The retail landscape is changing faster than you can say “buy now.” Marketers know this all too well and have been tasked with finding alternative ways to reach consumers. In comes eCommerce data…a relatively nascent tool that marketers are now leveraging to improve the customer experience.
The eCommerce Data Evolution
We’ve all grown accustomed to receiving packages at our doorstep at the push of a button. This ease has made us forget that the world of eCommerce is young. With more people shopping online than ever before, one of the truest values of eCommerce platforms is the data they collect.
eCommerce sites like eBay offer a wellspring of data allowing brands to put the pieces of fragmented shopper journeys together. With a front-row seat to 106 million unique shopping journeys each month, eBay understands how each user browses, discovers, buys and sells on the platform, giving advertisers unmatched, data-driven consumer insights to meet customer expectations.
Personalization…A Key Customer Expectation
According to The Harris Poll, nearly 75% of consumers in North America feel that brands struggle to create personalized and individual experiences. This is a real missed opportunity. In fact, Sailthru, a marketing suite of products, found that less than 25% of the 250 brands evaluated in their Retail Personalization Index, scored more than 50 out of 100 points. In today’s ever-evolving world of e-commerce, creating a personalized experience can be the difference between a customer gained or a customer lost. And consumers are willing to share their data in exchange for an enhanced experience. A recent Forrester report concluded that 57 percent of consumers are actually fine with retailers saving purchase history and personal preferences if more personalization is offered (Source: Forrester 2019 B2C Predictions, 2019)
Today, the majority of data analytics are used reactively for post mortem analysis, not for creating personalized experiences. While it’s important to know what went wrong in a campaign, the possibilities for more proactive use of data exist in eCommerce. Algorithms on eCommerce platforms are able to construct a complete picture from discovery to purchase despite a non-linear customer journey. And this data can seriously improve a brand’s bottom line.
Patrick: Our Entertainment Enthusiast
eBay shares insights like top keywords driving conversions, demographics, and cross-shopping conversion. Let’s look at Patrick for instance, who represents an eBay entertainment enthusiast. Patrick is a 55-year-old Entertainment Buff. He lives with his wife and is a homeowner. While he has no kids of his own, Patrick is very much a kid at heart. He often visits eBay on his desktop. In one scenario, he searched the keyword Captain Marvel DVD and spent the evening looking at DVDs and collectibles. A few days later, and after viewing about 18 listings, Patrick purchased a brand new Captain Marvel Blu Ray for $16.88 and a new Aquaman DVD for $8.19 on his desktop. He paid with his debit card. From previous shopping experiences, we also know that Patrick is a US Cellular Subscriber. It’s data points like these, that eBay happily shares with advertisers. This type of real purchase intent data can be leveraged to transform campaigns to better serve a customer’s likes and shopping behavior.
At this year’s Advertising Week, eBay sat with a few current clients including Synchrony, St. Jude’s and UPS to review the intent signals on eBay that influenced their campaign. Check out the replay to learn more from these leading brands on how they harnessed the power of commerce marketing to drive awareness, consideration, and intent.
And to kick off your next data-driven campaign, connect with our sales teams.