On February 19 and 20, 2025, E-commerce Expo Berlin 2025 – the largest B2B eCommerce event in Germany – took place in Berlin. Stenik was represented by Stefan Chobanov, who spent two intensive and inspiring days filled with constructive meetings, potential partnerships, and valuable business contacts. The main goal of his visit was to gain know-how and ideas about the latest trends in the eCommerce industry, to get acquainted with the most up-to-date technological solutions used by German online merchants, to hear best practices directly from leading German and international brands. The knowledge and innovations gathered will be adapted in Stenik and applied successfully to meet the specific needs of our clients in Bulgaria.
The event brought together more than 11,000 professionals from around the world, with over 150 expert speakers and 290 exhibitors from 30 international markets taking part in the program and expo. Among the attendees were international merchants, B2B and B2C store owners, and providers of leading eCommerce technologies and services. The conference offered high-quality content and discussions with many merchants and brands, as well as productive conversations with various agencies. The accompanying exhibition presented a wide range of services and solutions for the eCommerce industry and provided an excellent opportunity for invaluable networking. Within the event, masterclasses were held, along with the E-commerce Germany Awards 2025.
In the following sections, we will share highlights from the eCommerce conference and the two-day exhibition in a brief overview.
What did Stenik learn from attending E-commerce Expo Berlin 2025?
This year's format of the eCommerce Expo Berlin was dynamic and engaging. Five parallel stages hosted lectures almost one after the other. Stefan was flexible and managed to attend as many presentations as possible, gaining the most out of them. Among the lectures he attended were those by specialists from well-known brands such as Douglas, H&M, Tchibo, Fielmann, Lakrids by Bülow, and others. The panels were diverse and covered real-life case studies, successful strategies, practical tips, and innovations in B2B and B2C commerce.
Meeting with Hyvä and the Magento community
The evening before the first day of the event, Hyvä organized a special dinner with partners and representatives from the Magento community, to which Stenik was invited as a Hyvä Silver Partner. Stefan had the pleasure of meeting other Magento developers, exchanging invaluable experiences, ideas, and interesting cases.
During the dinner, his conversations with eCommerce experts from the Magento ecosystem validated that the technological solutions we offer and provide at Stenik for online merchants – Magento, Hyvä, ERP integrations, B2B/B2C digital transformations, process optimization – are fully up-to-date and on par with the best practices in Germany. In short – we are on the right track!
Day 1: eCommerce horizons and experience from global and local experts
The first day offered a broad perspective on the state of eCommerce in Germany and global trends. Stefan attended selected lectures to gather the most useful ideas and best practices to implement for our clients in Bulgaria.
1. State of the German E-Commerce 2025 & Official Welcoming Speech. ("State of German E-Commerce 2025 and Official Welcome Speech")
Presenter: Efe von Thenen Chairman, Chairman of the Advisory Board of eCommerce Berlin Expo.
The opening speech outlined the challenges and opportunities of the largest eCommerce market in Europe.
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2. Data-Driven Leadership: Unlocking Profitability Through AI and Automation
Presenter: Kevin van der Eijk, Founder and CEO of FiveX.
3. The Sweet Science of Loyalty: Lakrids by Bülow's Approach to Unified Commerce
Presenter: Michael Ewald Hansen, Chief Digital Officer at Lakrids by Bülow, Kolja Oswald, Regional Sales Manager at Voyado, presented an insightful report.
4. Die Evolution von Multi- zu Omnichannel - Maximierung der Kundenzufriedenheit ("The Evolution from Multi- to Omnichannel - Maximizing Customer Satisfaction")
Presenter: Stefan Wolk, Director of E-Commerce at Fielmann, Boris von Brevern, Managing Partner at BORIS Consulting
5. Mut statt Mittelmaß: Innovative Strategien für langfristigen Erfolg ("Courage Over Mediocrity: Innovative Strategies for Long-Term Success")
Presenter: Sebastian Hamann, Founder and Co-CEO of Shopware, shared his vision for the future of commerce and the innovations shaping it.
