Predictions 2023: eCommerce
eCommerce brands know that their audiences are demanding new kinds of buying experiences — which will provide some unique advertising and data privacy challenges this year. As part of our Predictions 2023 Series, Bill Cooper (eComm Media Director) shares his top four predictions for how eComm brands can secure future-proofed success in 2023 and beyond.
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1. An audience-first planning mentality will be key. Audiences are demanding a more authentic buying experience. This has been accelerated based on changes in data privacy, channel complexity, and new buyer behaviors stemming from the pandemic.
Additionally, having a healthy media mix and user experience throughout all digital marketing channels will help avoid oversaturation of similar audiences across different outlets.
2. Prioritize automation to allow for proper scale. We can’t emphasize this enough: Focusing on automation allows us to stay ahead of our competition and future-proof our strategies. This can be as simple as prioritizing different audience and data APIs through various platforms and technologies, which allows more time to analyze and activate against data versus compiling it. While this requires an investment of time and money, the right automation planning also can lead to a massive payoff for your brand and its consumers.
3. Consumer consent and value exchange will determine the future of the open web. Between the eventual sunset of cookies, and a consumer mindset that’s privacy-first, advertisers will need to stay focused on straightforward and clean ways to collect and use consumer data in 2023.
Making sure that you’re leveraging data in a safe and protected manner allows for a smoother user experience throughout the buying journey. This approach not only helps you avoid diminishing returns from oversaturation, but also future-proofs your eCommerce marketing strategies by establishing what consumers can expect from your brand when they provide their personal data.
4. Shoppable ad formats and Marketplaces will dominate the eCommerce space.
In this new normal, consumers rely on digital shopping experiences to conveniently meet their expectations and needs. Whether they’re taking advantage of Cyber Week sales on Amazon for holiday shopping or using AR lenses to browse a digital catalog of product inventory, it’s crucial to provide consumers with whatever experience best fits their personal needs.
This kind of approach to your eCommerce strategy will both allow you to have a more holistic view of your cross-channel environment (i.e. what outlets are performing best), and equip you with a mindset that is audience-centric, rather than channel-specific.
Knowing what makes your eComm audience tick — and the way it translates to how they see the buying process — will help you maintain an audience-first mindset. Between streamlined automation approaches, privacy-first practices and knowing how to capitalize on the best ad innovations, you can clear the hurdles that 2023 will bring while securing incremental growth.
Prepared to innovate and capture audiences authentically this year? Contact us today!