PowerReviews Insider

After two nights of networking fun under the stars and an entire day of superior content, what could possibly top it all off on the last day of the Shop.org Online Merchandising Workshop? Two words: Fiona Dias.

And while Raul Vasquez from Walmart.com (www.walmart.com) may have hobbled up to the stage on crutches on Day 1 (poor guy tore a tendon) and secured audience empathy, Fiona opened her keynote on a brighter note. She shared with us all that she was a safari child. Yup, the former CMO of Circuit City and CEO of Circuit City Direct and now EVP Partner Strategy and Marketing, GSI Commerce (www.gsicommerce.com) grew up on the plains of the Africa. That’s a hard one to top indeed, and we were all captivated from that moment on.

Her family runs a safari “company” which has just been voted “World’s Best” Tour Operator and Safari Outfitter by Travel & Leisure Magazine for an unprecedented sixth time in a row! I have already ordered my brochure from them, Micato Safaris, (www.micato.com) as the website teaser was enough for me – I am safari bound soon!

But I digress…

Given her background, it was no wonder that Fiona opened her keynote “Online Merchants: Agents of Change Today, Leader of Tomorrow” by citing an old African proverb involving antelopes and lions. Skipping the eloquent and colorful aspects of the tale, (sorry Fiona) let me just get to the point – we all better be waking up every morning trying to outrun the competition or we may find ourselves someone’s meal ticket!

She wove this message – of course in a more eloquent format – throughout the entire presentation which highlighted several retail sites doing exemplary work in moving the online shopping experience needle forward. Showcased sites included Sears (www.sears.com), Toys R Us (www.toysrus.com), Ace Hardware (www.acehardware.com), and REI (www.rei.com) – that last three of which put huge smiles on my face when I saw them as they are PowerReviews (www.powerreviews.com) clients.

In addition to inspiring merchant examples, Fiona showcased two technology breakthroughs in her “Leaders of Tomorrow” segment, one of which was our new Mobile App. This functionality allows customers to read product reviews right on their iphone while shopping in physical stores…and that is all I am going to say about that at this time, as Fiona did some hard arm twisting for us to allow her to share what she did. Come on, who can say “no” to her?!?

In closing, here is proof that the Shop.org event is guaranteed to at least put a smile on your face. Thanks yo my photo-mate Portia La Touche of Certona (www.certona.com) one of my dearest e-commerce friends and special thank to another dear friend Bryan Eisenberg www.futurenowinc.com for his photographic talents!