6. How Mobile Apps Drive Performance in Omnichannel Retail
Presenter: Mike Egbert, Head of E-Commerce Performance Management at Douglas
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7. The Future of Fashion - H&M in the Age of Digital Innovation
Presenter: Alexandra Duca, Digital Technologies/Commerce Manager for Central Europe at H&M. How H&M integrates digital technologies to remain a leader in the global fashion industry.
8. Open-Heart Surgery: Restructuring a Luxury E-Commerce Company During Ongoing Operations
Presenter: Frederike Knop, CEO at CHRONEXT
9. International eCommerce Expansion: Turning Uncertainty into Opportunity
Presenter: Paulina Jeleszuk, eCommerce Consultant at Tchibo GmbH
Day 2: In-depth Processes and Technologies
During the second day in Berlin, Stefan was inspired by know-how and gathered valuable insights for online merchants, applicable to our region.
1. Why Big Retailers Fail at E-Commerce
Presenter: Mihai Popescu, Marketing Technology Consultant, former Head of Digital Technologies at Galeria, Esprit, and Metro
Analysis of mistakes companies make during their digital transformation.
2. Solving the Growth Code for eCommerce and CPG - What Can We Learn from Each Other?
Presenter: Dr. Tizian Bonus CRO Appinio, Joanna Lindenberg, Head of Consumer and Market Insights (CMI) at Zalando
3. AI-Powered Project Management: The Next Frontier
Presenter: Farzin Saber, Global VP of Digital Projects Office at IKEA Interesting presentation and tips on how AI can transform project management.
How IKEA uses AI for effective project management in the eCommerce environment?
4. The Secrets to Building an 8-Figure Brand
Presenter: Philip Mieger (formerly Stangner), Founder of LOU8, CMO of PURELEI
5. From Pain to Gain: How Hunkemöller Digitized their Returns Process and Increased In-Store Returns by 15%
6. Revolutionizing Retail: The Role of AI in Modern E-Commerce
Presenter: Serkan Otles, Global Business Development Head at Philips
7. From Wholesale to D2C Love Brand - Camel Active’s Secret to Winning Hearts and Markets
Presenter: Christina Skoeries, Head of E-Commerce at camel active | bültel worldwide fashion
Expo Section: The German Experience – Useful for Bulgarian Merchants
The event hosted a large number of international exhibitors from the eCommerce ecosystem, including eBay, Klaviyo, Vario, Sage, Kaufland Global Marketplace, Temu, Amazon Freight, Riverty, JTL-Software, DOOFINDER, Descartes Systems, Smarketer, solution25, and many others.
Stefan visited various booths and talked to their representatives. These meetings were definitely enriching and provided new perspectives. At the Hyvä booth, in addition to valuable practical advice on working with Hyvä products, Stefan enhanced the solid collaboration between Stenik and Hyvä, which will benefit our clients – both for completed projects and new ones. The expo zone was filled with discussions on AI, automation, platform scalability, and new ways to achieve success in eCommerce.
At the expo, there were also our compatriots and partners – euShipments, who presented their solutions in logistics. On the first day, they also won an award at the E-commerce Germany Awards, which deserves commendation.
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Stefan spent some of his time at the event with Nikola Ilchev, founder of the eCommerce Academy and the chief organizer of the Balkan E-Commerce Summit, discussing trends in online commerce in the region, challenges facing brands, and other interesting observations.
Some Conclusions from EBE2025:
- Automation, AI, and customer behavior analysis are essential for successful online merchants to remain competitive.
- Unified Commerce – Integration of physical stores with digital is no longer an option but a necessity.
- D2C – More and more manufacturers must build their own brands and invest in direct sales.
- Mobile apps – They are not just a convenience, but a key tool for engaging customers.
eCommerce Expo Berlin 2025 offered an interesting program and a large-scale expo. We are glad to have been part of the event. At Stenik, we will continue to monitor global trends and adapt them to the realities of the Bulgarian market to ensure our clients' success by offering the most effective eCommerce solutions.
For those of you interested in attending next year, mark your calendars for February 17 and 18, 2026. More up-to-date information can be found on the official event website.
