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eCommerce Industry | Channable Blog

Bing may be responsible for a modest <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/all/united-kingdom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7.24% of the share from the search engine market in the UK</a>. But at the beginning of 2018 the search engine platform was counting, on average, <a href="https://secure.bingads.microsoft.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6 billion monthly searches</a>. Therefore, there is no need for us to explain why there is definitely huge potential in using Bing Ads to reach your customers. Before telling you how to master Bing Ads and explaining to you how Channable can rock your Bing Ads, here is a little bit more insight into the service.
<h2>What are Bing Ads?</h2>
Bing Ads is essentially Microsoft’s version of Google AdWords. Similar to AdWords, Bing Ads is a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising system. It is part of the web search engine called Bing. Signing up to Bing Ads is free, you’ll pay only when someone clicks on your Text Ads. As Bing says: “no click, no charge”.
<h3><em>Text Ads</em></h3>
Once you’ve created your Text Ads in Bing, they will appear on the top or to the right of Bing, Yahoo, and MSN search results.
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-9920 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/NaT8jbT361rGWTIjudCA" alt="" width="600" height="405" />
<em>How a text ad appears on Bing.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Your ad position will be determined by different factors such as how high your bid is compared to your bidding competitors, your click-through rate or how closely your ad and website fit with the keyword. Similarly to AdWords, you can target your ads to geographic locations, times or days of the week, etc.</p>

<h3>**<em>Product listing Ads</em>**</h3>
Again, similar to Google, you can create Bing Shopping ads and use Shopping Campaigns to organize, manage, and bid for your Product Ads. Like with the Google Merchant Center, the Bing Merchant Center allows you to create Product Ads for each of your items. Product Ads showcase your items in a larger format with images, text, pricing, etc. Don’t mistake them with Text Ads (see the above picture for an example).
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-9925 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/qnpjJuVmQty2PXRNFevY" alt="" width="600" height="405" />
<em>How a Product Ad will appear on Bing.</em></p>

<h2>Why should you use Bing Ads?</h2>
Of course, you don’t tell someone to “Bing” something but rather “Google” it. However, there are still good reasons for you to start using Bing Ads:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Bing Ads can connect you to millions of internet users that are NOT using Google.</li>
 	<li>The competition is lower than AdWords and therefore Bing Ads is known to be “cheaper” than AdWords.</li>
 	<li>If you're already using Google Adwords, you can easily sync your campaigns to Bing Ads, but this comes with constraints*.</li>
</ul>
* <em>Imagine you want to create a specific campaign for Bing, this option will prevent you from it. But if you are using Channable and our SEA tool, you can copy your ads’ templates to the Bing Ads generator and still manage your ads specifically for Bing exactly as you want them to be.</em>
<h2>Bing Ads within Channable</h2>
Maybe you already know that Channable has a <a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener">special SEA</a> tool that enables you to create thousands of dynamic ads for AdWords based on the information in your product feed. Therefore we thought, why not offer a similar feature for Bing Ads!
Here a handful of reasons why it’s a good idea to use a tool like Channable to create your Bing Ads:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>The SEA tool is very intuitive and user friendly, which helps you to create your campaigns effortlessly.</li>
 	<li>Automatically create thousands of customized Bing Ads based on your feed with the ad template.</li>
 	<li>Everything will be updated automatically: Channable retrieves all new information from your feed daily or even up till every hour and updates your ads accordingly.</li>
 	<li>New items are automatically added, into the right campaign and ad group, and with the correct advertisement.</li>
 	<li>You decide which (dynamic) attributes you’d like to use in your text ad (i.e fluctuating price, brand, title or stock).</li>
 	<li>Create your own A/B testing template: generate different ad templates for your items in just a few clicks to see which ad performs better.</li>
</ul>
In Channable, there are two ways to easily generate your Bing campaigns.

1) As mentioned above, you can copy rules and templates from Channable’s AdWords generators into your Bing Ads generators. After that, you can fine-tune the ads for Bing, within Channable, in anyway you like.
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-9926 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/EHzyTZGdT6adCDKTVPpg" alt="Bing Ads Channable" width="600" height="372" />
<em>Push thousands of custom ads for all of your items to Bing.</em></p>
2) Generate your campaigns for Bing from scratch, based on the feed containing all your items’ information. The first step in creating ads is selecting the level on which you want your campaigns to be generated (i.e. brand level - would create a campaign for every brand in your feed). The next step is to simply construct your Bing ad groups, ads, keywords and negative keywords. Channable’s Bing ads generators and templates make advertising with Bing simple and easy to implement.
<p style="text-align: left;">So, if you already know <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/categories/115000528889-Dynamic-Ads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how the SEA tool works within Channable</a> you can get started right away! If you don’t have yet a Channable account, <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sign up here</a>. If you do, <a href="/contact">contact us </a>to enable the Bing feature for you and start setting up your Bing campaigns, as it works pretty much in the same way! Awesome, right?</p>

Industry News | Channable Blog

Why you should consider using Bing Ads

**Sell in the land of watches and chocolate**
From 2012 to 2017, the e-commerce sector grew by 53% and this trend will continue over the next few years. Even if it took the Swiss a bit longer to use online marketplaces, nowadays Swiss consumers love to shop online. Last year, they spent almost 9 billion Swiss Francs (spread amongst only 8 million inhabitants) on the internet. In 2017, almost 20 percent of all online sales were made on webshops from abroad. According to <a href="https://blog.carpathia.ch/2018/02/20/vsv-gfk-zahlen-2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">carpathia</a> over the next three years, foreign trade is expected to rapidly increase by another 20 percent. Now is the perfect time to start an expansion into Switzerland. Do you want to jump on the bandwagon? You can profit from the success of international marketplaces and the trend of shopping from abroad if you join the Swiss market now.

<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-11682" src="https://media.graphcms.com/FXBWIwi8TPeZ83bG49H2" alt="" width="900" height="512" />

**The Swiss particularities**
International online retailers are on the rise and are unstoppable. But, how do you conquer a market that is resilient? This is a question raised by many online retailers who want to sell their items in Switzerland. Swiss people like Swiss products but competition from abroad is increasingly putting Swiss online retailers under pressure. The Swiss online marketplaces have to compete with vendors and marketplaces from abroad. The online marketplace, Digitec Galaxus, is still the market leader but international players in e-commerce are catching up. Players such as Amazon - who only launched in Switzerland in 2018, Zalando and AliExpress were all in the top 10 top-selling marketplaces in Switzerland last year.

Foreign vendors must make an extra effort and offer good deals to convince Swiss citizens to commit to purchasing. Alongside logistical and administrative hurdles there are further obstacles such as insufficient product information. Product specifications must be communicated as clearly as possible, which can be solved easily with a feed management tool if international vendors want to successfully sell their goods and services in Switzerland.

**Climbing over the Matterhorn to reach the Swiss market**
Cross-border trade in Switzerland requires some knowledge in the areas of VAT, customs clearance and logistics. In many cases, it pays off to work with logistics partners who are specialized in offering tailor-made solutions.

**What are the most important points to consider when trading online from abroad to Switzerland?**
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**Language:**
Multilingualism is an important feature of Switzerland as there are 4 official national languages spoken in the small country. If your online shop is available in at least two languages (German and French are the majorities) you already have an advantage in the Swiss market.</li>
 	<li>**Currency:**
The goods and services should be offered in Swiss Francs. Not only the price but also the payment methods are decisive. According to the ecommerce news magazine, bill payment is the most popular method, but credit card, PayPal and PostFinance should not be missed. If you sell your products only on marketplaces, no need to adapt the currency on your website, because the sale will take place directly on the marketplace. Problem solved!</li>
 	<li>**Customs and shipping:**
When importing your products, you must complete a customs declaration for each parcel with the price of the goods in Swiss Francs. For each package there is an import and sales tax. That sounds pretty complicated and laborious? That's why there are logistic solutions that pick up orders in your existing warehouse in Europe and process the entire import customs clearance. You don’t need a warehouse or company location in Switzerland to offer customers the same ordering convenience as Swiss e-commerce retailers. For returns, you will receive a refund for the import duties. More information can be found at the <a href="https://www.ezv.admin.ch/ezv/en/home/information-companies/declaring-goods/importation-into-switzerland/courier-by-post--online-shopping--mail-order-company.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Swiss Customs Administration</a>.</li>
 	<li>**Taxes:**
Value added tax (VAT) is very low in Switzerland. It amounts to 7,7% of the assessment basis. A reduced rate of 2.5% applies for certain goods (e.g. edibles, books, magazines and medications).</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-11793 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/c1WUFI3zTdSZU1cpjqzw" alt="" width="555" height="1024" />

**The most lucrative Swiss marketplaces**
The <a href="https://www.galaxus.ch/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digitec Galaxus AG</a> and <a href="https://www.ricardo.ch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ricardo</a> are the main Swiss marketplaces in the e-commerce market.
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**Digitec Galaxus**
Digitec Galaxus AG is the largest online marketplace in Switzerland. With about one million active customers, Digitec Galaxus is the #1 online store in Switzerland. It had 861 Billion revenue on the platforms digitec.cg and galaxus.ch in 2017. Both marketplaces offer a broad and growing sortiment. Digitec Galaxus works with established and select vendors. As a retailer, you pay no basic fees but will be subject to a sales commission, when you sell an item. For EU merchants Galaxus offers a customs clearance solution, the EU hub. Read more about <a href="https://www.galaxus.ch/en/page/become-a-merchant-12462">how to become a merchant</a>.</li>
 	<li>**ricardo**
ricardo.ch is more than just a marketplace, it’s an online auction house and has a very high reach in Switzerland. The listing of products on ricardo is free. You only pay a commission fee of 9% on each sale.</li>
</ul>
The following channels are also very popular in Switzerland: Amazon, Zalando, AliExpress, Wish, Facebook, Shopping.ch and Google Shopping.

Channable offers marketplace connections to Digitec Galaxus and ricardo, and links to many other Swiss online sales channels. With our tool you can adapt your product data according to the requirements of the marketplaces and list your products automatically on the channels.
Do you want to start selling in Switzerland? <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get started</a> and conquer the Swiss market!

How to conquer the Swiss online market

The first Black Friday was in 1951, the first Cyber Monday in 2005. While these days were mainly a US phenomena for a long time, in the last couple of years Europe also joined the hunt for perfect deals. In 2017, 91% of UK retailers offered Black Friday deals (as opposed to 81% in the US). In the EU, customers spent 508 percent more on Black Friday than they did on an average Friday. Revenues are increasing every year, so it’s the perfect time to join the bustle! With our 6 tips, you won’t miss out on the hordes of customers.
<h2>Get started</h2>
Everything starts with a plan. Think about what your marketing budget is, what your discount will be, which products are relevant for Black Friday and Cyber Monday and where you want to sell or promote: marketplaces, comparison websites, affiliate networks, social advertising, etc.
<h2>Be seen where it’s relevant</h2>
To reach as many potential customers as possible, you’ll want to be seen. This might already be a challenge on normal days, but for the kickoff of the holiday sales you'll be in need of additional exposure. Channable’s got your back! Decide which platforms are relevant for your business and get there with Channable. Easily send your product feed in to more than <a href="/integrations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2500 marketplaces, price comparison websites and affiliate platforms</a>. One of the advantages of using a feed management tool for increasing exposure is that your product data (prices, stock, etc) on platforms are synchronized with your website. Pretty relevant during a period where you offer sale prices and stock level might vary, right?
<h2>Filter &amp; optimize your products</h2>
Depending on the platform, you have to decide if you really want to advertise all products - or only the ones that are on sale, top sellers or premium products. You could <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827265-What-are-examples-of-common-rules-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">filter products</a> and only send e.g. products over €50 to Amazon. Or, how about automatically <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827585-Rule-append-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">adding the word ‘SALE’ to every title</a>, or adding the original price into the description? That’s all possible without hassle. Learn <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmI9QpxXZsc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">how to optimize your product feed</a> before exporting it! Don’t forget to <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002817249-How-do-I-filter-items-using-rules-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">exclude items</a> that are out of stock.
<h2>Advertise anywhere</h2>
In addition to the people who are already browsing price comparison websites or marketplaces, you might want to reach the shoppers who haven’t decided yet and surprise them with your Black Friday deal. Think: Facebook Ads, Google or Bing Text Ads, Google Shopping or display ads through affiliates. How do you use them without spending days creating campaigns? Easy, with Channable you can adjust your product feed to the needs of the export platform, even set up entire search campaigns, ad groups and ads <a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">with a few clicks</a>.
<h2>Show what you’ve got</h2>
It’s important to display the most recent stock level so that customers don’t try to order products that might be sold out. Many export platforms fetch product information once a day, even Channable does by default. That means that your stock level on export platforms can be a day old. To always have the latest stock information, Channable offers extra runs. This way your product information gets updated up to 24 times per day. Therefore, customers won’t leave your site disappointed after they realize that your product is sold out. Check out Channable’s <a href="/extra-runs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">holiday promotion</a> for extra runs! Note: Make sure the export platform allows multiple updates a day if you want to benefit from the extra runs.
<h2>Sell fast, send fast - The aftermath</h2>
Congrats, you’ve made it through Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and you’ve sold more than you expected! That’s awesome. The money has been made, now you have to please your customers by sending them their new goods as fast as possible. With Channable’s order connections, all your orders from various marketplaces can be imported automatically into your shop system . No more copy-pasting addresses, or manually updating stock numbers. A direct API-connection between your online store and the marketplace syncs everything automatically. At the time of writing, Channable supports order connections with Magento, Lightspeed, WooCommerce, Divide, Prestashop and Shopify shops. If you are not using any of the mentioned shop systems, you can connect your shopsystem to the Channable API. Read more about <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">order connections</a>.

