Visiting Shop.org FirstLook Conference in Orlando (L-R) Professor Kirthi Kalyanam, Anna Eschenburg '08, Huy Nguyen '07, Adam Smith '08 and Jessica Travis '07.

In early February, four RMI students along with Professor Kirthi Kalyanam attended the Shop.org Conference in Orlando, Florida through the Ray M. Greenly Scholarship. This fund established by the Shop.org sector of the National Retail Federation honors Ray Greenly, the vice president of research and member services at Shop.org for nearly seven years.

Shop.org raises funds for the scholarship through its Cyber Monday Holiday shopping event and hopes to provide financial support to students pursuing careers in the e-commerce industry. Through Professor Kalyanam’s connections with Shop.org, Santa Clara University is one of the first schools to participate in this scholarship.

Upon reflecting on our experiences in Orlando, many fond memories come to mind. The following sections highlight some of our favorites:

Huy Nguyen ’07
I’ve said it before, and I’ll gladly say it again, “The Shop.org trip was definitely the highlight of my years here at Santa Clara University.” The two days and nights were full of great seminars and networking events, which allowed me to learn what’s new in the e-commerce industry. Being able to interact with high-level executives allowed me to understand how leaders in top-notch companies are thinking.

One of many valuable take-aways I received is that SCU professors have been teaching us the right materials. I heard many points that CEOs, VPs, and executives brought up that sounded similar to what is taught in classes here at SCU. It was definitely great knowing that professors at SCU have been preparing me for the business world.

Jessica Travis ’07
It was a great trip where I was able to immerse myself in the Internet retailing conference and learn about the challenges and the progress within the industry as well as future aspirations in new media.

The Shop.org trip was a smaller scale conference, suggesting that the industry is very well connected. The sessions were held in a single conference room, which was great for the attendees; I was able to attend every speaker and session. Valuable insights and noteworthy speakers made these talks my favorite segment of the conference.

The small scale of the conference was also beneficial for networking. I was glad that during the duration of the trip I was able to meet with all the companies I had hoped to network with, including Saks Direct, Gymboree and Nordstrom. Professor Kirthi was very helpful as a liaison in facilitating these interactions.

Overall, the trip was an amazing educational and networking experience, and I hope many future students get to learn about the amazing opportunities within the industry.

Anna Eschenburg ’08
Attending the Shop.org conference was an experience I never thought I'd have but also one I’m sure to never forget. The conference provided an open atmosphere of learning and collaboration. The companies that attended were more than willing to explain their products, provide demonstrations, and sometimes business cards as well. For example, an employee of Omniture, a data mining company, reminded us each time he saw us to come by his booth for a demonstration of the product. This welcoming atmosphere really made me feel that even though I was a student, people accepted me as potentially up and coming in the industry. In addition, people were friendly, as even I felt comfortable sitting down at a table to strike up a conversation. Overall, this networking opportunity and educational experience is one that I will always feel grateful to have experienced.

Adam Smith ’08
The first day was interesting, as I was able to learn a lot about upcoming trends and possibilities in e-commerce. From there, things grew even more interesting. The speakers provided a tremendous amount of information, and meeting them outside of their presentations was extremely beneficial. Many stressed that the customer should always be the main focus of any company, and when one loses sight of the customer, the result ultimately will be losing them.

I definitely walked away from this experience with some solid take-aways. One concept that was brought up again and again was that some companies are still failing to understand who they are trying to please; it isn’t enough to have a great web site with tons of great ideas on it if the customer does not care. Listening to Phil Terry of Creative Good speak about how to get back to what is important helped me to understand the issues that some major corporations are still failing to comprehend. Looking back on my experience at the Shop.org conference, it seems e-commerce will continue to be the channel where retailers look ahead, and I’m looking forward to being a part of it.

Retail Management Institute - Santa Clara University
rmi.scu.edu