We are experts in Retail Search and Retail Digital Media, which will help increase the visibility of a brand’s products on the online shelf and make them leap out at shoppers when they’re in a buying mindset.
Making products highly visible and converting casual online browsers into not just active shoppers but loyal repeat customers should of course be the goal of anyone managing an FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) brand online.
And, with customer experience demands growing all the time and new ways of effectively attracting online shoppers constantly emerging, how do brands find that competitive edge?
We know that there’s a golden opportunity for brands to win online – especially on eRetailer platforms like Amazon, Target or Walmart – through Retail Search and Retail Digital Media.
Advertisers clearly recognise the effectiveness of these channels, as evidenced by the fact that brands have significantly increasing their spend in them during the COVID-19 lockdown.[1]
What is Retail Search and why is it important?
In the simplest terms, Retail Search is search marketing within an eRetailer platform – Amazon, for instance – that drives browsing and shopping traffic to a product page.
As with search engine marketing, there are organic and paid Retail Search options for helping amplify the visibility of products on the online shelf.
An organic Retail Search example might be exact product titles and very well-written product descriptions that closely match keywords shoppers use to find products on Amazon, Target or similar.
A paid Retail Search activity, on the other hand, could be the Sponsored ads you see appear prominently at the top of an Amazon page when an online shopper does a simple search for something like ‘fruit juice’ or ‘hair conditioner’.
Retail Search is incredibly important because it:
- Drives immediate conversions. Retail Search increases your product’s visibility on the online shelf when shoppers are browsing or actively searching under your product’s category or a related one
- Has a significant influence on both online and offline sales – after all, shoppers now far prefer to research products on eRetailer sites rather than Google [2], and 88 percent buy products in-store after finding out more about them online[3]
- Paid Retail Search can help make up for organic product rankings that might not be performing well for reasons not within a brand’s control
What is Retail Digital Media and why is it important?
Retail Digital Media (RDM) is digital advertising that brands can use on eRetailer sites like Amazon to attract the attention of casual browsers and convert them into active customers by driving them to product pages.
The most effective RDM aims to target online shoppers at – as our CEO & Founder Luigi Matrone puts it – ‘the optimum moment of receptivity’. That is, at the stage in the consumer journey when they are most likely to make a purchase.
Amazon and Target[4] are really upping their game when it comes to offering advertisers increasingly interactive and jump-out-of-the-screen RDM options, which is hardly surprising when you consider how influential RDM is as a driver of product page traffic – and online and offline sales.
The power of RDM lies in the fact that, when people visit Amazon, Target, Walmart.com and similar eRetailer platforms, they are already very much in a shopping mindset and therefore far more receptive to advertising.
Over 21 percent of people are more likely to buy a product after exposure to an ad on a retailer website compared to the same ad on a traditional website, and we see a 25 percent increase in basket size with ads on retailer websites.[5]
Compelling statistics that really highlight the incredible value of Retail Digital Media – and why your company needs a great RDM strategy and best-in-class creative assets to take advantage of this incredible sales opportunity.
What Retail Search and RDM challenges do companies have to overcome?
The first questions companies need to ask themselves before taking advantage of the fantastic sales success that both Retail Search and RDM can bring them are:
- Do we have a sound strategy and roadmap in place? For instance, do we know how to properly manage your RDM activities? How will we own the keywords that we think should belong to our brand and which will best attract customers?
- Do we have the internal capabilities?
- Do we have the creative skills and processes we need?
Retail Search challenges
There’s a good reason why brands are beginning to spend as much on Retail Search as they do on Google – don’t make the mistake of underestimating the impact that Retail Search can have on the overall success of your brand.
That said, you will of course need a good strategy and a comprehensive understanding of how Retail Search really works. Do you have the experience you need in your teams?
You absolutely need a tried-and-trusted framework for reporting on and analysing results so that you can learn from them and build better campaigns that drive more sales.
Retail Digital Media challenges
There are a number of different building blocks that are fundamental to building Retail Digital Media campaigns.
When clients come to eBusiness Institute for help, we assess their current status, observe RDM trends, guide Sales, Marketing and Media teams at each stage of the process, and implement plans.
RDM success requires a joined-up, collaborative approach. Are you working with the right eRetail partners? Do your sales teams have the right mindsets when it comes to buying and negotiating RDM space on eRetailer sites? Do your creatives have RDM experience – do they know what really works? How will the asset creation process work? How will you measure success?
In conclusion
We hope that you’re excited about the fantastic product sales results and future success that Retail Search and Retail Digital Media can bring you.
Do your Sales teams have the skills needed to Mastering Online Retailing and maximise eCommerce growth?
The popularity of online shopping – already rapidly on the rise before COVID-19 – has understandably sky-rocketed during the global lockdown. Short-term consumer habits developed by huge numbers of new online shoppers during the crisis will solidify and become long-term. They will have realised how easy and convenient it is to shop this way – and they won’t turn back.
Can your organisation meet the growing expectations of online shoppers? Or will you be left behind?
We’ve launched our highly practical and action-focused ‘Mastering Online Retailing‘ Capability Building webinar series to make sure that your organisation and its teams are in a position to maximise eCommerce growth and thrive during the next decade.
‘Mastering Online Retailing‘ will enable your organisation to rapidly update its eCommerce capabilities, leverage proven tools for setting short & long-term strategies, and – ultimately – achieve online sales goals.
Contact us if you’d like to learn more about Mastering Online Retailing or any other of our H.O.W. Capability Building programs.
This article was written and created by the eBusiness Institute team.
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From ‘Big Data & AI’ to our ‘Mastering Online Retailing’ series, contact us to find out more about the wide range of highly practical H.O.W. online Capability Building courses that will give your company what it needs to create efficiencies, improve processes and maximise profit.
Sources
[1] https://digiday.com/marketing/this-is-a-permanent-shift-retail-giants-like-amazon-capture-more-ad-spending/
[2] https://ebusinessinstitute.com/why-retail-search-is-as-important-as-google-for-attracting-customers/
[3] https://info.salmon.com/FutureShopper2020/WundermanCommerce/TheFutureShopperReport.pdf
[4] https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-sites-are-becoming-some-of-the-most-valuable-real-estate-in-digital-advertising
[5] https://ebusinessinstitute.com/roundel-target-new-media-company/
[6] https://www.marketingcharts.com/industries/retail-and-e-commerce-37712