Ready to begin the sale of the year? <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Start your Channable trial now! </a>

How you can get the most out of Black Friday & Cyber Monday

If you are working in <a href="/integrations/google-adwords-tool">Google Ads</a> or <a href="/integrations/microsoft-advertising">Microsoft Advertising</a>, you’ll no doubt know their character limits by heart: 30 for headlines and 90 for descriptions. But what does that look like visually?

We know you are busy people and don't have time to count each character - especially if you’re using dynamic fields in Channable’s ad generators. Therefore, Channable has included a visual warning in the SEA tool template builder for when you exceed the limit.

The visual warning will turn the field in question red and will notify you what the character limit is. Even better still, if the error occurs because you are using a dynamic field (those blue and pink ones), Channable will display which percentage of the values exceed the character limit.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15225" src="https://media.graphcms.com/YkKyowfREGHumMMGggDy" alt="" width="1000" height="548" />

For instance, if you decide to use the title field as the headline 1, but 10% of your titles are longer than 30 characters, Channable will display a warning reading “Around 10% of values are longer than 30 characters”. This will save you jumping back and forth between the preview and the ad groups steps. To fix fields that exceed character limits, you can either create rules to shorten the values or use the handy back-up templates.

The character limit percentage warnings will be displayed in the ad template section AND the sitelinks section.

Make your ads more relevant, faster, and error-free with <a href="/products/ppc-tool">Channable’s SEA tool</a>. Curious to know more about how you can benefit from ad generation and Channable’s SEA tool? Get in <a href="/contact">contact </a>with one of Channable’s sales representatives for a <a href="/demo">demo</a>.


Be limited by characters no more!

Get ready to reach more customers, sell more, and still relax this sale season.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-15271" src="https://media.graphcms.com/ISlJCWtBStiIPSmrlSvL" alt="" width="800" height="2133" />

Feel free to share this infographic on the social media network of your choice.

Channable offers connections to more than a thousand marketplaces and comparison websites around the world. Take a look at the <a href="/integrations">different possibilities</a> that you have in Channable and choose the ones that fit best with your online sales strategy this summer.

Tips for Summer Sale [infographic]

Running ads on <a href="/integrations/facebook-product-feed">Facebook</a> and <a href="/integrations/instagram">Instagram</a> is one way to go, giving you the chance to reach the right people this season. Learn more about the power of these platforms and how you can use your holiday catalog last-minute to create ads that capture attention in no time.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18324" src="https://media.graphcms.com/IwH0ymEoTZSg4xXmvVO9" alt="" width="800" height="1014" /> <img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-18330" src="https://media.graphcms.com/vHOXIOzeRXegfDuB55Du" alt="" width="788" height="1024" /> <img class="aligncenter wp-image-18335" src="https://media.graphcms.com/Q9rRN1b6S92WOyWhhURM" alt="" width="800" height="1185" />

Last-minute Christmas Ads for eCommerce [infographic]

<p style="text-align: left;">It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, especially in the world of eCommerce. Which also makes it more important to distinguish your offers from competitors.With our last-minute tips, you can easily upsell your business this season and make customers fall for your offers. 'Tis the season for promotions, services, and offers online shoppers can't resist.</p>


[caption id="attachment_19015" align="alignnone" width="800"]<img class="wp-image-19015 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/NajjTqrAQrC7O7u7X96R" alt="Last minute holiday tips" width="800" height="1333" /> Our list to finish the year strong[/caption]

6 jolly last-minute tips [infographic]

Valentine's Day has surpassed Easter as the biggest eCommerce event in the beginning of the calendar year. And it is still growing in importance - especially for online marketing. The perfect V-Day purchase in 2020 will be made last-minute but it will have a personal touch. Catering to such a dynamic, heartfelt market is no problem with data feed management and PPC automation. Learn how to equip your online shop and lead the way towards the perfect Valentine's experience for your customers.

![Infographic](https://media.graphcms.com/Iop9j6vBQ5uUpGX2YQag)

[center][button link="https://media.graphcms.com/N74xii6iRvqRQGs21tUw"]See full infographic[/button][/center]

V-Day is not only for lovers [infographic]

Italy is one of the fastest growing European countries for eCommerce. According to the B2C E-Commerce Observatory, eCommerce in Italy generated €27 billion in 2018, showing an increase of 16% compared to 2017.

Channable wants to help shed some light on this, potentially unknown market for your business. You can read more details about the situation of eCommerce in Italy, such as what payment methods are the most used, which sectors are the most demanded, and, above all, which platforms are the most in demand.
<h2>What are the benefits of selling online to the Italian market?</h2>
<ol>
 	<li>You will find less competition than other markets with more experience in eCommerce, such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Around 20% of online stores generate 70% of online sales. With much less competition, it will be easier to stand out.</li>
 	<li>The mentality of the Italian buyer is changing. Every day there are more and more online shoppers and more purchases are being made on smartphones. Currently, about 24 million people shop online in Italy.</li>
 	<li>Italian brands cannot address this increased demand, so there is room for foreign brands that offer new and innovative products.</li>
</ol>
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20243" src="https://media.graphcms.com/KZqyqe6lTj24aMp2rkm2" alt="eCommerce in Italy" width="2923" height="1689" />
<h2>The Italian market, how does it work?</h2>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**<em>Payment methods</em>**</li>
</ul>
You should consider the following payment methods. According to Icepay, you cannot ignore the Italian CartaSi credit card if you want to sell your products and services in Italy. Together with MasterCard and VISA, they are the most used cards. We must also highlight PayPal and payment on delivery or payment upon delivery. Prepaid cards such as Postepay or Italian mail are also common.
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**<em>Purchase hours</em>**</li>
</ul>
You should not forget that in Italy there are big differences between the north and the south. An example being work schedules. In the north they usually finish work at 6:00 pm, while in the south they end much later because of the break for lunch. Translating to online shopping schedules that are also different.
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**<em>Catalog in Italian, YES or YES</em>**</li>
</ul>
The vast majority of the population speaks Italian, so they will feel more comfortable completing the purchase if the information of the products or services is available in Italian. Therefore you should consider the option of translating your webshop, especially if you use comparison websites such as Google Shopping.
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**<em>Amazon, the indispensable marketplace</em>**</li>
</ul>
As in many other countries, Amazon is one of the undisputed leaders in the Italian market. You should not forget that with the Channable API connection you can send <a href="/integrations/amazon-product-feed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">your listing of products to Amazon</a> in minutes.

Other very used channels are Zalando, eBay, Wish, ManoMano and Privalia, which we also have connections with all these online platforms. You can send your optimized and updated product listing through a feed or API connection, depending on the channel. Check all the <a href="/integrations?country=italy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">list of channels available in Channable</a>.
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**<em>Most used shipping companies in Italy</em>**</li>
</ul>
Regarding the ranking of the most used shipping companies in Italy, we can highlight these 6: DHL, BRT, TNT, Savino del Bene, CEVA and Saima Avandero.

If your eCommerce webshop is developed with PrestaShop, Magento, Shopify or Woocommerce, you may want to know that we have <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">order connections</a> with all of them. That means that you can manage Amazon and eBay orders directly in your webshop, centralizing marketplaces orders in one place and making their management much easier.

As you know, shipping products can be the best point of contact with the customer. That's why you might be interested in using a platform like <a href="https://www.qapla.it/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Qapla</a>. Thanks to this Italian tool you can take advantage of the delivery of the order status to include information on other products, increasing the possibility of doing upsells and cross sells, improving this way the brand awareness and loyalty.
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**<em>Most demanded sectors</em>**</li>
</ul>
The sector with the highest growth in eCommerce in Italy compared to 2018 figures is for the food sector, which has grown 40%, followed by the home and decoration sector, which increased by 30%. However, we cannot forget that tourism, fashion, electronics and the beauty sector still reign.
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**<em>Other advise</em>**</li>
</ul>
Italian consumers have high expectations about customer service, but they are often patient, they have no problem with receiving orders in 3 or 5 days. However, on many occasions they assume that shipping will be for free. In addition, it is important to offer simple solutions for returns, especially for the fashion sector where returns are around 40%.
<h2>eCommerce in Italy, last figures</h2>
According the the last "Osservatorio eCommerce B2C 2019" (Osservatori Digital Innovation - Poli.Mi. and Consorzio Netcomm), online purchases in both Italian and foreign online shops have reached 31.6 billion euros, which represents a 15% increase from 2018. The purchase of products has increased by 21%, compared to the purchase of services, which has only increased by 8%. This phenomenon has caused a considerable increase in the number of shipments. In terms of transactions, the value of the purchase of products has reached 18 billion euros, compared to 13.5 billion generated in the services sector.
<h2>Where to start?</h2>
It is true that breaking through into a new market can be intimidating. But if you have enough information that allows you to control the situation, everything will be easier. It is always good to start with a SWOT analysis, which allows you to discover the weaknesses, strengths, threats and opportunities of your company to face that new market that you want to explore. We hope that the indications offered in this article about the situation of eCommerce in Italy will help you to configure this analysis and future strategy of your company in the Italian market.

The keys to expanding your online business in Italy

The best ecomm strategies include these 7 easy-to-implement tactics that help you to:

*   Show up in the right place at the right time
*   Select and sell on multiple shopping portals with a click of a button
*   Use inexpensive online advertising more effectively to promote your products
*   Automate the process with real-time order to delivery information at your fingertips

7 tactics to increase profitability from eCommerce stores

Social media networks have become an everyday norm for a large portion of the globe. Whether it’s a way to kill time when you’re waiting, discovering new products or hobbies, or a way for you to keep in touch with your loved ones. People are spending hours a week on their devices. <a href="/blog/blog-why-integrate-social-media-into-your-marketing-strategy">No wonder social media platforms</a> are becoming the hot spot for businesses to reach and connect to their audiences.

Keeping on top of all the networks and how to advertise on them can be a struggle. Being visible and found on social media networks is a full-time job. Using an optimized product catalog feed can save you time in getting started, so you can concentrate on converting viewers. This comparison of the biggest social media networks (<a href="/integrations/facebook-product-feed">Facebook</a>, <a href="/integrations/instagram">Instagram</a>, <a href="/integrations/pinterest">Pinterest</a>, and <a href="/integrations/snapchat">Snapchat</a>) can give you a good indication of which platform will work best for your offering, and help you generate an optimized feed to advertise faster.

![channable---Réseaux-sociaux-pour-le-E-commerce-EN.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/9upbXbgwSCFTzRb65GpQ)

If you would like to read more about <a href="/blog/blog-why-integrate-social-media-into-your-marketing-strategy">advertising on social media platforms</a> or <a href="/blog/blog-get-the-most-out-of-pinterest-advertising">advertising specifically on Pinterest</a>, Channable has written a few <a href="/blog">blogs</a> on the subject.

Itching to get started with advertising on social media channels with Channable? <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign up for a free trial account today</a> and <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">get in touch</a> with the team to schedule a free demo.

<em>Read this in <a href="/nl/blog/infographic-hoe-kun-je-jouw-social-media-advertising-synchroniseren-met-je-online-winkel">Dutch</a> or <a href="/de/blog/infographic-synchronisieren-sie-ihre-werbung-auf-social-media-mit-ihrem-online-shop">German</a>.</em>

How to sync your social media advertising efforts with your online shop [infographic]

There are many shipping methods, matching the different types of customers you have. Many consumers look for the most reliable shipping method, although the price also influences the choice of the chosen shipping.

