Last week was the annual e-commerce expo at Earls Court offering all that is e-commerce under one roof. Having never been to such an event previously I was looking forward to exploring what the future of e-commerce has to offer and seeing the interesting and innovative new platforms that have been developed to drive the e-commerce industry forward.

The event was packed out, with every stall bustling with individuals looking to get an insight into new e-commerce developments. Various seminars and conferences were laid on by the big names such as Big Mouth Media and Google which offered visitors an insight into new products being launched. There were also beginners guides to topics such as PPC and SEO. The seminars proved extremely popular judging by the crowds of people queuing for each conference, all no doubt looking for the secret to unlocking the pot of gold at the end of the Pay Per Click rainbow.

The overall event was a success with a good turn out of visitors and an equally healthy volume of exhibitors, each offering their own well received promotional freebies to entice you to their stands. Hosting companies were there in droves, with UK Fast dominating centre stage with an impressive bar set up, free champagne and a full formula one racing car simulator! One area that grabbed my interest was the development of the ‘m-commerce’ platforms, looking to modify your online store into an accessible and user friendly platform for mobile phones.

This is a fantastic concept and one for which Fluid are seriously looking into for their clients. The notion that any online shop can be accessible from a smart phone device will mean the scope for clients to reach customers will grow considerably. Unlike your internet browser these new mobile applications don’t require page refresh and a full transaction can take place all on one screen.

I did expect there to be more of the known e-commerce solutions providers since this was a prime time platform for them to get face to face with customers and pitch their services - an opportunity which Fluid may have to seize next time around!

The event boasted a 24% increase in visitors over last year which can only mean that next year should be even bigger. The introduction of the 1^st Manchester e-commerce exhibition next year should be interesting. There’s plenty of digital investment in the North West at the moment so next year’s e-commerce exhibition should act as a good barometer for how the city is getting on.