Media Release
Friday 28 August 2020
An Important Update from Online Retailer Conference & Expo
Online Retailer Conference and Expo would like to express our ongoing concern for everyone impacted by Coronavirus.
After closely monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we have made the decision to shift the traditional delivery of Online Retailer Conference & Expo to a hybrid format that combines the best of face-to-face and online.
Prior to the recent escalation of COVID-19, we were optimistic that Online Retailer Conference & Expo would run as planned in October this year. As time has passed, and after extensive consultation with our customers and stakeholders, it has become clear that delivering our traditional conference and expo model would no longer be feasible in the current environment. However, it has shown that appetite remains in our industry for face-to-face meetups and access to premium content.
As a result, we will be delivering a brand new hybrid event offering, Online Retailer FUSION, running on Tuesday 20 October as a limited capacity face-to-face conference at ICC Sydney, which will be live-streamed for those who cannot attend in person. In addition to this conference, we will also be offering a free-to-attend online stream of case-study focused content, running concurrently.
Our customers and delegates will also have access to virtual meetings and business matchmaking, new connections, and many more features to help drive business growth for their companies.
The Australia Post Online Retail Industry Awards (ORIAS) will also take a different format this year, with the in-person awards night celebration no longer viable. We will announce more details in due course on how we will continue to recognise the achievements of online retailers, despite the challenges of 2020.
We appreciate that it is disappointing that not everyone will be able to meet in person this year. However we have made this decision with everyone’s health and safety as our number one priority, and importantly, with a view to meeting the needs of our community.
We would like to thank our exhibitors, visitors and partners for their encouragement and support during this challenging time and we look forward to the official launch of Online Retailer FUSION in the coming days.
Our team will be in contact shortly to discuss the next steps regarding your participation and to answer any questions you may have.
The Online Retailer Team