For instance, many Americans prefer faster shipping over having the absolute cheapest option. Of course, delivery time is a determining factor to a certain extent. The large online retailers and their express delivery methods have made everyone, as consumers, more and more demanding in this regard. 44% of consumers perceive same-day delivery as a sign of trust and are willing to pay more for this method.

We understand that with so many options it can be overwhelming to make a choice and meet all the requirements demanded of your clients. However, we are here to help you make that choice! Below is a list of 6 key points to help you create a strategy that best suits your online shop.
<h2>6 key points to consider when creating your shipping strategy</h2>
**1. Carriers and shipping methods **

Not all products sold online today have the same characteristics. When considering the most appropriate shipping method for the items you sell in your online shop, you should not only focus on the product itself, but also on consumers. What kind of customers do you have?

Depending on the type of customer and the type of product, consumers will not be surprised to have to wait a couple of days until they receive their order. Therefore, a carrier with ultrafast shipments and very expensive rates may not be the best choice. Some customers will focus more on economic factors than on delivery time, while others will simply take what is presented. Our tip? Know your customers and their needs, and then offer the best method to meet their needs.

**2. Shipping costs**

Shipping costs are one of the most decisive factors when completing a purchase process. The US is a particularly demanding country with regard to shipping costs.

Free shipping is the best option to get customers to complete their purchase. However, you have to take into account certain factors so that absorbing shipping costs on behalf of the customer does not result in losing money.

Free but controlled shipping costs are an excellent marketing strategy to target who can access free shipping without a loss for your business. For example, shipping can be free or not depending on the location, weight, and total of the order.

In the US, a common practice is to offer free shipping when standard delivery is chosen or if a product is over $20, for example, but may require payment in other countries or for an expedited option.

When determining different methods, consider the all rates that carriers apply and stay within a margin that benefits your business.

**3. Automating the shipping process**

It is estimated that the average time spent processing an order is around 10 minutes. From the moment a new order enters the system until the package is ready to be picked up, the carrier must perform a series of tasks that many retailers continue to handle manually. However,<a href="https://www.sendcloud.com/process-orders?utm_source=Blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog_channable" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> automating the shipping process</a> can save up to 3 minutes per order.
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Shipping rules: configure custom shipping rules to detect the appropriate shipping method for each type of order.</li>
 	<li>Automated pick-ups: with an automatic shipping list you can instantly schedule a pick-up for your orders once enough have been placed.</li>
 	<li>Creating and printing labels: nobody should be “copy and pasting” or typing the addresses of clients separately. Automatically creating a label list is essential to help the flow of your products.</li>
 	<li>Documents, tariffs, and taxes: the bane of every retailer, customs and tax forms, invoices, and personal income tax / VAT. There are now tools available to automatically generate these documents.</li>
 	<li>Automated update emails: no longer will you have to worry about keeping the customer aware of the purchase process, as these emails are automatically sent at predetermined intervals, updating the status of the order at all times.</li>
</ul>
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20693" src="https://media.graphcms.com/RApkF27KTUiHRZAaWDQv" alt="Emails seguimiento pedidos" width="2392" height="1028" />

**4. Tracking emails**

A satisfying shopping experience does not happen by just clicking a button and filling in some fields. Up to 90% of follow-up emails are opened and read. This presents an opportunity to promote other items, sell more items, and build customer loyalty.

One sneaky idea is to add related articles, banners, or information about your business in the mail with the shipping information. The chances of customers opening and seeing this information will be high.

![article-image-ckgijxfko06np0b07eik47qtn-9485.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/CThAg2SSRTSGcfClf5er)

**5. Return strategies**

67% of consumers read the return policy before deciding to buy from an online shop. For 84% of them, this is one of the most important factors when making a purchase online. It is important that the customer can access clear policies about the return period of a product and what are the options to return it. Your return policy must appear in a visible place on your website and be written in a clear and concise manner.

<a href="https://www.sendcloud.com/return-portal?utm_source=Blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog_channable" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Create your own return policy with different methods</a> for different countries or types of shipping, offering options that fit the needs of your customers. Can you afford to offer free returns or should return costs fall on the customer? Depending on the nature of your products, you can also consider a subscription model that includes free returns to subscribers as an advantage of their membership.

Finally, it is important to create an organized and detailed return form. Collecting the reasons for each return, which specific products are returned and the reason. Just as you manage each order that leaves, you must keep track of each item that is returned.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20703" src="https://media.graphcms.com/3Y232MpQvJYUgOQLOhQ0" alt="Devoluciones de pedidos" width="1288" height="1103" />

**6. International strategy**

Many online shops want to take the international leap and introduce their business abroad. A good international strategy may begin with the <a href="/blog/blog-amazon-netherlands-whattoexpect-howtoprepare" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon EU seller programs</a>.
The most important points to consider for a good international sales strategy are the following:
<ol>
 	<li>Negotiating international rates is essential when agreeing with carriers on shipping rates abroad.</li>
 	<li>Transparency in shipping methods and delivery times is another factor to consider. Customers want to know the details about delivery time and shipping costs before making a purchase. This way you will avoid abandoned carts from unexpected expenses or duty tax fields that can appear at the last moment.</li>
 	<li>Applying for European legislation is essential when you are going to make international shipments within the European Union. <a href="https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/shipping-delivery/index_en.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Check with the official website of the European Union</a> to ensure that your shipping process meets the requirements.</li>
</ol>

How to create a successful shipping strategy

<h2>An update on the Channable team</h2>
Channable is a company of 110 employees, who normally work together every day in the Channable HQ in the heart of Utrecht. Getting them all, including 30 support employees who answer the phone every day, to work from home is a challenge. For the health of all “Channablers”, and everyone around them, working from home was encouraged and prioritized immediately and has successfully been rolled out. Although the team is no longer physically together, every possible medium (WhatsApp, chat, video calls, and email) is being used to support one another through this period.

As you can imagine, having Channable's technical support team work from home comes with some consequences. **Waiting times on the phone may be longer and we would, therefore, like to ask you to only call with urgent questions.** By sending an email, you can expect an answer from us faster. The team is working as hard as possible to provide you with the service you are accustomed to.

Thankfully, for all newcomers, Channable’s Customer Success and Support teams are still able to assist you with the setup of your account. The Business Development team is also still available for demos. Job applications are welcome as procedures are running as normal and <a href="https://jobs.channable.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vacancies</a> are open. <a href="mailto:support@channable.com">Contact us by email</a> for more information.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21525" src="https://media.graphcms.com/zxdcxzbQTTy34RjjQu6A" alt="" width="800" height="404" />
<h2>Insights &amp; tips from the eCommerce industry to help you out</h2>
This pandemic affects everyone, including the eCommerce industry. For example, Channable recorded an increase of more than 100% in the number of orders via its <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">order connections</a>, compared to February 2020.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-21495" src="https://media.graphcms.com/CWebPNxcT42fuf635jon" alt="" width="600" height="405" />

You might think that online stores are profiting from many physical shops closing their doors and a general influx of people ordering online more, but this is not always the case. There is a good chance that as an online retailer or online marketer, you have had to adjust your daily activities. In response, Channable has collected some insights and tips from the industry that could help you keep afloat over the coming period.

**1. Honestly communicate shipping times**
Are you struggling to keep up with all the orders? Or is your purchased stock stuck somewhere and you’re not going to receive it anytime soon? Then it is possible that you can no longer keep to the ‘order today, delivered tomorrow’ promise. Communicate this well to your customers to avoid disappointment. They will certainly understand the situation but try to keep them informed.

Channable's <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011722853-Rule-date-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">date rules</a> can be used to quickly set a delivery time for a specific period. This means you don't have to manually adjust and reset everything when the time will come you can continue with your standard delivery times.

**2. Limit hoarding**
Speaking of limited stock, if you notice that customers are bulk buying some of your products, it might be helpful to set an order limit for certain products. For example, with Channable you could set up a rule where you only send a certain percentage of your products from your inventory.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21500" src="https://media.graphcms.com/mCzKEHA9S22WC73PTOYU" alt="" width="1332" height="589" />

For example, you only forward 80% of the actual stock number, if the stock is higher than 10.

In addition, if you’re advertising on Google Shopping or a marketplace with Channable’s APIs, consider utilizing the <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040097273-What-are-the-schedule-settings-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">extra runs</a> add-on that refreshes your data up to 24 times a day. This ensures that stock level is more frequently sent to the marketplaces, which can provide you with some peace of mind.

You could also strategize to limelight on certain products and limit ones that are not doing as well right now. Dutch online marketplace Bol.com already encourages this, as it gives priority to products that are currently important. <a href="https://blog.aboutamazon.com/company-news/amazons-actions-to-help-employees-communities-and-customers-affected-by-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon does it</a> as well. Other types of products will not be delivered or will be delivered later.

**3. Free shipping**
If it’s a possibility for you, offer free shipping as an incentive for customers to purchase from you. This could also be free shipping from a certain minimum order amount. Set this up easily with one of <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827265-What-are-examples-of-common-rules-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Channable's common rules</a>.

**4. Minimize spreading the virus through packaging**
<a href="https://www.rivm.nl/en/novel-coronavirus-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According to the RIVM</a> (The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and Environment), the virus is generally spread through human contact. The chance of becoming infected through contaminated packaging is very small, but not entirely ruled out. Tell your customers that after opening their package, it’s best to immediately throw away the packaging material and the box and wash their hands.

Several studies are still ongoing on the survival of the virus on products and surfaces, but better to be safe than sorry!

**5. Selling on different channels **
Now that more purchases are being made online, it may be a good idea to look into new opportunities. For example, consider selling on a channel that you have not previously sold or advertised on, such as the newly launched Amazon Netherlands. Channable has direct connections with <a href="/integrations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">over 2500 different</a> comparison sites, marketplaces, affiliate networks and other channels. So, you have plenty to choose from.

**6. Surplus of time on your hands? **
Find yourself with a lot more time leftover because you’re working from home, or because some of your work has been canceled? Then it’s a good time to pick up things that may have been put off for a while or that you have always wanted to try. For example, experiment with the advanced options of Channable, such as <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001176014-How-can-I-use-Analytics-data-in-my-feed-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">linking Google Analytics data</a> to your data feed. Or try out generating expanded text ads, sitelinks, keywords, and Shopping campaigns for Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising with <a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Channable PPC tool</a>.

Channable has a lot of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCedQy4vlTzy18C1N9AK1EFQ/featured" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">online tutorials and webinars</a>, with which you can broaden your knowledge and gain new insights.
<h2>In the meantime...</h2>
We hope these insights help you get through this time as well as can be expected. Of course, everyone's health is most important, and from everyone at Channable, stay safe and stay strong!

Do you have any questions regarding this blog? Please <a href="mailto:support@channable.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contact us</a> or view the articles in our <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">help center</a>.

The effect of the current pandemic on eCommerce and Channable

<h2>What is a PIM?</h2>
PIM (Product Information Management) is a software solution that helps retailers manage product data in one system before publishing it to the desired selling channels. As retailers increase their digital market presence, brands are having to balance spreadsheet upon spreadsheet of data, which slows down their speed to market and can also be prone to human error. A [PIM solution](https://retail-assist.com/) helps teams that create product content to work together with ease, reduce errors, whilst also making it a much easier process for retail teams to use.

<img class="size-full wp-image-22467 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/32QbLxYiQOCgn9reth8i" alt="" width="1024" height="512" />
<h2>Why do I need a PIM?</h2>
Generally speaking, customers are tech-savvy. When they begin a search for a product, either online or offline, they expect to find the item they want, swiftly and easily.
When it comes to online marketplaces, customers have grown to expect a connected and convenient shopping process. Often, brands cope with managing product data in various spreadsheets, which then needs to be tailored for the individual requirements of each digital route to market. With a myriad of possible online marketplaces, the numbers of spreadsheets and the variations of product data are multiplied. It’s no wonder that with these endless possibilities, retail teams can make mistakes. However, these mistakes often either slow down the route to market or – worse still – get published. Distributing incorrect product data and giving an all-round negative customer experience.

A PIM creates one point of entry for all data management, keeping content central and allows <a href="https://omio-retail.com/go-with-the-workflow" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">multiple teams to work on product data at the same time</a>, instead of a linear workflow. Because of this, PIM speeds up your route to market whilst also enabling retailers to reach new digital markets.
<h2>The difference between feed management and PIM</h2>
Feed management tools, such as Channable, and PIM systems are often confused. Whilst both include product data, a <a href="/products/product-feed-management-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">feed manager</a> enables you to generate new data feeds and send your product data to thousands of affiliate networks, online marketplaces, price comparison sites, and more, using information from your original feed. Feed managers do not modify your raw product information. Instead, they enable you to create optimized and updated information for the specifications of the marketing channels of your choice or your channel strategy.

