From August 30 to September 1, the inaugural Annual Shanghai International Commerce Convention (TASICC) will be held at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai). The convention is jointly organized by China General Chamber of Commerce, Chinese Institute of Electronics, China Chain-Store & Franchise Association, MAPIC and Wanda Group, co-organized by SZITIC Commercial Property Group. A three-day event of exhibition, industry conferences and networking, TASICC is the largest and highest-grade annual commerce convention in China.

Themed "building a new platform and serving the new commerce", the event aims to create an open platform for various stakeholders along the industry’s value chain, including commercial property project developers, brands, technology enterprises, third-party service providers and agencies. It allows China's retail sector to proactively explore a pathway for innovation, development, technology integration and consumption upgrade.

Prominent speakers include Long Yongtu, Chief Negotiator for China's WTO accession and former Secretary General of Boao Forum for Asia; Fan Gang, Professor of Peking University HSBC Business School and member of the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee; David Kenny, Senior Vice President of IBM Watson and Cloud Platform; Elliott Hill, President of Nike Group; Lei Jun, Founder of Xiaomi Technology. Political and business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, management of exhibiting companies and leaders from the organizers will also attend.

Building An Open Platform for Brick-and-Mortar Retailers

TASICC sets a new record in terms of scale for industry conventions of its kind. There will be nearly 1,000 exhibitors, including 217 commercial real estate and retail enterprises, 607 brands, 67 technology enterprises, and 54 third-party service providers. In addition, representatives from more than 15,000 domestic and international brands and over 5,000 agencies will attend. The exhibition hall spans an area of more than 70,000 square meters and is predicted to receive over 100,000 visitors. The exhibition site consists various sections, including industry value chain partnerships, commercial projects, experiential areas, technology enterprises, food & beverage, lifestyle products and a MAPIC negotiation area.

More than 10 summits will take place in conjunction with the exhibition, including the Summit Forum for China's Consumption Economy Transformation and Upgrading, 2017 China Commerce Technology Summit, The Future Has Come - The Transformation of Brick-and-Mortar Brands, MAPIC China Summit, China Commerce Innovation Summit, "Commerce + Internet" Summit, as well as Wanda Innovation Accelerator launch event and “Project Blue Sea” launch event.

TASICC is committed to becoming a premium event that delivers solid results for brick-and-mortar commerce. In order to facilitate project negotiation, the organizers have launched an APP for the convention so that attendees can schedule appointments with brands, project developers, project operators and technology providers prior to the event. There are also onsite negotiation areas where 15-minute speed networking sessions take place. It is a one-stop shop for commercial property project developers to attract tenants, for brands to expand their nationwide distribution networks, for technology enterprises to win over clients, for service providers to promote their business and for agencies to find ideal partners.

Accelerating Integration of Technology in Brick-and-Mortar Retail

Diminishing returns of internet traffic has begun and a growing number of internet companies have started to go offline. In the meanwhile, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are quickly adapting to the online world. The boundary between online and offline businesses are becoming increasingly blurred. This trend is palpable at TASSIC. 67 exhibiting technology enterprises will bring a slew of products and services ranging from IoT infrastructure management solution to shopping center ERP software to POS system to CRM services.

Oracle brings to TASSIC its SaaS-based cloud products and IBM the latest artificial intelligence and block chain technology. Ovopark showcases a series of in-store management solutions for retail chains including store supervision,  traffic optimization, remote collaboration, process management and face recognition. Other efficiency-enhancing digital technologies include smart parking and smart restaurant solutions.

As big data plays a fundamental role in empowering brick-and-mortar retailers, TASICC has invited retail data companies such as TalkingData, RetailNext, Ruixuesoft, and WINNER Technology. Their services include retail data collection, processing and analysis, performance marketing, traffic analytics, consumer insight, CRM and user acquisition.

Besides empowering brick-and-mortar retailers to enhance their operational efficiency, TASICC also focuses on improving consumer experience through technology. As China's largest smart parking service provider, ETCP will demonstrate smart parking experience, smart CBD, smart parking operations and parking big data. SAOHUO PLANET brings to consumers its staff-less convenient store experience. Dface provides consumers with entertainmercial and gamification marketing experience. Beacon, cloud-based ERP and scenario-based solutions for restaurants, cinemas, hotels, shopping centers will also be exhibited.

Promoting the Innovation and Transformation of Brick-and-Mortar Retail

In late 2016, the General Office of the State Council released the Opinions on Promoting the Innovation and Transformation of the Brick-and-Mortar Retail, providing guidelines for restructuring the retail industry, adopting new development models and promoting cross-industry integration. Committed to carrying out these guidelines, TASICC aims to directly facilitate online and offline integration and cross-industry collaboration, becoming a driving force behind the transformation of China's brick-and-mortar commerce.