With UK shoppers now demanding more ‘blended’ product recommendations, both from traditional ad channels, as well as from brands and retailers they already trust, retail businesses will need to evolve their channel-mix for consumer engagement, the latest research from ADvendio, the omnichannel advertising solution provider, suggests.
Original research of over 1,000 UK shoppers by ADvendio revealed that product recommendations from retailers customers already shopped with had over taken content from traditional media channels, including TV, print and social, when it came to offering ‘trusted’ content.
Recommendations from the retailers shoppers were already loyal to was the top most trusted source of product recommendations for 41% of UK shoppers, followed closely by traditional TV ads (40%). Curated content delivered by trusted and familiar brands also topped traditional print and social media sources (26% versus 20% and 18% respectively).
And this shift towards wanting to be served ad content from already trusted brands calls for a greater cross-channel approach to shopper engagement, according to ADvendio, prompting retailers to consider a blend of 1st party and 3rd party channels within their ad strategies to deliver increased interaction, conversion and sales.
Bernd Bube, Founder and CEO of ADvendio, commented: “These new consumer demands and the strategy needed to meet them changes the inequities in the relationship we have traditionally seen between retailers and brands around advertising. Retailers continue to own and control their own data, without any privacy fears because it is not shared.”
“In addition, the ability to influence shoppers before they start shopping when they get to the store or website and at the virtual or real shelf – or ‘prime, prompt, purchase’ as Tesco puts it – is a powerful one as it enables brands to focus marketing spend on particular groups such as current shoppers, lapsed shoppers, competitor shoppers or possible shoppers,” he added.
Half (50%) of UK shoppers now want to receive highly curated, personalised advertisements and brand communications from the retailers they already shop with, rising to 65% of Gen Z and 62% of Millennials. Moreover, two fifths (38%) of consumers say they would be more likely to buy from a product recommendation they received from a retailer they already regularly shopped with, highlighting the importance of building in first-party data and audiences into omnichannel ad strategies.