So, what’s the difference between PIM and feed management systems? PIM systems enable users to centralize and modify raw product information, which can then be easily tailored to a specific selling channel. This enhanced product data can then be enriched and optimized for SEO, with a variety of attributes (such as photos, for example) added to create engaging product content. Feed managers can then be used along with a PIM system; once your product data is in order, you’d need to publish it out to the relevant channels, swiftly and easily. This is where feed management steps in.
<h2>PXM: The evolution of PIM</h2>
A PIM centralizes and manages product data. However, you may also hear people using the term PXM (Product Experience Management). A<a href="https://omio-retail.com/pxm-the-evolution-of-pim" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> PXM is an evolved, updated version of a PIM</a> and, instead of concentrating on just the data (as seen in a PIM), a PXM thinks about the people that use it, creating a tailored experience not just for the customer but the user of the software, too. Not all PIMs have PXM aspects but, for the solutions that do, teams are able to improve their workflow and their speed to market. For example, <a href="https://omio-retail.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in OMIO</a>, multiple team members are able to work on the same product’s data at the same time, allowing for a more radial workflow rather than linear. It also ensures that the way a customer sees the product content, such as a description, on Amazon is different from Zalando, and again for the Instagram shopping page. No matter what the digital selling channel, all of these are managed by OMIO, through its direct integrations with Channable.
The main difference is that whilst PIM is an internally facing system, PXM is focused on the customer. Both systems collate information to then push to a marketplace, but PXM focuses on what makes a retailer popular with a customer, with optimum levels of product data, photos, and SEO-friendly content.
PXM keeps the customer at the heart of the solution. So, alongside these improvements in workflow, a PXM solution also allows product data to be tweaked and tailored so that the right description is entered for the right product, personalized for the right channel with the right cultural expectations and context. Mix these descriptions with an array of images and attribute sets and the customer experience is underpinned with a truly positive network, leading to improved conversions, superior customer satisfaction, reduced returns, and, ultimately, strengthened brand loyalty.
<h2>What are the benefits of a PIM/PXM?</h2>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Take advantage of new marketplaces.</li>
 	<li>Increase speed to market.</li>
 	<li>Minimize errors + avoid product duplication = a better customer experience.</li>
 	<li>Respond quickly to social influencers and trends. If an influencer has been spotted with your products, the ability to update your product content to reflect this is paramount.</li>
 	<li>Work collaboratively across teams and gain a 360-degree view of product content.</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://omio-retail.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OMIO</a>, developed by Retail Assist, is proud to partner with Channable, helping retailers to future-proof their digital strategy. For more information on OMIO and how it can get your product data ready for the next decade of trading and beyond, visit our website <a href="https://omio-retail.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.

What is a PIM and why might I need one?

For this whitepaper, feed management tool Channable is joining forces with Retail Assist on a project to arm you with the best eCommerce knowledge. With key sector stats, industry insider tips, as well as an eCommerce overview, this whitepaper is here to help your retail business improve its speed to market – and to increase your chances of success in the ever-changing retail landscape.

Discover more about the importance of speed to market with the following sections:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**A brief history of eCommerce trends**
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Facts and figures of the history of eCommerce and where it is today</li>
</ul>
</li>
 	<li>**The future is fast-paced**
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Insights from Channable + retail Assist's survey for retailers on market expectations and issues.</li>
 	<li>What internet giants Amazon and Google are introducing to shape the future of retail</li>
</ul>
</li>
 	<li>**The importance of speed to market**
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Working examples of industry successes and failures</li>
</ul>
</li>
 	<li>**How to keep on top**
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Tools and tips on staying ahead</li>
</ul>

### Request the whitepaper
[form id="08b2db28-b68e-40d0-8314-8eb59f30b159"]

Check out <a href="https://omio-retail.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OMIO's PIM system</a> to get your data ready for feed management and read up on <a href="/blog/blog-what-is-a-pim-and-why-might-i-need-one" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">how PIM systems and data feed management tools can work in harmony</a>. If you're after more guides on speeding up your time to market, <a href="/blog/blog-explained-googles-products-for-advertisers-whitepaper" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">brush up on all the Google products</a> you can utilize to increase your exposure online or <a href="/blog/blog-4-ways-improve-quality-score" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4 ways to improve your quality score</a>.

Survival of the fastest: the importance of facing speed to market head on [whitepaper]

<h2>What are KPIs or performance indicators?</h2>
We all understand what a “Performance Indicator” is. It’s a fact or figure that tells us the benefit or advantage we get from a particular action. So far so good. For example, a performance indicator for physical activity at the gym would be the maximum number of beats per minute our hearts can pump. So, we have some data that gives us some information that tells us what to do depending on that data: working out harder or taking a break to prevent a heart attack. In the business sense, it’s the same. A KPI will give us data and depending on what it tells us, is how we’ll act and what kind of strategy to prepare.

To better define what it is,** a performance indicator is a tool that precisely determines the relevant health of a business or an eCommerce shop in our specific case**.
<h3>Characteristics of all good KPIs</h3>
The performance indicators of a business should be:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**Measurable**: can you even imagine “unmeasurable” metrics?</li>
 	<li>**Quantifiable**: something that can be measured or quantified. If we were talking about money, we would quantify it depending on the currency: EUR, USD, etc.</li>
 	<li>**Specific**: only measure one specific thing. Let’s not overdo it.</li>
 	<li>**Measurable in time**: we should be able to choose if we measure it by the day, week, month, or year.</li>
 	<li>**Relevancy**: depending on the business type.</li>
</ul>
The first thing we should do as an online business owner is to figure out what KPIs interest us. Start with a consultant or auditor for the eCommerce shop. However, if we do not have the resources for an audit, there are a few performance indicators that about 90% of businesses find it useful to measure. Pay attention!
<h2>Basic KPIs to bear in mind if you have an eCommerce</h2>
Let’s finally get the checklist we’re really looking for. What do I have to keep an eye on to see if my online store is doing well?

<img class="size-full wp-image-24937 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/A8yHagCReKmnd88VhWkA" alt="" width="674" height="447" />
<h3>ROI: Return on investment</h3>
Return on investment is in the name, but to get things straight, this KPI will tell us the **economic value generated as a result of any marketing activity**. In other words, this indicator will measure the results of our investment. Basically, whether we have made a profit or not depending on what we’ve spent. This KPI is quite interesting if we invest in Google Ads and/or Social Ads campaigns since we will be able to figure out if it’s worth it to continue spending money on them, increase/decrease our investment, or get rid of it altogether.
<h3>Average Order Value (AOV)</h3>
Easy. It’s the result of dividing sales by the number of transactions; thus, obtaining an average value of each sale either globally or through different and specific channels. If we **segment it by channels**, we’ll get information on whether your customers are spending more (on average) on certain channels and try to understand your target audience better.
<h3>Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)</h3>
This KPI gives us the “**engagement**” and this is the capacity that a brand or product has to create in order to establish a solid relationship with its consumers or users. This metric gives us an idea of the total number of purchases that a potential customer would make over a period of time if they remained loyal to the brand or product, but remember that this KPI is relative! A customer who buys a little over many years is more interesting for us than someone who only buys once and spends more money. What we try to achieve with this indicator is to organize a future projection based on the behavior patterns of our own customers.
<h3>Cost per Acquisition (CPA) or Cost per Share</h3>
We sell, yes, but that process requires a series of actions that cost us an investment of money, time, and resources. In other words, we don't get our sales for free. With the CPA (Cost per Acquisition) we know how much it costs us to get a new customer and how much those strategies that we make to get new contacts (what in marketing we know as leads) based on a **buyer’s persona**.

We will see the real impact of our paid advertising campaigns, which are almost always necessary and beneficial if we do them well. If we don't know how to do a good PPC campaign (because let's be honest, it's something complicated), we can resort to <a href="https://www.cleverecommerce.com?utm_source=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.channable.com%2F&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=guestposting&amp;utm_content=guestpost_essential_ecommerce_kpis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">free tools or apps that help us with these investments in getting paid traffic</a>.
<h3>Sales Conversion Rate</h3>
This is the star figure, the one that shows us at the end of the day **the profitability of our eCommerce shop**, and our goal, of course, is to make this number as high as possible. It is obtained by dividing the number of sales by the number of visits to a channel. However, don’t worry because normally this rate does not exceed 2% in most businesses, so if you get a number lower than 3 or 4% ... You're doing fine!
<h3>Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate</h3>
Data from various studies indicate that** the abandonment rate of shopping carts/baskets is 79%, a very high figure**. Why? It could be due to the shipping costs or the lack of information about a product -- this is why we must always try our best to understand our goal as much as possible with a good customer journey and a good buyer in mind, as mentioned previously. How many people put something in the shopping cart but then leave it there and exit out? This is an important piece of data, especially to know the reasons and make the necessary improvements in our eCommerce shop so that this percentage can be reduced as much as possible.

Now that you know the most important KPIs to measure the performance of your business, you may want to <a href="https://www.cleverecommerce.com/ecommerce-blog/ecommerce-conversion-rate?utm_source=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.channable.com%2F&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=guestposting&amp;utm_content=guestpost_essential_ecommerce_kpis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">know more about how to increase the conversion rate of your eCommerce shop</a>. Okay, maybe your brain is fried after all those numbers and indicators, but at least knowledge doesn't take up space!

Essential metrics you must pay attention to if you own an eCommerce business

According to Adobe Analytics, the volume of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are set to increase in 2020 by almost 20% compared to people shopping for discounts over the same period in 2019.

A survey conducted by Wells Fargo showed that 70% of consumers do not plan on returning to stores in the foreseeable future. This means that the eCommerce marketplace increase from 25% pre-COVID-19 to 30%, will remain.

Keeping that in mind, Channable will help you prepare for the challenges, trends, and changes going to be facing your industry this holiday season. To stay ahead of the competition, read what you need to be seen, and to sell successfully in eCommerce.
<h2>What does social distancing mean for your business?</h2>
Traditionally, this hectic consumer holiday marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season in the US and runs from the Friday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 27th) until the end of Cyber Monday (Nov. 30th). Although most businesses will be offering some type of discounts from the beginning of the week, running to the end of Cyber Monday.
This year, things have changed. For 2020 social distancing is here to stay. This shift is forcing retailers who have favored promotions on limited items in offline stores, to re-focus on their online offerings to create the buzz and the revenue needed to make the holiday sales a success.

Due to COVID-19, online shopping spend has already increased by 59% compared to this time last year. Resulting in increased consumer confidence with buying online, and creating the perfect opportunity for retailers to maximize their online presence and take advantage of all the opportunities to capture sales.

With more ads predicted to be reaching each consumer than ever before, retailers need a data feed automation tool such as Channable. Channable ensures the right promotions are targeting the right consumers at the right time, and sales are not being lost or overlooked due to the sheer volume of demand and competition.

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The 2020 Black Friday forecast

Today, countries are slowly relaxing their travel restrictions as the general population carefully considers their next vacation. But things have changed. The future of travel is definite but uncertain. For travel companies and eCommerce businesses reliant on the travel sector, how they prepare for this unknown is crucial.

Drawing from the experience of Channable and their clients, this white paper intends to help you prepare your business for the future of travel in eCommerce. Discover which eCommerce practices are best to employ, insights on the direction travel in eCommerce is heading, and what is required to remain competitive in this sector.

**Download the industry insights article: Travel in 2021 and beyond**
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Travel in 2021 and beyond: An eCommerce Perspective

Download Channable's 2021 eCommerce calendar and enjoy valuable info, insights, and tips that you can use to refine your business’ eCommerce strategy.

**Channable's eCommerce calendar 2021**
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Channable's eCommerce calendar 2021

It has been calculated that 72% of internal search engines don’t meet users’ expectations. If you use a smart search engine, you can get conversions to go up – and by a lot. As an example, remember that the customers who use the Doofinder smart search get up to 20% more sales.

So, what is a “smart” search anyway? Let us explain that to you.

## The 5 aspects that make an internal search engine a powerful weapon for sales
You already know that the search bar for your e-commerce site must:
- Have a size and colors that make the user see it as soon as they land on your website.
- Be located at the top of the screen (in the right corner or in the center), because that is where people are used to finding it.
- Include predefined text inviting the user to search for something. 

But that’s not enough. If you want the search to help you sell more, what you need is for it to be an advanced internal search engine. Or, as we like to say, it should be a “smart” search.

One that uses artificial intelligence to better understand your customers and improve the shopping experience. Because happy customers = higher conversion rates. Let’s see how this can be done.

### 1. It learns from your customers in order to better serve them (personalized search results)
To explain this to you, we are going to put ourselves in John’s shoes. John is a regular customer on a clothing e-commerce site. Not long ago, he was looking at the anorak jackets on the site because he was going to take a skiing trip – and he ended up buying one.

