Christmasworld Academy: Strong knowledge for a successful business season

The Christmasworld Academy lecture area will feature top speakers and valuable impulses for the trade from 28 January to 1 February 2022. Industry experts are focusing above all on more experiences at the point of sale and visibility on the internet to start the new season stronger.

Making the trade fit for future challenges is the overriding aim of the programme on the Christmasworld Academy stage in Galleria 1. “We want to give the international consumer-goods sector new impetus, sustainable trends and approaches to solutions that will open up future prospects after the pandemic experience in order to revitalise the trade and the city centres”, says Eva Olbrich, Director Christmasworld, Paperworld and Creativeworld, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH.
First and foremost, the lectures by the style agency Stilbüro bora.herke.palmisano on the Christmasworld and Paperworld Trends 22+ “facing forward” provide valuable guidance when it comes to modern and, at the same time, high-turnover assortment design and product presentation. Trend expert Claudia Herke will share more knowledge about the current trends in fashion and product design, which are decisive for the coming colours, materials and designs for festive decorations and in the office or home office. Knowledge that is helpful for individual product selection at the fair and boosts successful sales in your own shop. Anyone wishing to take a look at the upcoming Christmasworld Trends 22+ will find the Trend Area directly opposite the Academy stage. As a practical ordering aid, all products staged there are marked with the exhibitor name and stand number. The trend lectures will be held daily – from 28 to 31 January 2022 at 11.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. and on 1 February 2022 at 12.00 noon.

In addition to a trendy product range that reflects the company’s own philosophy and meets customer tastes, creating a special shopping experience at the point of sale is also important. The desire for this is great, customers want to be inspired again when shopping in the city centres. Shop windows, entrances and shopping areas need to be designed in an eye-catching way. The creative Dutch duo Rudi Tuinman and Pascal Koeleman from 2Dezign, who previously realised the special presentation Decoration unlimited, are the perfect “godfathers” for this theme. This time, as part of the Christmasworld Academy, they will be sharing their expertise and providing practical and easy-to-implement tips on how to create a wow effect with festive decorations that will encourage visitors to discover more. In addition, on the complementary Christmasworld digital addition online platform, they will show selected product presentations and ideas in a recorded guided tour of the fair, which can also be implemented in smaller areas. “Emotionalisation remains the decisive success factor between stationary trade and online trade. Even with simple means, create themed worlds that surprise with an unexpected mix, strike a chord with the times and appeal to all the senses and, above all, suit your business,” advises Rudi Tuinman.

More visibility online and digital offers enrich the shopping experience

On the other hand, the optimal linking of analogue and digital will be a central topic – how can customers already be reached online, how can visibility on the internet be increased, which digital services are in demand – Experts will provide answers and assistance. The Cologne Institute for Retail Research (IFH Köln) and the Mittelstand 4.0 Competence Centre for Retail will also be present. The agenda includes, for example, contributions on the topics of digitalisation at the point of sale with Dr. Stefan Houweling (Mittelstand 4.0 Kompetenzzentrum Handel MDKH), social media / social commerce with Svenya Scholl (MDKH), retail trends with Laura Luible (IFH Köln) or TikTok with Anne Lisa Weinand (IFH Köln).

“Digitalisation is not only taking place on online channels. Digital technologies are also becoming increasingly important offline. Therefore, it is especially important in stationary trade to link online and offline channels,” says Dr. Stefan Houweling. In his lecture, Houweling shows how stationary retail can attract new target groups from the online to the offline world of the shop. The use of digital technologies at the stationary point of sale plays a decisive role in this and makes one fit for the digital future.

According to the head of ECC Cologne at IFH Köln, the TikTok sales channel has real prospects for the future, from which retailers should benefit more. Young social media users in particular consume and create short videos on various topics with great commitment. The entertainment aspect plays the central role, but companies are also increasingly using the channel for marketing and communication purposes. How can TikTok be located and used in the social media landscape? What potential lies dormant in the young network? And what do consumers expect from companies that are active here? Anne Lisa Weinand will address these questions in her lecture.

In addition, the DigitalMobil Handel is on site. With the DigitalMobil Handel, the Mittelstand 4.0 Competence Centre for Trade is on the road throughout Germany. Because digitisation is particularly accepted and understood when the technologies are demonstrated using application examples. These include, for example, a digital signage solution, a multi-sensory solution, a digital checkout system, a feedback system and a 360° tour of a shop.

An expert demonstrates the various technologies and is then available for questions and discussions. The DigitalMobil Handel thus offers digitalisation to touch and try out – tangible and at the same time innovative solutions from the world of digital commerce.

The lecture programme can be found in the event calendar and will be updated continuously. christmasworld.messefrankfurt.com/events2022

Live streams on Christmasworld digital addition

Selected lectures and tours of the fair will be streamed live for the complementary digital platform. They can then be found on the Conzoom Solutions knowledge platform. In this way, the trade fair networking is extended and intensified on a digital level: That means visitors can be there live as well as network online. The digital addition offer is aimed in particular at trade buyers who cannot come to Frankfurt in 2022 due to Corona regulations. Digital exchange via 1-to-1 video calls or chats is already possible one week before and two weeks after the event. And via the already established online exhibitor search, Conzoom Solutions and Nextrade, there is digital added value all year round – in the sense of product inspiration, knowledge updates and ordering opportunities.

The next Christmasworld will take place from 28 January to 1 February 2022.