Retail Media, a new opportunity for eCommerce income

Sam Smith

Ecommerce Consultant at Doofinder

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It’s all the rage.

And everything points to this trend sticking around.

Hay quien ya lo llama la tercera gran ola de la publicidad en medios digitaleSome are already calling it the third big wave of digital advertising.

The first was Site Search positioning (SEO-SEM), with Google leading the pack. 

Then came social media advertising, with a well-equipped Facebook that was ready to take on the world. Just imagine Zuckerberg on horseback with a lance, armor and a sack stuffed with bills on his back. You get the picture.

Now a third opportunity has arrived.

Retail Media. The new digital advertising revolution, with Amazon fully committed to the cause. You’ve almost certainly noticed it by now.

But to really understand what it is, the benefits it can have for an eCommerce business and, last but not least, how Doofinder can help you ride this wave…

All you need to do is keep reading!

What is Retail Media?

To keep it short and sweet:

Retail Media means using paid brand advertisements to gain a relevant presence in eCommerce, applications or marketplaces. This is optimized with good segmentation, the use of keywords and/or demographic data. 

Traditional trade marketing, adapted to the digital world.

This is one definition, but you might need to understand a few more details to be able to appreciate the value of Retail Media and the way in which it entails a profound change in the entire eCommerce ecosystem.

Just like the previous two, this third wave is coming from across the pond. At least if you’re on the European side of the Atlantic, that is.

Major companies in the US, such as Amazon, Walmart or Walgreens, are already profiting from investing in this type of advertising and obtaining very positive results.

Meanwhile in Europe, chains such as Carrefour or Fnac are taking note, and Spain already has several examples like DIA, Alcampo, Primor, PcComponentes and more…

Translated into numbers, the data for 2021 shows an increase in advertising related to Retail Media. This figure is 38% in the US and 55% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

And to give you an idea of the size of this profit pie, Amazon generated 31,200 million dollars in advertising income. 

Brands that paid to gain greater visibility and facilitate access to their products through the giant founded by Jeff Bezos.

Walmart, meanwhile, registered 2,1 billion dollars in direct income.

All of this has also served as inspiration for many other small eCommerce businesses.

And this is where we get to the real point. Because this type of advertising is going to bring great benefits to online stores of all sizes.

Why Retail Media is revolutionizing the world of eCommerce

To help you understand it in depth, let’s take a look at the case of Paula.

Imagine that Paula writes “sunscreen” in the Google search bar.

Perhaps she wants to purchase sunscreen and is looking for one that’s appropriate for her. 

But it’s also possible that she simply wants to know what’s in it and how it’s made, because apart from protecting her skin, she’s also interested in protecting the planet. These are just a few among an infinite number of possible motives.

Now the crucial decision is in the hands of the marketing teams of the brands that market sunscreens. They are the ones who will have to decide how much money to invest in Google advertising for these keywords. 

With plenty of possibilities to throw money down the drain.

Now let’s take a look at social media advertising, where a much higher degree of segmentation can be carried out. 

It’s possible to know that Paula is a young woman, follows various cosmetic brands and is interested in the care and health of her skin. 

She’s even posted related content on Instagram, but… what stage of purchase is she currently at? It may be that she’s shown an advertisement at a moment when she has no intention of making a purchase. 

She also still has an entire tube of unopened sunscreen.

Do you know what that means?

Exactly. More of the advertiser’s money directly down the drain. Again.

Lastly, let’s imagine that Paula’s carrying out her search in an online cosmetics store and she sees an ad for a juicy discount on sunscreen.

Since she’s already in a store, and also conducting an active search, it’s highly likely that she’s at a much more advanced stage of purchase. 

It’s also very probable that the search started directly in the specialized store. At this point, she may only need that little push, provided by Retail Media, to take the final step, put the item in her cart and place the order. 

Without a doubt, it is this advertising investment that has the greatest probability of being efficient. 

But there’s still more.

Retail Media, the perfect collaboration between eCommerce and brands

At a point in time when cookies are proving to be quite a headache, those who actually have the data are the stores themselves.

In fact, thanks to the information they handle and the statistics provided by Doofinder, they know their customers inside out.

They know:

• What they’re looking for
• What they find and buy
• What they find and don’t buy
• What they don’t find
• When they buy

The opportunities provided by all this information are interesting for any store, but also for brands themselves.

It means that they are able to roll out offers based on the tastes and behaviors of the customers. Truly aligned with what they want.

Thus, brands will also get to know their users and their habits and behaviors better. And they will be in the privileged position of being able to carry out launches and controlled product tests.

In other words, they’ll be able to invest in areas where they know the true return,  and they’ll achieve an increase in sales, customer loyalty, and commitment to the brand.

All of this contributes to a more personalized experience that benefits the customers just as much as the brands and businesses.

How to implement retail media with Doofinder, the internal Site Search for your eCommerce

And now we’re going to put it into practice.

Perhaps you didn’t know, but everything we’ve just discussed has been possible for quite some time now, using Doofinder as an internal Site Search of an online shop.

Has it occurred to you that if you use some of our functionalities appropriately, this could serve as negotiating leverage with your suppliers?

Some of our clients are already doing just that.

See for yourself.

Custom Results

You can create personalized search results. When a customer searches for the name of a product or specific brand, it will show the results that you’ve configured. 

This might be because you want to offload your stock or perhaps promote a specific brand.

For instance. You can configure it such that when someone searches for “Nivea”, the results show “ISDIN” products.

Boosting Rules

This functionality, for example, is used to boost a brand within the results offered by your Site Search.

Giving more weight and presence to the products you want in the less specific searches.

Another example. You can make sure that products from the brand “Nivea” always appear in the top positions in the results.

Banners

This allows you to create and configure banners that will appear in the upper part of your Site Search. You choose whether you want them to appear only in certain specific searches or for any search.

To give you a clear example of what we’re talking about, you can insert a banner for “Delial” whenever someone searches the word “sunscreen”.

Of course, the statistics allow you to check all the data in real time, meaning that you’ll always have updated and detailed information on the outcomes of your actions.

With all this information, it’s highly likely that you’re already starting to think about how you could apply Retail Media strategies in a simple manner in your eCommerce business with the help of Doofinder.

If you want to get to know these functionalities in more detail, it’s worth watching this video.

Although the best way to learn is always by doing. 

So if you still don’t have Doofinder as the internal Site Search for your eCommerce, you should try it out. 

Not only will it increase your conversion rates by up to 20%, but as we’ve just seen, it will also help you ride this third wave of online advertising.

Doofinder can be installed in less than 5 minutes, easily and without a code, but should you need assistance, we have a whole team of very friendly people ready to help. 

Additionally, we want you to be able to verify the results for yourself – so the first 30 days are free of charge. We won’t even ask you for a single bank detail.

Come on over to Doofinder, request your free trial here.