Elevate 2024 Wrap Up

Icreon, a leading digital solutions agency at the forefront of commerce innovation, was thrilled to participate in Elevate — The Global Commerce Summit™ hosted by commercetools, held from April 16th to 18th at Miami Beach. This event brought together some of the brightest minds in commerce, fostering a vibrant atmosphere of collaboration and exploration.

Over the course of three days, we delved deep into a series of key announcements, the future of commerce, presenting a customer talk on composable commerce with Mason Companies, attending thought-provoking sessions, exploring cutting-edge solutions, and connecting with industry peers.

From composable commerce breakthroughs to emerging technologies like generative AI, Elevate provided a treasure trove of insights to shaping the future of digital commerce experiences. The Icreon team had an amazing time networking with industry experts, commerce leaders, and seasoned business professionals at this global commerce event.

In case you missed the event, we’ve captured a quick round up from the world’s first global commerce summit.

Day 1: Building Connections and Sparking Ideas (April 16th)

The summit kicked off with a vibrant reception and expo, providing the perfect platform to connect with fellow commerce leaders. The energy was electric as we exchanged ideas, shared challenges, and forged new connections that will fuel future collaborations. Whether it was discussing the latest trends with industry veterans or exploring innovative solutions at the expo booths, Day 1 was all about fostering a collaborative spirit and building a strong commerce community.

Day 2: Deep Dives into Key Announcements and Composable Commerce (April 17th)

Day 2 wasn’t just about deep dives into composable commerce. It also served as a platform for commercetools to unveil a series of exciting announcements through ‘Innovation Talk from commercetools leadership’.

Key Announcements:

Streamlined Checkouts: A strategic collaboration with PayPal was announced, aiming to revolutionize the checkout experience. Features like one-click purchases for authenticated users promise to reduce friction and increase conversion rates.

Empowering B2B Manufacturers: commercetools launched "Blueprint for B2B Manufacturing", a new offering of commercetools Foundry. This solution is specifically designed to cater to the needs of manufacturers, empowering them to innovate faster and capture a greater market share in the competitive B2B landscape.

Building a Collaborative Ecosystem: Recognizing the power of community, commercetools launched "commercetools Community." This platform fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing among customers, partners, and potential clients. It serves as a valuable resource for learning, sharing best practices, and staying ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving world of commerce.

While commercetools' groundbreaking announcements set the stage for innovation, the day also featured deep dives into composable commerce, a key area of focus for Icreon. The session "Beyond Boundaries: Decoding Commerce 2025 by Dirk Hoerig, CEO and Co-founder at Commercetools" offered a thought-provoking exploration of what lies ahead for the industry, emphasizing the critical role composability will play in navigating future challenges. The session delved into the evolution of commerce and how composable architectures will empower businesses to adapt and innovate at an unprecedented pace.

Might Helpful: Generative AI: More CX and UI Revolution than AI Revolution

Along with other commercetools partners and inspiring keynotes and panel sessions, ChangeCX, an Icreon company, took the stage to showcase innovative success story on Breakthrough Strategies with ChangeCX and Mason companies. The speakers included Sami Atari - Lead Application Architect at Mason Companies, Austin Lowry - Chief Strategy Officer at ChangeCX & Icreon. Through the session, we had the privilege of sharing our practical experience and successful composable commerce implementation strategies with the audience. Austin navigated the intricacies of composability and walked through the warning signs of an inadequate composable stack. He also discussed migration options for a seamless transition.

Witnessing the engagement and sparking discussions on this session was incredibly rewarding, solidifying our belief in the transformative power of composable commerce for creating agile and future-proof commerce experiences.

Day 3: Unpacking Emerging Technologies and Shaping the Future (April 18th)

The final day of Elevate unleashed cutting-edge technologies poised to revolutionize commerce experiences. "Generative AI at commercetools" unveiled the potential of AI in product recommendations, personalization, and content creation. Featuring Kelly Goetsch, Chief Strategy Officer at Commercetools, this session inspired commerce enthusiasts as the technology holds immense potential for creating hyper-personalized shopping journeys and unlocking new levels of customer engagement.

Additionally, "Beyond Keywords: Future Trends Shaping E-Commerce Search & Discovery" offered valuable insights into how search functionalities are evolving to cater to a more dynamic and user-centric landscape. Speakers included Piyush Patel - Chief Strategic Business Development Officer at Algolia, Miguel Elias - Strategy Director at Cencosud, Marco Kormann, EMEA Partner Solution Lead at AWS, and Michael Scholz, VP Product & Customer Marketing at commercetools. They delved into the shift in consumer behavior, noting that 51% of Gen Z consumers worldwide preferred using social media for brand research. This preference stemmed from the relevancy, visual appeal, and overall enjoyment of social media results compared to traditional search engines. Topics included advanced algorithms and AI-powered recommendations, offering innovative strategies to revolutionize online product discovery.

Let’s Shape the Future of Commerce

As a leading digital solutions agency, Icreon is committed to staying ahead of the curve and actively shaping the future of commerce. Elevate 2024 equipped us with the latest trends, valuable insights, and a renewed sense of purpose. By embracing composable commerce solutions, leveraging emerging technologies like generative AI, and fostering a collaborative spirit within the commerce community, Icreon is a leading digital solutions agency to help businesses unlock the full potential of digital commerce and deliver exceptional customer experiences that drive growth and success.

Elevate 2024 was an unforgettable experience, and we're already looking forward to the next opportunity to connect with the commerce community and explore the ever-evolving landscape of digital commerce! Connect with our Digital Commerce experts to discuss your commerce challenges.