The third annual Global Shopping Forum (GSF) is set to double the numbers of attendees at this year’s event in Hamburg, Germany thanks to its focus on the hot topic of digitalisation in airport retail.

Following last year’s successful gathering in Frankfurt, which placed the emphasis on how to usefully target Chinese travelling shoppers, this year’s GSF is entitled: Travelling Shoppers in Times of Digitalisation.

The forum, which takes place on 20 October at the Empire Riverside Hotel, will host headline speakers from Facebook and Tripadvisor – both major draws for duty free and travel retailers wanting to know more about the link between social media, online marketing and DF&TR. The next day will feature a session devoted to real estate companies investing in airports.

As well as the two online giants, more familiar industry names will be present including Lufthansa, Hainan Airlines, Air China, Hamburg Airport and Lagardère Travel Retail.

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Organiser, Eli Fel, Partner and Managing Director at travel accessories supplier Travel Blue Germany, says that this year’s event should attract about 120-130 delegates and will show them how to emulate the best connected strategies from airports, DF&TR operators, and retail and transport companies.

Facebook and Tripadvisor will offer guidance on best practices for positioning mobile strategies while the event will also examine ways to approach partnerships that will help grow distribution and expand the customer base.

At this stage, confirmed speakers include Markus Gueltzow, Client Partner at Facebook; Tom Breckwoldt, Tripadvisor’s Territory Manager Germany, Austria and Switzerland; Marc Mangold, Marketing Director at Value Retail; and Lutz Deubel, Hamburg Airport’s Commercial Director and Head of Center Management.

Also expected to speak is Kian Gould, CEO and Founder of omnichannel, e-commerce and digital transformation company AOE. Frankfurt Airport (FRA) has used AOE’s services to expand its duty free revenue sharing model in the area of multi-retail, multi-channel solutions to offer pre-order and delivery tied in with its retail partners such as Heinemann, as well as F&B partners.

In April, FRA owner, Fraport, and AOE were given the Imagine Excellence Award for Best Omnichannel Experience for its new online shopping platform. Imagine in Las Vegas is one of the largest e-commerce conventions in the US.

For further information, programme and registration details about the GSF, please click here. Subscribers to the TRBusiness newsletter [subscribe here for free] can also get a -10% discount on Early Bird registration until 31 August using the code 8520.