Brent Peterson sits down with Chet Silverman, aka Mr. eTail, the Director of Sponsorships at eTail. With 25 years in the e-commerce conference space, Chet shares stories from the early dot-com crash days, how he convinced Google to exhibit before they were a household name, and why conferences remain the best way to connect with retail executives in a post-COVID world. He also breaks down the current AI startup boom and predicts where the technology is heading.

Chapters

00:00 - Meet Mr. eTail: Chet's origin story and joining eTail after the dot-com bust
01:05 - The evolution of e-commerce technology over 25 years
01:59 - Cold-calling Google and convincing them to sponsor eTail Boston
03:07 - The rise and fall of hot tech categories: CRM, mobile shopping, social commerce
03:56 - Watching companies grow up at eTail, from startups to acquisitions
05:12 - The AI explosion and why it will follow the mobile shopping pattern
06:15 - Why companies should sponsor eTail and how COVID changed B2B sales
07:23 - Quality vs. quantity: the 50/50 retailer-to-vendor ratio
07:56 - Strategic timing: Palm Springs in February, Boston in August
09:08 - eTail as a community and kicking off the e-commerce conference season

Key Takeaways

eTail maintains a rare 50/50 ratio of retailers to solution providers
COVID made conferences essential since decision-makers now work from home
AI will eventually become a standard feature from every retail tech vendor, not a standalone category
eTail actively supports startups by offering free passes to help them enter the ecosystem
Palm Springs kicks off the e-commerce season; Boston is the last stop before holiday lockdown

Guest Info

Chet Silverman - Director of Sponsorships, eTail
Known as Mr. eTail | 25 years in e-commerce events

This has been produced in cooperation with Content Cucumber
https://www.contentcucumber.com/

Follow Talk Commerce on your favorite platform:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talkcommerce
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/talkcommerce.bsky.social
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talk-commerce/id1561204656
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Alx6N7ERrPEXIBb41FZ1n
Twitter: @talkingcommerce
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/talk-commerce
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talkingcommerce
Website: https://talk-commerce.com/