McCormick Place

Having spent last week at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago, I came away with three key takeaways: One, if you're an online retailer not selling internationally, particularly in Australia, what are you waiting for? You're missing out on a potential growth opportunity for your brand. Two, brick-and mortar retailers must develop a strategy to deal with "showrooming," — i.e., consumers using stores as showrooms to check out products, then buying those products online at a lower price (with free shipping, of course). Three, online marketplaces are proliferating — it's not just Amazon.com and eBay anymore — and becoming another viable channel for retailers to engage consumers and sell their products.

MARCH March 6 - Loyalty by the Numbers: Financial Planning & Measuring Return on Investment. Webinar. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 6-8 - Direct Marketing Institute. Hilton Chicago and Towers, Chicago. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 7 - Law of Direct Marketing. DMA Seminar Center, New York. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 7-8 - Kansas City DMA: New Marketing Revolution. Overland Park, Kan. (816) 561-5323, www.kcdma.org March 8-9 - PMA's Annual Conference 2006. Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago. (212) 420-1100, www.pmalink.org March 13-14 - Data-Driven Marketing. DMA Seminar Center, New York. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 20-21 - Basics of Direct Marketing. Millennium Hotel Minneapolis, Minneapolis. (212) 790-1500,