Dripped Digest #15: Shoppable ads

I didn't waste any time on vacation. I went to two blind cappings, one of them with 70+ lots pf Ethiopia from all over the world.

Between the Christmas and New Year's Eve dinners.

??Thanks to the break, I learned new things about coffee.

And even if AI x marketing pairing is nothing new, it depends on how you look at it.

Today I brought you a report from Acxiom : Where AI and Marketing Collide.

What’s new is that the focus is on customer experience (CX).

You haven’t seen this angle in my digest yet.

(Sorry, dear marketer friends, that there are no shortcut tools today that allow you to skip the work and let bots do it for you)

?? What a great reminder: it’s all about our customers!

NB. This digest would have been different without a cup of Colombia Guava Banana via v60. ?

CRO of Acxiom, P. Tate Olinghouse , and the team are expecting 5 CX trends to unfold in 2024:

1?? Shoppable Ads. Bringing together AI-informed digital advertising and ecommerce so people can explore and purchase products directly through ads.

2?? Proactive Customer Service. As conversational AI becomes more common and a new generation of chatbots emerges, customers will expect seamless experiences and greater transparency.

3?? Healthy Acquisition and Retention. An emphasis on growth at all costs is being replaced by a focus on reaching high-propensity prospects and super-serving loyal customers.

4?? Predictive Personalization. We’re entering an era of hyper-personalization, powered by the new generation of generative AI applications, with businesses anticipating people’s needs before they even know they have them.?

5?? Sustainable CX. AI can help companies become more sustainable by minimizing costs and maximizing efficiencies.

Shoppable Ads

Brands are looking for new ways to close the loop between impressions and conversions.

When it comes to commerce advertising, there’s too much friction. ??

Too many steps; a person gets redirected to your website and depending on how things are, you may lose them in this long journey. ??

With shoppable ads, a person can complete their purchase without leaving their immediate environment. If you've seen it on a particular social, great, you can buy it immediately.

?? They won't leave without making a purchase, especially if the sellers are offering discounts and other perks.

Think about livestream shopping, which is big in China.

?? It's gaining traction in the US and UK, helping brands achieve conversion rates that are ten times higher than traditional e-commerce, according to McKinsey.

What about our consumers?

Shoppable ads offer a more immersive and interactive shopping experience.

Even though the use of shoppable ads is still low, most consumers who have used them stated that they have improved their online shopping experience in various ways:

1. They discover products that match their interests.

58% of 16 to 34 year olds like it when companies recommend products or services tailored to their preferences.

2. Shopping is becoming easier and more convenient.

63% of consumers said that ads make online shopping more efficient. This refers to both the shortened shopping journey (a one-click purchase) and product discovery.

3. Buy products on their most used platforms

64% of consumers say they have access to a wider range of channels and platforms to shop from.

Key benefits of shoppable ads for your business:

? Gain data for personalization:

56% of professionals who have already used shoppable ads see this as a benefit, (as do 38% who have not yet tried the format).?

? Increase engagement and conversion rates:

? Close the loop between impressions and conversions:

The short purchase path and closed loop nature of shoppable ads makes attribution easier. It allows advertisers to track the performance of their campaigns and optimize in real time.

How to make it work?

To run successful shoppable ad campaigns, you need a seamless, real-time data flow between customer data, product and inventory management systems and marketing automation systems. ?

This ensures that only products in stock and available to the customer are displayed in shoppable ads.

?? You also need to maintain up-to-date information about products in their brand catalogs up to date to avoid discrepancies between channels.

As the target audience interacts with shoppable ads across different platforms and devices, you also need sophisticated tracking and measurement capabilities to capture all relevant customer interactions.