E-commerce will be ‘do or die’ for brick-and-mortar retailers: Criteo

• Criteo releases outlook for the e-commerce industry
• Top 7 predictions of what advertisers can expect – and must prepare for

E-COMMERCE will become ‘do or die’ for brick-and-mortar retailers in 2015 as they experience the increasing impact of shopper ‘webrooming’ and ‘showrooming’ behaviour, said performance marketing technology company Criteo.
 
At least 10-15% of in-store sales can be directly attributed to webrooming – shoppers gathering product information online and deciding which products to buy online but then going to the store to make the purchase.
 
Similarly, there’s a contrasting showrooming trend with many shoppers visiting the store to find, try and gather information on the products, and eventually buying online, Criteo said.
 
Webrooming is emerging as a stronger trend than showrooming, and many brick-and-mortar retailers will start deploying beacons and tablets and offer free WiFi in their stores to further accelerate this trend in 2015.
 
This will also help retailers create more touch points with consumers, and develop insights on how they can engage with store visitors before they enter the store, in the store, and after they leave the store, Criteo said.
 
The company recently released its 2015 E-commerce Industry Outlook report, which highlights key trends that will have a significant impact on the industry over the course of the year.
 
The report helps advertisers stay ahead of the curve and adjust their marketing strategies and investments to align with consumers’ evolving online shopping behaviours, Criteo said in a statement.
 
“2015 will be a dynamic year for the e-commerce industry as consumer online shopping behaviour continues to evolve at a rapid pace,” said Criteo president and chief executive officer Eric Eichmann (pic).
 
“The growth in time spent across multiple screens means marketers need to manage more complexity when targeting consumers.
 
“Advertisers who stay ahead of the curve by making sound investments in solutions like cross-device targeting and mobile-optimised websites and apps will be best positioned to meet consumer demand and generate sales,” he added.
 
Other predictions:
 
Mobile share of online sales grew steadily in 2014. This year, Criteo expects mobile devices to account for 40% of e-commerce transactions globally, and more than 50% in the developed markets including the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan.

In 2015, the complexities around cross-device advertising will disappear with the availability of more precise exact-match methods.
 
Enhancing cross-device capabilities will be a major focus as 58% of retail executives and ad agencies rank the technology as the most important of their 2015 mobile marketing efforts, according to Criteo’s July 2014 Digital Survey.
 
With cross-device advertising, retailers will be able to differentiate between existing users and new prospects and better understand their shopping behaviour across desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
 
Also, programmatic buying will drive rapid growth in native advertising. With programmatic buying, native ads implementation will become a lot easier than it used to be.
 
Publishers will be able to charge higher CPMs (cost per mile or per thousand views) as native ads perform better than IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) standard ad units, especially on mobile.

Retailers will put a heavy emphasis on app re-engagement as 42% of retail executives and ad agencies rank consumer engagement as the primary goal of mobile app strategies, Criteo said.
 
Automated ad formats will offer even greater flexibility. This technological shift will allow advertisers to effortlessly access a significantly greater part of the inventory available around the world and make it a lot easier to scale campaigns internationally.
 
For publishers, this change is synonymous with more freedom to innovate and offer new ad formats, Criteo added.
 
Finally, acquisitions and consolidation will continue to intensify in the ad-tech industry. This consolidation will make it simpler for e-commerce marketers to identify marketing solutions that meet their objectives.
 
To download Criteo’s complete 2015 E-commerce Industry Outlook report, click here.
 
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