A few days later, Pepe visited the website again. He went to the search bar and wrote “boots” in the field.

And the **first results that he got were snow boots**. By taking into account the products that he was looking at and that he clicked on, the search engine (which remembered John) thought that the boots that he was looking for were probably snow boots.

And what would have happened if John had been looking at mountaineering equipment? In that case, when he typed “boots” into the search box, it would have shown him boots for climbing first.

Thanks to artificial intelligence and automatic learning, the search engine is able to better understand each user so as to personalize the search experience and **give customers just the product they were looking for**. 

In just a few clicks, that user can have the product they are looking for in their shopping cart (and you get another sale).

### 2. It knows what you’re thinking
When someone connects to your shop, what they want to do is find the product they are interested in as soon as possible.

And that is much easier if your search engine offers suggestions to automatically complete search queries.

Take a look at the DosFarma website (one of Doofinder’s customers) as an example. Look at what happens if you write “gel” in the search bar:

![Captura de pantalla 2021-02-24 a las 11.47.37.png](https://media.graphcms.com/PvbNgbA3QXeAj1VwLgp1)

When we do this, the search engine gives us the option to go directly to hydroalcoholic hand sanitizer gels and to shower gels.

### 3. It “forgives” you for your spelling mistakes
Anyone can have a lapsus. For example, suppose that you have an online computer shop. A customer (let’s call him Mark this time) connects with the intention of buying a Xiaomi cell phone. Of course, as people are **never too sure about how to spell the brand’s name, he writes “Shaomi.”** The results? Xiaomi cell phones appear.

And that is because the search engine, which is quite smart, knows what brand people are looking for when they write “Shaomi” (or “Chaomi” or “Xaomi”).

But we can make things even more difficult for the search engine. What would have happened if Mark had searched for “Xiaomi cell phone” but you call these products “smartphones” in your descriptions? There’s still no problem because the [search engine is able to understand synonyms](https://www.doofinder.com/es/blog/ventajas-funcionalidad-sinonimos-doofinder-buscador-tienda-online).

### 4. It never leaves you with empty hands
Let’s go on with the previous example. After looking at different cell phones on your site, Mark finally decides on a Xiaomi model and it’s in his cart.

What would happen if he suddenly remembers that he’d also better update his headphones? He goes to the search engine again and writes, “Xiaomi wireless headphones.” The problem is that you’ve just run out of those headphones and there are none in stock.

In that case, a normal search engine would only tell Mark that there are no products that meet his search criteria. Or, worse yet, it would show him the product pages for Xiaomi headphones because, as it is not connected to your [product feed](/es/blog/infographic-feed-producto-marketing), it cannot know that you haven’t got any in stock.

But remember that we aren’t using a normal search engine but instead a smart one. And what a smart search engine does is **show Mark the wireless headphones by other brands that you do indeed have in stock**, because it understands that he may also be interested in them.

Thus, it’s very likely that Mark will decide not to wait and buy an alternative make when he sees that there are brands available that are compatible with his new cell phone. 

### 5.It studies the users and helps you to improve
Up until now, we’ve only touched upon how a smart search engine can improve the customer’s experience. But, can it help you to improve your sales strategy?

For example, by offering you data like:
- What product pages get more clicks when appearing in search results.
- What products have a greater conversion rate (to show those products first amongst the results) and what products have a lower conversion rate (a sign that you have to write a product description that is more attractive or that the price is too high, for example).
- [The products that customers are looking for and that you don’t have in your catalog](https://www.doofinder.com/en/blog/searches-with-no-result) (if you don’t sell raincoats on your ecommerce site but a lot of people are looking for them, those are lost sales).
![Dashboard_Doofinder.gif](https://media.graphcms.com/kwfB4STQmig0JdWG4sA2)
That data, in addition to the [basic KPIs for your ecommerce site](/es/blog/blog-metricas-esenciales-en-ecommerce), can be quite useful to you for decision making.

## Has your internal search engine passed the test?
As you have seen, the search bar of your ecommerce site plays a fundamental role in your sales. If the search experience is positive, **your customers will feel more comfortable and your conversion rates will rise sky high**.

For example, we were telling you before that increases in sales reach 20% for Doofinder customers.
But we know that perhaps you prefer to find that out for yourself. In that case, you can click here to [download Doofinder and try it for free for 30 days on your online shop](https://app.doofinder.com/es/signup?mktcod=OUTR). If you aren’t convinced, you just have to uninstall it when the free trial period has finished. And if you find that it works for you... then get ready to sell.

How to design the perfect search bar to sell more with your e-commerce site

## The importance of health and fitness continues to grow
Keeping fit during the pandemic is important for both your physical and mental health. Not only can it enhance your mood and energy levels; staying fit helps to fight the effects of the virus. Experts at the Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) even [advised people to prepare to fight the coronavirus](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52076856) as they would prepare for surgery; by staying fit and healthy. 

With gyms closed, team sports canceled, and health fitness all the craze, working out at home became the only option. Despite gyms temporarily reopening, home gym equipment sales saw a [massive increase of 5813%](https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-exercise-equipment-sales-spike-5800-as-brits-cancel-gym-memberships-145959385.html) for items such as spinning bikes, running shoes, resistance bands, and weights. 

However, this was not the case for all segments of sporting goods. The general public was more careful with spending, especially with apparel. Within the confines of your own home, you can work out in your pajamas, old clothes, or a bin-bag as long as you feel comfortable.

With home workouts set to stay in 2021, it begs the question: 
## Why will customers choose your sporting goods business over your competitors?
All the sporting goods winners of 2020 shared two essential qualities; their ability to adapt and their ability to scale. It’s important to note that the order; to adapt then to scale; is key to their success.
### The ability to adapt
Let’s tackle their ability to adapt first. The definition of adaptability is “*the quality of being able to adjust to new conditions*” - it’s obvious that having this quality is very useful considering the goings-on that occurred in 2020 and that will extend into 2021. 

The sporting goods winners of 2020 are masters of adaptability which is why they’ll keep winning throughout 2021. They continually adapt their product catalog in terms of products, pricing, titles, descriptions, sales, images, and more. Doing this enables them to not only follow trends but to anticipate and, in some cases, create them as well. 

Sporting goods winners push items with popularity spikes caused by the pandemic; adjust titles, descriptions, and prices of their available items to create popularity spikes of their own; as well as set-up seasonal product launches well in advance to ensure they’re the first to show the right items at the right times. And these only scratch the surface of their online marketing strategies.
### The ability to scale
Their ability to adapt is not enough alone; being able to scale up and down is vital.  The definition of scalability is “*the capacity to be changed in size or scale*” - this one might not seem quite as obvious but it’s vital for maintaining a healthy reputation and contributing to a better user experience on the channels you are selling on. 

Availability is a huge issue for sporting goods businesses during the pandemic. Alongside adapting product catalogs, sporting goods winners can cleverly scale their catalogs up and down in terms of products and stock depending on the trends caused by the pandemic.

Sporting goods winners scale-up by selling on the most appropriate marketplaces, expanding their product catalog with relevant items, and increasing stock of popular items. While at the same time scale-down by stopping selling on poorly performing marketplaces, contracting their product catalog by removing irrelevant items, and decreasing stock of unpopular items. 

![guy-training-home.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/5oBACo7QLCguGzW9SfUB)

### Sporting goods winners and automation
As stated, all sporting goods winners of 2020 share two essential qualities. However, this can be refined further. In order to achieve these qualities, all sporting goods winners of 2020 share one essential method; automation. In fact, all successful businesses in every eCommerce sector use feed management software to adapt and scale up or down. Especially those who have profited the most during the pandemic. 

Establishing comprehensive strategies for adapting and scaling is a sophisticated process that takes time. Though, there are four simple things you could and should be doing with a feed management tool immediately. 

1.  **Categorize your products**

As mentioned, the sporting goods industry is unique as certain categories are performing well while others struggle for sales. Categorizing your products correctly will ensure the most popular categories (such as home workout equipment) are displayed correctly on each channel and thus easy to find and buy. 

With Channable, you can also take advantage of [smart categorization](/blog/smart-categorization-google-shopping) which makes the process of categorizing easier on platforms such as Google Shopping and Facebook. 

2. **Accurate stock counts**

A feed management tool allows you to utilize rules to exclude items from being shown on marketplaces for various reasons such as stock levels. Once an item’s stock levels reach zero, it will be automatically excluded from being shown. 

For many marketplaces, Channable is able to retrieve orders and update stock levels in real-time. This is possible through [fully-integrated API connections](/products/marketplace-integrator) which are directly synced with your online shop and the export channel. 

3. **Flash sales and reductions**

Due to the pandemic, the general public is looking for the best deals. And, considering health and fitness is a crowded market, advertising the best-priced option will generate lots of interest in your products. Flash sales and price reductions on both popular and unpopular items are working well for the sporting goods winners. Everybody loves a deal and that’s one thing the pandemic can’t change. 

Using Channable, setting up basic sales with specific dates is very simple. Once you’re more experienced, you can use the powerful if-then rule system to set-up more sophisticated sales and promotions. One example a Channable client used is they set a rule to reduce the price of running shoes by 10% when the weather was above 15°C. Taking advantage of Channable’s 3rd party data integration possibilities and the general public’s excitement at being able to workout outdoors. 

4.  **Clear images and detailed specs**

One positive of the pandemic is that the general public’s interest in being healthy has increased. This has led to many people exploring the world of fitness and sporting goods retail for the first time. Having clear photos, descriptions, titles, and general specifications will make your products more reliable. 

Channable ensures that all of the required information for a product is filled in before it’s added to the export channel using a quality-check. Alongside this, changing descriptions and adding more info about your product takes next to no time due to the tool’s user-friendly design. 
## Adding Channable to your marketing strategy
All of the above and more can be achieved through one simple-to-use tool offered by [Channable](/how-channable-works).

If you would like to learn more about the sporting goods businesses that are using Channable, fill in the form below to download the one-pager. You’ll find testimonials, customer results, and more detail about the tool itself. 
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[form id="6dbcf12f-e531-4de7-a279-752936ba4bf7"]


Home-workouts are booming in 2021: how can you stand out in a crowded market?

## There’s no place like home
March 2020. The whole world was holding its breath looking to what would happen next. With lockdowns in place all across the globe, people have been forced to spend most of their time at home. The saying “*Home, sweet home*” has never been more true. Many consumers have been using this extra time to start home improvement projects, both indoors and outdoors.

Over the past year, real estate experts witnessed an exodus from big cities to escape urban living and experienced a [surge in demand for properties with an outdoor space](https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/property-news/buy-house-demand-office-garden-balcony-a138776.html), whether it be a balcony, terrace, or garden. For home & garden retailers, these changes became a real opportunity to **attract and acquire new customers**.

## A burgeoning green thumb
These lifestyle changes called for new hobbies, one of which being **gardening**. Looking to ease the stress of difficult quarantines, consumers started investing time in creating a nice and cozy outdoor space for themselves. This led to an [unprecedented rise in outdoor furniture sales](https://www.criteo.com/blog/coronavirus-shopping-trends) with an increase of 1908% in the UK, 956% in Germany, 428% in the US, and 303% in France for 2020. But that’s not all. In the United Kingdom alone, the [most purchased gardening and outdoor products](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1172426/most-purchased-gardening-products-coronavirus-united-kingdom) were outdoor plants (35%), compost (31%), and seeds (24%). All around the world, 2020 clearly became the year of the green thumb.

## From offline to online commerce
As a home & garden retailer, it does not matter whether you sell furniture, decorative items, homeware, DIY, or garden products: you’ve had to respond to people’s insatiable desire to initiate home makeovers and transform their house or apartment into a cozy cocoon. But, with many stores having to close their doors multiple times last year, consumers were left with no choice but to **shop online**.

According to Google, [the percentage of online purchases for home & garden in the UK went from 48% in 2019 to 67% in 2020](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/consumers-adapted-shopping-behaviour-covid). In an industry where seeing, touching, and testing a product is very important and a sales trigger, it was particularly reassuring and heart-warming for retailers to witness this **radical shift to online commerce**. At least for those who were well prepared.

![Capture d’écran 2021-04-09 à 09.25.06.png](https://media.graphcms.com/VkUlPAAUQhCZB5JsmTDH)
<div align="center">*Online vs offline purchases year-on-year in the UK*</div>

## What challenges did the pandemic bring?

### Standing out when drowning in a sea of competition
The sudden shift to digital in the home & garden segment was an opportunity for retailers to capture new online audiences and increase sales. But, it also meant more competition. You probably had loyal customers who used to visit your brick-and-mortar store regularly but are now more likely to search for home & garden products on marketplaces and/or Google. This is where a thorough and well-thought-out omnichannel marketing strategy comes into play to gain visibility, trigger more clicks, and close sales.

