Last updated on September 21st, 2023
ECRS is reflecting on its recent Ignite 2023 Retail Success Conference, which drew hundreds of grocery retailers to Charlotte, North Carolina, to experience the latest in retail point-of-sale technology, forge relationships and expand their skills.
Begun nine years ago as a customer appreciation gathering, the annual conference has transformed into an industry event. The company noted that retailer attendance was up 48 percent from 2022 to 2023. Due to that larger turnout, sponsoring exhibitors and showcased products, the interactive Product Lab doubled in size.
Keynotes and sessions
Ignite 2023 held 51 sessions spanning various formats and taught participants about products and resources to help streamline their business operations. Ignite showcased an array of workshops, keynotes, breakout sessions, round table meetings and product demos.
Pete Catoe, Kaihan Krippendorff and Dale Reeves took the stage to deliver keynotes.
ECRS Founder and CEO Pete Catoe spoke with retailers, sharing information about the potential of CATAPULT technology. He shared advancements in ECRS’ product suite, such as:
- CATAPULT cognition: A cloud-based data warehouse for rapid retail analysis and artificial intelligence.
- AutoScale Max: Engineered from the ground up by experts, AutoScale Max is the industry’s only unified deli scale.
- Produce recognition: Machine learning technology, developed in-house by ECRS, that identifies products at the self-checkout and AutoScale Max.
Kaihan’s keynote spoke about the power of strategic innovation as a catalyst for sustainable growth, encouraging attendees to think beyond convention using strategic innovation to not just keep up but lead in competitive markets.
Finally, Reeves’ session emphasized the importance of leadership and inspiration in driving teams towards greatness. He spoke about the role of leadership in igniting greatness within leadership teams, stating that inspired people drive business success.
In the lab
Echoing Catoe’s address, the Ignite Product Lab held the newest product offerings from ECRS and its sponsors. Retailers of all sizes tested products in a hands-on, store environment where they could act as shoppers and see how CATAPULT improves the customer experience.
Featured among CATAPULT’s POS technology were:
- AutoScale Max, ECRS’ native deli scale software and hardware;
- Accelerated Checkout, ECRS’ consumer smartphone checkout solution;
- CATAPULT WebCart, ECRS’ native e-commerce solution;
- New Self-Checkout Hardware Solutions;
- CATAPULT Cognition, ECRS’ new data warehouse and cloud reporting module;
- Customer loyalty software; and
- Produce Recognition, powered by machine learning.
Celebrating retailers and ECRS milestones
ECRS President Caroline Catoe hosted the Ignite Award Ceremony, shining a spotlight on CATAPULT retailers and their accomplishments throughout the year. To see the full list of award recipients, click here.
Read more technology news from The Shelby Report.
