect of e-learning for retail particularly regarding staff retention – industry-wide, a huge concern. To this end, the Epic White Papers on Mobile Learning and iPod learning were enormously popular, with their focus on short learning chunks designed for ‘dead’ time.

In summary, this was an extremely interesting show to attend and indicates Epic’s growing commitment to and presence within the retail industry. In order to continue this however, the retail industry needs to further commit to training and especially e-learning – let’s see MCRS 2006 with a stronger training theme and representation.

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