### Adapting your marketing strategy to the seasons
Spring has finally sprung. This means your (potential) customers are starting to spend more time outdoors to do some gardening, start backyard DIY projects or host a BBQ party. Are you prepared to ride the wave of seasonal shopping intent? Use your own data history to see which products were most-sold during spring and summer in the last couple years, boost your new spring collection, make use of a keyword tool to find out what the current trending search terms in the home & garden market are, and push these items on your website and online ads to increase your CTR and sales.

### Utilizing the shopper’s senses in a digital context
Ever heard of **[sensory marketing](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/dictionary/digital-marketing/what-is-sensory-marketing.html)**? It is a “*marketing strategy that seeks to awaken sensations and emotions in customers via all five senses*.” In home & garden retail, engaging senses like sight and touch is essential and helps consumers make a final decision. Of course, touch is not replicable online, but you should make it a point of focus to engage your customers’ other senses to enhance their shopping experience and interest. Here, **video marketing and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies** are your best bet to make up for the lost foot traffic.

With every challenge, there is a solution! In order to help your home & garden business stand out and beat the competition, we’ve laid out six best practices you should implement in your marketing strategy right now!

## 6 proven ways to optimize your eCommerce conversion funnel

To help you fuel your business growth this year, we’ve listed six marketing tactics to implement from a buyer’s journey perspective.

![Blog Headers _ Home and Garden_H&G_FunnelImage.png](https://media.graphcms.com/8CPt4ozSTqOQ2mVO8X8f)

### Awareness phase

**1. Promote your products on multiple advertising channels**
As explained earlier, your customers are now a lot more likely to look for home & garden products directly on Google and online marketplaces, where your competitors may already be advertising. **Bottom line**: you need to be there advertising too! Successful home & garden retailers promote their catalog through [search](/blog/blog-channables-handy-google-ads-cheat-sheet) and [Shopping campaigns](/blog/blog-how-to-successfully-advertize-google-shopping) for Google, advertise on [marketplaces](/blog/blog-how-to-successfully-sell-on-the-top-ecommerce-marketplaces) and create [social media](/blog/blog-why-integrate-social-media-into-your-marketing-strategy) product ads. All of these are extremely popular online channels which will enable you to benefit from a huge amount of traffic and eventually reach a much wider audience to raise awareness about your brand and products.

> From inspiration to conversion, Channable helps us ensure our campaigns have the right message and optimized assets for each channel.

<div align="center">*Eli Ivens, Online Advertising Marketer at **[Intracto](https://www.intracto.com/en-be)**, agency managing **[Casa Shops](https://www.casashops.com)**' account.*</div>

**2. Step up your social media game**
Become a social media guru! Just like in the fashion sector, aesthetics is key when it comes to displaying your home & garden products. Since the pandemic hit, a lot of people have decided to undertake home improvement projects. And, unless they’re professionals themselves, they surely look for ideas and inspiration online. Instagram and Pinterest are great social media platforms to position yourself as an inspirational brand and are often used to create profitable influencer marketing campaigns. Both are filled with home decor accounts and pictures, so make sure you show your items in the most Instagrammable way possible. ‘Home Tours’, especially from well-known influencers, are also very popular on Youtube.

Last year, Google witnessed a notable increase in people searching for terms like ‘ideas’ and ‘DIY’ in the home & garden category. With spring finally here, the figures shown in the graph below should definitely repeat, which is reason enough for you to optimize your social media presence.

![Capture d’écran 2021-04-09 à 09.31.57.png](https://media.graphcms.com/FyDyiTScS8WGZXEhzPdi)
<div align="center">*Worldwide interest in “ideas” and “DIY” search terms on Google in the Home & Garden category in 2020*</div>

### Consideration phase

**3. Offer a seamless user experience on your site**
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. So now is the time to woo your first-time website visitors! There are countless ways to do that: make your website easy to navigate; use appealing pictures; write clear and detailed product descriptions; highlight your customer reviews; give information about your delivery and return policy; offer world class customer service; etc. 

Of course, you shouldn’t forget about the users who have already visited your website before. Offer them a personalized and seasonal experience through artificial intelligence, and make sure to adapt your content to their shopping behavior by showing them items they are more likely to purchase.

**4. Strengthen your omni-channel retail strategy**
There will always be consumers who would rather buy home & garden items offline. But, it’s not about choosing between online and offline. It’s about bridging the gap between them and combining physical stores and online shops to offer a consistent experience to customers across different touchpoints. 

The pandemic has shed new light on the importance of specific services. It is the case of Click & Collect, which has become essential for contactless retail and is a good solution for consumers inclined to shop online but who would rather pick up their order in-store to avoid any potential issues with *sometimes* quite unreliable couriers. If, on the contrary, you’re looking to attract more customers to your physical shops, consider allocating some of your marketing budget to [Local Inventory Ads](/blog/local-inventory-ads-show-your-physical-store-stock-on-google) to increase web-to-store traffic.

### Conversion phase

**5. Optimize your checkout process**
Checkouts are where most of your dropouts exist in your sales funnel. Thus, offering a simple, transparent and fast checkout process is key. Keep in mind that [extra costs are the number one reason why shoppers abandon their cart](https://sleeknote.com/blog/cart-abandonment-statistics#5). With an average basket size likely to be higher in home & garden retail than in other sectors, you really do not want to disappoint your customers with hidden fees!

Offer a guest checkout procedure (no one likes to have to create an account); use a checkout progress bar; prevent shipping cost surprises; display cart contents plainly; use autocomplete to speed up the process; etc. While all these tricks contribute to optimizing your checkout process and reducing cart abandonment, you should still implement a strategy to win back shoppers.

**6. Make use of email marketing to re-engage cart abandoners**
Did you know that the [global average cart abandonment rate across all devices is 75.6%](https://truelist.co/blog/shopping-cart-abandonment-stats/#:~:text=European%20countries%20have%20the%20lowest,to%20avoid%20shopping%20cart%20abandonment.)? A very high number, you’d think. Until you find out that this rate is ten percentage points higher on mobile. A sign that a lot of websites are not mobile-optimized enough, among a multitude of other reasons. 

An efficient way to re-engage cart abandoners is to make use of email marketing. In fact, [48% of emails on cart abandonment are opened](https://truelist.co/blog/shopping-cart-abandonment-stats/#:~:text=European%20countries%20have%20the%20lowest,to%20avoid%20shopping%20cart%20abandonment.), which is a good chance for you to win back some customers looking to pamper their home and garden! Set up an automated email series to notify them immediately that they left items in their cart, and show them these items with a clear call-to-action to return to your site and complete the process. You can also decide to incentivize them with a temporary discount to trigger a sale.

Want to boost your online presence significantly this year and make sure all of your products find a new home on time? **[Get in touch with us](/contact)** to find out how Channable can help you take your marketing to the next level!

Home & Garden Retail: how to profit from the sector’s eCommerce boom

Who doesn’t love a good old checklist to get themselves organized? At Channable, we want to make this summer season easier for you. Therefore, we have prepared a checklist with 10 relevant tips you can implement for your business.

Fill out the form below and grab the chance to download the full checklist!
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[form id="efcd23c2-b1d9-4276-a60f-24aa2b546dc4"]

Summersales checklist 2021 - 10 tips you shouldn't miss!

Remember how we first used Facebook? Sharing our moods, feelings, or next holiday destination in a status, creating photo albums of our latest nights out and parties, posting adorably unambiguous messages on our friends’ walls for all the world to see. Ah, what wonderful times those were… this was about 12 years ago. But how has Facebook innovated?

Over a decade later, things look *very* different for the world’s most popular social media platform. Primarily focused on pure social interactions in its earliest days, [Facebook](https://www.channable.com/integrations/facebook-product-feed) gradually became an eCommerce powerhouse. 

With Facebook Shops, direct-to-consumer brands like yours can now create their own digital storefront and offer personalized content to potential customers. Looking for the right advertising channel to make Black Friday a success? Look no further.

## Let your brand’s true colors shine through

Black Friday is drawing nearer, and the last thing you want is to go unnoticed. As a retail business, you want to be known as a one-of-a-kind brand, not just as one seller among many others. And the holiday season presents a wonderful opportunity to get your name in front of potential customers. That’s exactly what makes Facebook (Shops) different. 

Facebook Shops will help you show off your brand’s personality to an engaged audience and enable you to stay top-of-mind. Want to know the best thing about it? You can create your online shop in no time and customize its design by choosing layouts and colors matching your brand identity. But these aren’t the only benefits of Facebook Shops. 

![FB_Shops_Pic.jpeg](https://media.graphcms.com/YSJH1JEDRMqFpBJDW89S)
<div align="center">*Example of a Facebook shop*</div>

While Facebook Shops will contribute to making your brand appealing and memorable, there’s still a lot more to it. As a retailer, you want to generate as many sales as possible during Black Friday (great point, captain obvious). Well, Facebook Shops can help you with that, too.

## [Social commerce](https://www.channable.com/downloads/social-commerce-2022)made easy
One of Facebook Shops’ greatest benefits is that it will let you kill two birds with one stone. Why? Because it enables you to build a single, unified shop presence across both the Facebook and Instagram family of apps and services (*Facebook Ads, Stories, Instagram Direct, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.*). 

In other words, your brand will be exposed to billions of potential customers, which bodes pretty well for your Black Friday sales, wouldn’t you agree?

One advertising platform for two social networks, and a guaranteed personalized and seamless shopping experience. And just like when you’re in a physical retail store, you’re able to connect with your customers. 

Through Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram Direct, you can answer questions, offer support, provide tracking updates, and more. Having this connection with your customers helps you increase brand attachment and customer loyalty and retention. 

## Unlocking the potential of Facebook Shops
Here’s something that’ll put a smile on that face of yours - most Facebook users are aged between 25 and 34 years and this age bracket happens to have the biggest spenders. This makes the number one social network in the world incredibly efficient when it comes to high sales conversions. 

Whether you’re a retailer working for a small or large brand, rest assured: advertising with Facebook Shops doesn’t require much technical nous, nor does it require tons of manual work - on the contrary.

Although creating a Facebook Shop is the first step, you still need to promote and optimize it. And, since you wouldn’t throw a party without sending out invitations, we’d like to give you three tips on how you can skyrocket the performance of your Facebook Shop during Black Friday:

- Use tags leading visitors to your product pages in organic and paid posts
- Add links to the products you sell in your Instagram stories and Facebook live videos
- Include a Shop link on your Business page and Instagram profile

Ready to start advertising on Facebook Shops? We can help you get up and running in no time. If you want to know more about our tool and how it can significantly help retailers like you increase their visibility and sales this holiday, [check out our retail industry page](https://www.channable.com/industry/retail-ecommerce).

Why Facebook Shops can be your secret weapon this Black Friday

## A brief look at Black Friday 2020 in numbers
*What better place to start than the birthplace of Black Friday?*

According to Adobe Analytics, in the US, Black Friday 2020 day-one online sales surged by almost 22% compared to 2019 reaching $9 billion. This exceeded the 20% increase prediction made by Adobe Analytics in early 2019 indicating that the pandemic had a huge impact in the US. 

If we zoom out and look at Black Friday 2020 with a wider lens, [global digital sales grew by 36%](https://www.salesforce.com/blog/cyber-week-digital-sales-grow/). This equates to a record $270 billion during the week of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Tell me those numbers aren’t crazy!

## What’s in store for Black Friday 2021?
*That you’ll find in the Black Friday 2021 forecast!*

Hundreds of eCommerce businesses like yours downloaded Channable’s Black Friday 2020 forecast. We received some really positive feedback and a few pointers for how to improve the forecast, so we’ve made it even better this year. The **Black Friday 2021 forecast** will help you prepare for the challenges facing your business. You’ll find useful insights, tips, and predicted trends that you can use to enrich your Black Friday marketing strategy.
<br><br/>
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The Black Friday 2021 Forecast

# How to stand out from the crowd?

## 1. Make use of user-generated content
Your customers can turn into your **best brand ambassadors**, so you should put a spotlight on them. Ask them to tag your brand on social media when posting pictures wearing your items; highlight it on the corresponding product page; showcase customer reviews; provide feedback on items; and more. Bottom line: **let your customers hype up your brand**.

## 2. Offer a crystal clear and flexible return policy
No one likes to see a product get returned, and yet - **offering a clear and free-of-charge return policy is key** and can definitely make the difference. According to Web Retailer, 88% of consumers surveyed rate [free return shipping as “important” or “very important”](https://redstagfulfillment.com/best-practices-e-commerce-returns/) to their purchase decisions. So while not offering free returns might save you money, it will also cost you, customers.

