See you at Tech Show Madrid: Shopify, FIK and SSTIL

On November 4 and 5 I’ll be at Tech Show Madrid, at IFEMA, with the SSTIL team in the Shopify area. We’re going together with FIK, another of the Modulor Studios boutiques, which has a stand both days. Here’s why I’m looking forward to it and where to find us.

What is Tech Show Madrid?

It’s seven trade shows at once at IFEMA, now in its sixth edition. The organizers expect around 30,000 attendees, more than 500 exhibitors and 450 speakers. The one we care about is eShow, the ecommerce and retail show, which brings together brands, store chains, distributors and ecommerce teams. Inside the show, Shopify has its own area with its partners, the Shopify Arena, and that’s where we’ll be.

What has changed at Shopify?

Yesterday I went to a Shopify event where they shared what’s new, and I left very happy. What stuck with me most was the change in focus: Shopify has moved from putting the emphasis on signing new merchants to helping the ones already selling on the platform grow.

For those of us who work in marketing, that shift matters. When the goal is to help a store that already works sell more, the conversation opens up to the brand, the content, the campaigns and how people buy, and that’s where an agency has a lot to offer.

Who is FIK?

FIK is a Shopify Premier Partner, the highest tier, and has spent more than ten years working only with Shopify. They build the online store and also the point of sale for physical stores, with shared stock and customers. When a project gets complicated, for example stores in several countries, high volume at the till, an integration with SAP or another ERP, or an ordering portal for distributors, Shopify tends to call them.

Some figures they share on their page for the show: 42 Shopify Plus projects, clients with average annual revenue of 15 million euros, and 12 weeks to move a store to Shopify.

Their clients include a major LaLiga club, for whom they set up the tills in its stores with personalized shirts and per-store stock, Ecoalf, with a Shopify store connected to SAP, and Bimani, which moved its online store and in-store tills to Shopify. They’ve also worked with Orbegozo and Cristina Oria, built an ordering portal for Suot Studio’s wholesale stores and developed a Shopify app for PayPal to pay in installments.

Why do FIK and SSTIL complement each other?

SSTIL is the group’s creative marketing agency, and I run its sales. With Shopify pushing its merchants to grow, what FIK does with technology and what we do at SSTIL with marketing meet on their own. The synergies between the two boutiques show up without forcing them, because we both want the same thing for the client: to sell more.

Where to find us?

FIK’s stand is in the Shopify Arena both days. If you can only come one day, make it Wednesday the 4th: at 3 pm, at the AI for Commerce Theatre, FIK founder Bill Murphy gives the talk Why People Call Us When They Run Into Trouble w/ Shopify, about why Shopify calls them when a project goes sideways. That same night there’s an afterparty with limited spots; if you’re interested, write to me and I’ll send you the link.

We’re bringing people from Shopify, design, technology, operations and marketing from several boutiques in the group, so whatever your question is, someone will be able to answer it. To get into the show you need to register on the Tech Show Madrid website.

Who would I like to talk to?

Brands and chains with physical stores, in any sector, selling in store, online or both. Also companies whose online store has fallen short and are thinking about switching platforms, and manufacturers and distributors who want their customers to place orders online, through their own portal.

And brands that don’t sell online yet. More and more people ask ChatGPT what to buy, and ChatGPT recommends what it finds online. The work of showing up in AI answers is called GEO, and FIK does that too.

If you’ll be at IFEMA those days, message me on LinkedIn or through the contact section and let’s find time to chat at the stand.