Why Retail Data Is Going To Turbo Charge Programmatic

If I had to choose two of my favourite things, they’d be adtech and cycling (I won’t say which order I’d rank them in). Recently, though, I had an experience on one of my favourite cycling websites that got me thinking.
The site, by the way, is really good both for cycling enthusiasts like me and as an example of how to do e-commerce well in a crowded market. It started small — with video, crucially. It built engagement and trust through authenticity. Only when it had created its audience, did it start selling. It’s called Global Cycling Network. Check it out if you have time.
Anyway, I was in a shopping sort of mood and had been thinking for a while of getting a new winter jacket. Global Cycling Network had one on offer. So I checked out some reviews, did a bit of research, and then bought it.  Why not? It was perfect for my needs at that moment in time.
For the next week, adverts for a winter jacket followed me around the web. But I’d just bought one. I didn’t want another. I’m sure we’ve all been there.
 

The retail-data revolution

The good news is, that we’re really close to solving this problem. By combining retail data with our existing data sets on online behaviour, the programmatic industry will soon have access to a much more complete picture of who consumers are and how they behave online.
One of the things that it will let us do is know more precisely when a consumer has actually become a customer or completed a purchase. We can then stop placing ads for the original offer and instead switch to up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. This is good for the consumer, good for advertisers, and good for our industry as a whole, making advertising creative again and welcomed.
The opportunities for the industry and for advertisers are huge, with the possibility of increasing conversions by orders of magnitude.  Think of the value we can add. And that’s just at current e-commerce volumes. But those volumes won’t stay still.
According to eMarketer global e-commerce is worth $22 trillion today. By 2020, that will be $27 trillion. Imagine the results we can achieve for advertisers if we can take the data from that volume of transactions and feed it into a virtuous cycle of advertising efficiency and innovation.
It’s one of the most exciting things to have happened to the industry in a long time – and one of the reasons I’m so happy to welcome Triad Retail Media to the Xaxis family. All round, I know I’m lucky to work with some of the most clever and dedicated people in the industry.
What a great time to be in adtech!