## 3. Diversify your online advertising channels
Now that you’ve put a lot of thought into website optimization, it’s time to **spread the word about your brand** and generate traffic to your site. Fashion retail is filled with opportunities to gain online exposure, whether your goal is to build brand awareness or increase conversions. Listing your brand on **fashion marketplaces** is a great way to benefit from the marketplace’s popularity among a large customer base, but there’s so much more you can do. Spend time enriching a marketing strategy that’ll support your business objectives. From **display** to **comparison websites** and **shopping ads**, there is a perfect advertising channel for each of your goals.

## 4. Brush up on your Social Media marketing skills
Rest assured - we didn’t ignore social media! And, as a fashion brand, you shouldn’t either. Especially if you’re looking to engage with younger customers. According to a global poll conducted by Ipsos, **67% of 18-24-year-olds and 60% of 25-34-year-olds [used Instagram at least once a day last year](https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-demographics/#General_Instagram_demographics)**. 

When it comes to fashion,** it’s all about being inspirationa**l. If you’re a lesser-known brand, it’s up to you to find users, not the other way around. Create appealing content and **power up your paid social ads** on Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, or TikTok. Have some extra budget to spend? Consider investing in **influencer marketing** to build strong brand advocates, but keep in mind that having a lot of followers on social media doesn’t always necessarily guarantee the best ROI. Think **quality-over-quantity**.

## 5. Automate your marketing efforts
Last but not least: **automation**. If you want to step up your marketing game and boost your productivity, you need to **equip yourself with the right tools**. [91% of marketers say marketing automation is very important](https://review42.com/resources/marketing-automation-statistics/) for the overall success of online marketing. 

There is a multitude of marketing automation tools. The most popular tools are usually related to email marketing and chatbots. But these tools do not offer solutions for some of the most time-consuming processes in eCommerce: listings integration with marketplaces, catalog management to create product ads for social media or price comparison websites, order management, or creation of relevant text ads; just to mention a few.

In order to help you to overcome all of these technical and tedious challenges, we have created the guide: “**Fashion & E-commerce in 2021: How to stay relevant and ahead of your competition**”. In this guide, you will find inspiration through relevant success stories, best practices, tips, and testimonials from some famous fashion brands. We hope this guide will help you implement marketing automation in your omnichannel strategy to get the best out of your fashion eCommerce.

<br><br/>
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Fashion & eCommerce:5 Tips to help skyrocket your online visibility

***Video Shopping Ads aren’t currently available in all markets. Please check with TikTok if you are eligible to launch VSAs.***

Video Shopping Ads have replaced Dynamic Showcase Ads (DSAs), with TikTok taking the chance to add a number of improvements for advertisers along the way.

Don’t worry if you’ve never created dynamic product ads, or a product catalog before; Channable makes it easy for advertisers to set up, optimize, and integrate them into the TikTok Ads platform.

We’re going to explain what Video Shopping Ads are, how they work, and why Channable is the best solution for advertisers who want to take advantage of the [world’s fastest-growing social media platform](https://myva360.com/blog/fastest-growing-social-media-platforms).

## TikTok advertising: What are TikTok Video Shopping Ads (VSAs)?

TikTok’s Video Shopping Ads (VSAs) are customized video ads that are shaped around a user’s preferences and behavior. They’re created in real-time and are based on TikTok’s customizable ad templates. 

Templates are automatically filled with product information from a product catalog created, maintained, and updated by the advertiser.

VSAs can be described as TikTok’s approach to dynamic product ads. If you’re unfamiliar with dynamic ads, they’re a type of social ad popular among advertisers who use them to promote large product portfolios. Dynamic product ads can be used in apps and social media platforms, including [Facebook](https://www.channable.com/integrations/facebook-product-feed), [Instagram](https://www.channable.com/integrations/instagram), or [Snapchat](https://www.channable.com/integrations/snapchat).

VSAs are a key part of TikTok’s full-service eCommerce solution. It comprises an array of ad formats and tools designed to provide businesses with the opportunity to capture the full power of TikTok's influence on purchase decisions.

On TikTok, authenticity is crucial, says [Rochelle White](https://www.rochellewhiteagency.com/), CEO of a Gen Z-focused digital marketing agency that works with clients including Adidas, Asos, Skoda, VW, and more.

> “Consumers see through polished content and even fake content. Users on TikTok use the platform for 3 key things: education, entertainment, and inspiration.” 

“If you're fake, your content won't resonate with any of your target audience.” It’s why advertisers are turning to VSAs.

## What are the benefits of Video Shopping Ads?

Typically, advertisers use VSAs to build awareness and drive app downloads. They achieve this by promoting products and retargeting potential customers to increase purchase intent – and it works!

**There are three main benefits of running TikTok Video Shopping Ads:**

### 1. Advertise a large product portfolio at scale

TikTok ads are based on templates, which are automatically filled with information from a product catalog. This makes them a powerful and effective solution to advertise large product portfolios at scale but in a personalized way.

Everything’s done automatically, saving marketers the cost and expense of manually creating thousands of individual ads.

### 2. Create highly personalized content

VSAs make It easier than ever for advertisers to create personalized content. The adaptability and optimization of product catalogs in real time (for example, filtering out-of-stock products) enable you to (re-) target relevant products to audiences showing a specific behavior, or interest. 

TikTok’s advertising formats and creative templates blend seamlessly with content created by users, so ads appear more native – this can make them more appealing and authentic to customers, and effective for advertisers.

### 3. Target customers across devices

VSAs can target customers who’ve shown interest in an advertiser's products, showing them ads across platforms and devices. Advertisers can target an interested visitor who initially browsed a website on a desktop computer and later re-visits it on a mobile device. 

Retargeting this way means ads are served across platforms, maximizing opportunities to see.

## How do Video Shopping Ads work? 

Video Shopping Ads use a [product catalog](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/catalogs?lang=en). This is a data file containing all of your product information. You can list thousands or even millions of products in your catalog, as long as they have a unique SKU.

You’ll need to ensure that your product catalog contains all the information TikTok needs. You can learn more in its guide to [Catalog Product Parameters](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/catalog-product-parameters?lang=en).

The product catalog is connected to TikTok’s Ads Manager, where the ad template pulls the product information from the feed to create the final ad. It’s critical that this feed is constantly updated and optimized to make VSA’s as effective as possible. 

Video Shopping Ads can be targeted to two types of audiences:


### 1. Potential new customers

TikTok allows advertisers to specify a custom audience at the ad group level, specifying who should see what ads.

### 2. Retargeting audience

One of the most interesting – and effective – ways of using VSAs is through retargeting. Your ads will be displayed to any user interested in a brand or product on an app, a website, or TikTok.

TikTok tracks customer behavior via a [pixel](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/tiktok-pixel?lang=en) (essentially a piece of code added to your website)or an SDK for apps. Marketers can use this data to build a better picture of customers, learn more about their behavior, and make more intelligent business decisions. 

Advertisers can create certain ‘events’ to improve targeting. These events essentially tell TikTok what type of behavior and products to cross-reference with the uploaded product catalog to serve an ad for the same product again.

## 4 reasons to consider TikTok advertising right now

![Tiktok mobile.png](https://media.graphassets.com/Q0RJ0qxRbubZc9PTaJVO)

TikTok is a social media behemoth with over [1 billion active users](https://www.statista.com/topics/6077/tiktok/). Some of the world’s biggest brands and best marketers have quickly realized the unique advantages of the platform.

Here are 4 reasons why brands, retailers, and digital marketers should advertise on TikTok:


### Reach Gen Z

According to [Wallaroo Media](https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics) and [Statista](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1095186/tiktok-us-users-age), TikTok’s main audience is Generation Z (those born in the late ‘90s to 2010). 

This demographic makes up an impressive one-quarter of its users (25%). Late Millennials (those born in the early to mid ‘90s) are second, almost 22% of the platform’s total users.

The lesson? TikTok and Instagram are the only social platforms that reach this many young adults and teenagers. If you want to target adults aged 18-35, TikTok is a channel you can’t afford to miss.

The impact of advertising on TikTok for a brand can be massive, says White. She describes working on the benefits of TikTok ads for a well-known drinks brand. “Building a brand that can freely express itself without having to fight the algorithms or fit in with anyone else is refreshing.

“This provides a new way for brands to be creative, tell their story, and for users to engage and discover new products,” she says.

Getting the right ad approach has had incredible results for White and the brand she was working with. In just six months, the team achieved incredible results, including:

- 1.7m advert views
- 13.7k on organic content 
- Increased followers from 12,567 to 222.9k 
- 33.5k account likes 

The brand decided to run TikTok ads alongside Instagram Reels but had to adjust its approach for the audience to appeal to their needs.

Brands advertising on TikTok should ensure they’re authentic in their messaging and ethical in their approach, says Ian Spencer at content marketing agency 42group. 

“Gen Z customers want to buy from brands with a purpose beyond simply making money. We recommend that clients investing in TikTok advertising spend time understanding the opportunities and adjust their tone and approach accordingly.”

![Statista graph.png](https://media.graphassets.com/dQ3XiN7RRuWHawBjebUv)

### High engagement rates

According to [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/6/10/21285309/tiktok-2020-user-numbers-revenue-smash-hit-mea-culpa), the average TikTok user spends 52 minutes per day using the platform. 

These are impressive numbers compared to other platforms, with users spending just [28 minutes on Instagram](https://techjury.net/blog/time-spent-on-social-media/#gref) and [30 minutes on Snapchat](https://techjury.net/blog/time-spent-on-social-media/#gref).

[The majority](https://influencermarketinghub.com/tiktok-stats/) (68%) of users watch, like (63%), and follow (63%) other people, which enables ads and videos to spread organically, which can lead to huge exposure for campaigns. This can be amplified by using TikTok’s full advertising capabilities, like hashtag challenges and live streams.

Engagement on the platform can be broken down as follows:

![ACTIONS WHILE USING TIKTOK.png](https://media.graphassets.com/4yE2Ag1JT8gisgwxnxE2)

### TikTok users (really) like to shop - and buy on impulse

According to research by [GWI](https://blog.gwi.com/trends/tiktok-new-social-media/), more than 80% of TikTok users are more likely to cite a “buy button” on a social media platform as a purchase driver than users on other social networks.

[TikTok](https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-sg/tiktok-is-the-platform-where-content-and-commerce-converge-helping-consumers-discover-and-make-their-next-purchase-sg) says its users are 1.7x more likely to have purchased a product they discovered from the TikTok app than any other social media platform.

However, only 14% actively research products on TikTok (compared to 28% of other social networks). This highlights the impulsive nature of TikTok shoppers. Users who see it want to buy it – and they tend to purchase immediately. 

TikTok worked with athletics brand Aerie to boost sales among a female audience. Using dynamic product ads, the brand automatically targeted users with thousands of different products. 

They achieved a 7.88 return on advertising spend (ROAS), with a 78% more efficient cost-per-purchase than the initial goal.

### TikTok is great at increasing awareness and top-of-funnel communication 

GWI’s research illustrates how successful brands are currently advertising on TikTok. Top-of-funnel communication (such as creating brand awareness by sharing marketing messages) is a key objective for over a third (33%). Just a quarter (26%) of campaigns aim to achieve a direct sales lift.

“All the ad campaigns we’ve run on TikTok have been tested to work out the effectiveness of future promotions,” says Kristian Sturt, owner and lead influencer marketing agency [Colossal Influence](https://www.colossalinfluence.com/){nofollow}. “What we worked out in this time is that as of today TikTok tends to offer better value than IG and Youtube when done correctly (their native ad platform).”

TikTok advertising is highly cost-effective, says Sturt. 

> “Brands often use TikTok to promote to Gen Z in short-form content. As of today, it tends to offer decent value when compared to its counterparts on social media because comparatively it’s a new platform and so price points are still being formed/being kept lower to entice companies.”

![Why brands use TiKTok (1).png](https://media.graphassets.com/g3Oh6bYCQrqkZxDSu2nG)


## 6 Steps to create and run TikTok VSAs with Channable

In 2024, advertising on TikTok is critical for retail brands and businesses who want to connect with Gen Z. Setting up campaigns on TikTok is simple – if you know what you’re doing. 

Channable makes it as easy as possible for all advertisers to create campaigns that increase awareness and drive engagement among hard-to-reach customers.

Here are 6 steps to create and run TikTok VSAs with Channable.

