The North’s three largest Chambers of Commerce are to come together in a unique collaboration at the eCommerce Show North, set to be the biggest ever gathering of eCommerce companies, vendors and suppliers ever held outside London.
In what is understood to be the first such initiative of its kind, the Chambers – covering West & North Yorkshire, Liverpool and Sefton and Greater Manchester – will be pooling resources, skills and publicity in order to offer a totally joined up service under one stand to members and potential members spanning the North.
Entrance to the Show is free but pre-registration is required.
The three Chambers, which between them have 8,700 members who employ almost 750,000 staff, have decided that the eCommerce Show North offers a new and exciting way to co-operate and ensure their members are best served by the vast array of services and platforms that will be on display at the inaugural event, which takes place at EventCity on October 11th and 12th.
Sandy Needham, chief executive of the West and North Yorkshire Chamber, said: “The West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce has 2,500 member companies within its network, which collectively employ over 350,000 people. As a Chamber, we are committed to digital growth and are proud to work alongside our members and partners who together provide services that are key components for the makeup of the North’s digital infrastructure.
“At the West & North Yorkshire Chamber, we are excited at the prospect of working in partnership with both Greater Manchester and Liverpool and Sefton Chambers. This collaborative effort will be of great benefit to the extensive network of businesses the Chambers currently support and will help to strengthen the physical and digital connectivity of the North.”
Chris Fletcher, director of Policy & Communications at Manchester Chamber, added: “Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has 4,800 businesses as members who between them employ more than 300,000 people. Working in partnership with other major Chambers from across the north of England and bringing our members together at eCommerce Show North is an exciting prospect and shows the way forward for other future opportunities helping grow and develop a strong and growing economy.”
Around 100 exhibitors will be at eCommerce Show North with a large and varied number of global, national and regional companies (including Worldpay, Sitecore, Oracle, Microsoft, dotmailer and others) along with dozens of outstanding speakers (AO.com, Missguided, Royal Mail, Kellogg’s, Park Group, Virgin, Rentalcars, Google). An anticipated 4,000 visitors are expected over the two days.
Paul Cherpeau, director of Learning and Skills and chair of Liverpool Chamber’s International Trade Committee, is keen to stress the collaborative nature of the Chambers’ involvement and also the enormous prizes to be gained by its members ensuring they too are able to offer best in class eCommerce activities to their customers.
“Liverpool & Sefton Chambers of Commerce have 1,400 business members, employing more than 80,000 people,” he said. “Members participating in the eCommerce show will be exposed to the best and the brightest expertise within the North West, gaining insights and contacts that will enable them to transform their online presence to attract, service and retain customers. Ecommerce is increasingly vital to ensuring swift, convenient and secure transactions are possible; the eCommerce show will give businesses of all sizes the tools they need to provide an outstanding online experience.
“Working with the other powerhouse Chambers of the North, in Greater Manchester and West & North Yorkshire, enables our collective memberships to benefit from the exciting opportunities provided by this event in readiness of future collaborative campaigns to ensure businesses in the North can prosper and grow.”
Event partners and sponsors
Manchester-based hosting company UKFast is the headline sponsor of the event and CRO specialists Endless Gain, eCommerce website experts Space48, Magento agency Digitl and email marketing automation business dotmailer are all on board as event partners.
Theatre sponsors to have committed to the event so far include business support network Business Growth Hub, international payments company WorldFirst, creative and data-driven digital agency twentysix, B2B marketing specialists SteinIAS and global advertising company Finch.
Find out more
eCommerce Show North will be an unmissable event for all those with a connection to the eCommerce sector, from CEOs, CMOs and MDs to heads of digital, developers and technical managers.
To find out how your business can get involved as an exhibitor, sponsor or partner, or to discuss anything expo related, please contact Martyn Collins on 07764 406873 or by emailing martyn@prolificnorth.co.uk.
Watch what industry leaders think of eCommerce Show North: