Ecommerce advertising is a trillion-dollar industry today. Everything from paid listings to SEO has become a necessary business investment and a majority of growth strategists agree that eCommerce advertising is the key to driving business revenue.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced all businesses to look into online expansion, and the dramatic influx has proven to bring along fierce competition. A strategy to create and monetize an online following profitably is more important now than ever before.
With this shift to retail media marketplace platforms, it’s no wonder that generating ROI is a hot topic. Melissa Burdick, the President and Co-Founder of Pacvue, recently hosted a value-packed session “Generate the Optimal ROI: Squeezing the Most of Your Ad Dollard Across Multiple Marketplace Platforms” in Ecom World virtual conference. You can check out some of the major takeaways from the broadcast here.
A Retail Media Opportunity Worth $100 Billion
Today, 46% of all shoppers check a retailer’s inventory online before going out to a store. Many also take advantage of the ability to place and track their orders using their mobile devices before deciding on a brand to shop with. In this case, partnering with marketplaces that offer user-friendly experiences can boost brand loyalty.
The future of online sales revolves around the personalisation and loyalty of the consumers. Boston Consulting Group stats suggest this is a $100 billion opportunity. It enables retailers to create their own media-personalisation flywheel, using insights from their consumer base to skyrocket sales.
Advertisements across platforms contribute to a large portion of incoming traffic and can build your revenue profile for the long run. This opportunity presents a way for incoming traffic and sales to directly translate into incremental vendor funding.
Performance Metrics Across Retailer Platforms
Across desktop and mobile devices, consumers choose retailers based on several attributes. Giants like Walmart, Amazon, Instacart and Criteo have business models in place that push some retailers to better sales and higher profits. Striking the right balance between paid and organic positioning is the secret to getting the highest returns on precious ad dollars.
Pacvue neatly wrapped up all the nuances of 4 retail marketplace platform giants in a tabular format. Elements like standard sales attribution, API availability and the click versus view count can be compared for all platforms so you can make an informed decision.
Inventories are growing exponentially and platforms like Amazon and Walmart are introducing new features every quarter. Ads at the top of the page for search queries directly contribute to higher view counts, better click-through rates and better ROAS.
Decision Factors – What Makes Consumers Click
Ecommerce KPIs have evolved drastically in the past decade, and retailers now have the opportunity to increase traffic and retain satisfied consumers. The primary deciding factors when finalizing a retail platform for your ad budget are sales growth, size and scale and the meaningful engagement you can potentially garner.
So, if your goal is to gain shares, your main KPI should be topline sales. Keeping current market statistics and the existing competition in mind also becomes key when defending shares. This means your positioning relative to those in a direct or indirect competition of you impacts how aggressively you need a tactic.
Ensuring that the portfolio is a good fit and monitoring the competition on various platforms can also help you modify your advertising tactics to suit your end goals.
Duality Between Search Algorithms and Consumer Avatars
If your content is optimized for the platform and uses relevant keywords based on your shoppers’ search history, the predicted click-through rates will increase in your favor. Similarly, sales, profitability and the bid amount are also influenced by many factors.
Understanding the ever-changing paid search algorithm is as important as understanding the shopper. An ideal consumer avatar can be an important decision-making factor to reach different goals. Latest conversion tactics target both the loyalist as well as the agnostic when it comes to their advertising strategies.
Brand agnostics make up the majority and become the volume drivers bringing in strategic value for you. So, understanding the search behavior patterns and analytics of your consumer mix is crucial when delegating resources to ads.
The Significance of a Quarterly Test & Learn
Retailers who create a well-defined framework can use the same time and time again, allowing the brand to see consistent growth. By addressing 4 key questions, you can measure your performance and learnings through a custom test & learn.
A test & learn calendar gives you the structure needed when assessing the quarterly performance. Staffing is another element that depends entirely on your complexity score and marketplace positioning. This way, you can ensure the team’s learning graphs are always pointing north.
To learn more new knowledge, tactics, and strategies to take your eCommerce business to the next level in 2021, watch our webinar recording: Hear From the Experts: 5 Strategies To Apply From Ecom World 2021.