### 1. Create a Channable TikTok Product Feed

It’s now easier than ever to have your source feed updated, optimized and ready to go for TikTok’s Video Shopping Ads. Channable enables you to create, manage and evaluate social selling campaigns that target Gen Z. 

Simply [upload your products to Channable](https://www.channable.com/how-channable-works) and create a [TikTok feed channel](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409210680210-Setting-up-a-TikTok-feed). This is the simple way to categorize your products.

You can use Channable’s rules to enrich and optimize the product information and map all relevant fields to match TikTok’s requirements.

Want to know more about online marketing? Read our [Social Commerce in 2022 guide](https://www.channable.com/downloads/social-commerce-2022 to learn how to drive conversions across TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and more.

![Step 1 copy.png](https://media.graphassets.com/kE2aZjmVTGi2y6wdT8cz)

### 2. Create a Product Catalog on TikTok Ads Manager 

Enter TikTok’s Ad Manager to create a product catalog within the platform.

![STEP 2.png](https://media.graphassets.com/4caK4GCQR3bcy4Nwpwbq)

### 3. Connect the product feed to the Product Catalog

Use the URL generated in the “feed setup” step in Channable to integrate your updated product feed into the TikTok product catalog. 

![Step 3.png](https://media.graphassets.com/bCnVMzbmSeaXN0BtLSsW)

Once a catalog is created, you can connect Channable’s product feed to the platform by inserting the Feed’s URL. TikTok automatically loads all products into your catalog and keeps the product file up to date. You can manage the feed completely within Channable. Any updates will be updated on TikTok in less than an hour.

![Step 3.3.png](https://media.graphassets.com/pX7iq9raTv2YE4hXt7mH) 

### 4. Generate one or more video templates for your catalog

![Step4_generateVideoTemplates (1).png](https://media.graphassets.com/J1SEKkcYQ6Oi3h0dYT4s)

This is the fun part. TikTok provides a huge range of ad templates in the same style as user content. You can adapt, adjust, and customize these to suit your brand.

There are some limitations. For example, each Catalog has a limit of 20 video packages.

### 5. Integrate Events

![Step 5.png](https://media.graphassets.com/cplRK84XQL6iv1aoWBMS)

If you want to retarget specific users that have performed an action on your website or app, you’ll need to install the pixel and set up “events”. TikTok then tracks this behavior and matches it with your product catalog. 

Creating events gives you even greater control over advertising, and provides greater opportunities for targeting specific users.

### 6. Choose your audience and launch your campaign  

You’re almost done! Here you can set up campaigns, ad groups and ads. At the [ad group](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-difference-between-ad-campaigns-and-ad-groups-ppc-advertising) level you are able to select your catalog and product sets as well as choose the audience. 

At ad level you can specify your video ad design and (deep) link your ads to your preferred destination.

![Step 6.png](https://media.graphassets.com/5j4YvRmdQ7LNXc74e6MQ)

## Create TikTok video shopping ads with impact

One thing is certain: Social media advertising is changing. TikTok users don’t want generic ads; they want personalization - and delivering it pays. “In most cases, they’ll give authentic content a shot. As long as it's displayed as an ad, no rules are being broken,” says Sturt. 

Using VSAs is a shortcut to better click-through rates (CTR), engagement and overall, higher return on ad spend (ROAS).

VSAs enable you to create a brand with personality, and that's powerful, says White. “Building a brand that can freely express itself without having to fight the algorithms or fit in with anyone else is refreshing,” she says.

Channable makes it simple to generate thousands of ads in an instant, connecting you with Gen Z consumers more efficiently and effectively than ever before.

If you’re a Channable customer, you can trial TikTok VSAs in your existing Channable account.

Not signed up? Contact us today for your [free trial](https://www.channable.com/signup).

All you need to know about TikTok’s Video Shopping Ads and how to set them up with Channable

In 2020, livestreaming shopping events generated over [$5.5 billion in sales in the United States](https://www.xliveglobal.com/marketing/early-learnings-shoppable-livestreams-hit-us-market-holidays){nofollow} alone — and those numbers are projected to reach a cool yearly $25 billion by 2023. That means that livestream sales could make up a stunning [20% of all eCommerce sales](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/its-showtime-how-live-commerce-is-transforming-the-shopping-experience){nofollow} by the second half of this decade.


A huge spike in eCommerce was instantly noticeable at the start of the pandemic — soon followed by the massive resurgence of livestream shopping. Due to the subsequent lockdown measures, livestream shopping became the next best thing to the in-person experience. Livestream shopping allowed people to watch others try stuff out in real-time and provide instant feedback. That’s why livestream shopping hasn't gone away once the pandemic has subsided.


## What is livestream shopping?
If the term “live shopping” doesn’t instantly ring a bell, the Home Shopping Network probably does. Now, imagine that — but streaming live on the Internet, across all devices and platforms. Websites, mobile phones, and even Instagram; all of them are ripe for the next phase of social commerce.



But to truly understand livestream shopping, we need to go back a couple of decades — to the live shopping networks of the late 70s and 80s. The likes of the Home Shopping Channel and QVC took North America by storm first and, soon enough, the entire world. In a couple of years, regionalized versions of these channels would spring up globally.


They specialized in selling a couple of key product niches — beauty, fashion, and home goods. And just like any other channel, they had their recognizable hosts, occasionally joined by celebrity guests who would pitch their own products directly to consumers.

![Livestream-shopping](https://media.graphassets.com/nV14kJboSmGN08zoPett)

Essentially, livestreaming shopping is almost identical to this — the format of the content is pretty much the same, but we’re watching it in different places. Social media platforms are there to take the place of TV networks, mobile phones are the go-to devices instead of televisions — and of course, “Buy Now” buttons that lead to the ecommerce portion of the experience have replaced the “Call Now” hotline prompts.


However, the crux of social selling remains identical — buyers still have a real-time feedback loop where they watch product demonstrations and reviews with the opportunity to ask any questions in real time. This digitization of the concept behind HSN and QVC is a huge business opportunity for any product-oriented company — and it’s about to transform the world of ecommerce.



## How did livestream shopping start?
The current iteration of livestreaming shopping was [popularized by ShopShops](https://www.modernretail.co/retailers/shopshops-founder-liyia-wu-qvc-china-livestream-shopping-fashion/){nofollow} — a platform created in 2016 by Liyia Wu, a Chinese American entrepreneur. Her knowledge and experience in the worlds of fashion, retail, and business led her to this extremely lucrative format, originally intended for Chinese travelers. Soon enough, her company would bring life to a $60 billion industry that's showing signs of rude health and robust growth. 


And once COVID-19 hit the Northern Hemisphere, it created the perfect storm for the adoption of livestream shopping among European and North American consumers. ShopShops has been at the center of this innovation, having expanded to various platforms like Instagram and reaching US buyers.
By the end of 2020, platforms like Shopify and Facebook Shops would enter the newly discovered market as well.

## Benefits of livestream shopping
Today’s world is more social than ever, thanks to the constant communication and content sharing we all enjoy through social media platforms. And this lifestyle has made livestream shopping the perfect conduit for online merchants looking to approach their target audience in a more personal, direct way.



[Data from Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/research/future-of-commerce/future-of-ecommerce){nofollow} has shown that the number of their merchants that have installed some kind of app for livestream shopping in 2021 was 61% larger than in 2020. And this lightning-fast rate of adoption is set to grow even more by the end of 2022.

All brands that rely on ecommerce are looking to invest in social commerce in one way or another — and in 2022, that pretty much means all brands, period. So, considering all of this — why is livestream shopping so hot right now? And why do so many business decision-makers believe it's the future of ecommerce?

![Livestream-shopping Data](https://media.graphassets.com/IRZ34ghgQOKS12OZXhWG)

### Higher engagement and conversion rates

In all honesty, the jury is still out on how effective livestreams are at getting viewers to actually buy something. The most successful livestream shopping events capture up to 20% of the audience — but this depends on the quality of the demonstration and the product. [Some retailers](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/08/live-stream-shopping/){nofollow} aren’t getting the sales they expected from livestreaming just yet — but there’s a catch.

Even though the original iteration of live shopping comes from North America, right now, livestream shopping is still very much a niche in the western world. However, we can look to China for predictions on how the trend might grow in the future. It started out as a niche there as well, more than half a decade ago — but today, conversion rates among the core audience are absolutely huge; as high as 40%.


And even though we’re not sure about the conversion rates in Europe and North America just yet, one thing is certain — livestream shopping generates huge engagement rates, regardless of location. In fact, it’s becoming one of the best ways to entice social-media-focused Gen Z shoppers.

The [shoe retailer Aldo](https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2021/06/aldo-pilots-livestream-shopping-as-the-asian-trend-expands-into-canada-expert-commentary/){nofollow} is a prime example — they noticed a 300% engagement rate in just five days following a 2021 livestream shopping event. And a year before, Walmart piloted their own livestream shopping content on TikTok — [increasing their follower base](https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/09/walmart-to-host-a-new-live-stream-shopping-event-on-tiktok-following-successful-pilot/){nofollow} on that platform by 25% almost overnight.

### Low return rates

Return policies are one of the biggest hurdles in ecommerce — with the lack of a brick-and-mortar infrastructure, they’re a much bigger problem for online-only businesses.


Returns can be a huge drain on profit margins, destroy conversion rates, and in the end, threaten entire businesses. That’s why it’s important to note that one of the biggest upsides of livestream shopping events is a [much lower return rate](https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/topics/digital-commerce/livestreaming-update-coresight-debunks-5-common-myths){nofollow} compared to other online purchases. So, even if fewer people convert to paying customers — they’re still a more secure sale, and far less likely to return their purchased products.

The reason for this is simple — livestream shopping events provide the unique opportunity to educate the target audience in immense detail. Unlike someone that just looked at a couple of pictures on a product page and read the short description, livestreaming customers know exactly what they’re buying.

## How to leverage livestream shopping
As a brand, there are tons of ways you can start getting into livestream shopping right now. One of the most direct ways is to start hosting your livestream shopping events on your online storefront, if you have one. [Retailers like Nordstrom](https://press.nordstrom.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nordstrom-introduces-livestream-shopping){nofollow} have opted for this route — they now have their own livestream shopping channel, with experts and founders from famous brands like Giorgio Armani and Tom Ford.


Plus, besides giving you opportunities for valuable data capture and branding, self-hosting also means having the opportunity to replay the event as a “rerun” sometime down the line and generate new sales or repurpose the content in another way.

Naturally, harnessing the power of livestream shopping as a brand has its challenges as well. Today, most eCommerce companies use a variety of channels to advertise and sell a vast number of products — and while livestream shopping is an important channel, it’s not the only one.


In light of that, well-maintained data feeds are becoming increasingly important for eCommerce companies that want to stay effective, efficient, and ultimately — competitive. That’s why [product feed management tools](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool){nofollow} have become popular with brands that want an easy way to bring their data from various channels together into a coherent whole.


![Livestream-shopping-article-3.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/3jbHYx8mTReJsFNerTU7)

### Going social

There’s no social shopping in 2022 without social media — which is why using the built-in livestream shopping features of the major players like Instagram and Facebook is important. And that’s a great idea even if you have a self-hosted platform of your own — you can still livestream the events on Facebook and Instagram as well to maximize viewership.

Of course, YouTube is leading the way here — but Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and even more niche websites like Twitch are getting into livestream shopping as well. For instance, [Instagram Live Shopping](https://business.instagram.com/blog/instagram-live-shopping-reach-customers){nofollow} is now a built-in option for US-based creators and brands with business accounts — and Facebook Live Shopping works in a similar way.

### Leveraging different formats

Any successful livestream shopping event has two key elements: audience interaction and product demos. However, the rest of the details are up to individual brands — which opens up plenty of opportunities for unique and engaging content.

Home Depot has started livestreaming DIY tutorials — and beauty brands can do the same with makeup. Also, brands that rely more on influencer marketing can host Q&As and interviews. 


Just keep one thing in mind: no matter how the content is presented, it still needs to be entertaining. And that’s the main difference between livestreaming shopping and the home shopping networks of the 70s.


Today, audiences have dozens of cable channels to choose from when they watch TV — not to mention the infinite avenues of online entertainment.

So, they won’t watch something that’s not entertaining, regardless of their affinity towards a specific brand. If you’re going to captivate today’s short-attention-span audiences, you will need to create content that informs and entertains.

**Keeping it personal**

Even if a livestream is being watched by a million viewers, the people presenting your products should still keep it personal and treat the format as if they were speaking to a single individual. Addressing the viewership directly, with a lot of “you” is the way to go in the age of social media and personalized content.


Nike is an excellent example of this with its iconic “Just do it” tagline and its constant direct addressing of its customers.

Of course, the focus is still on the content itself — if you’re selling a beauty product, you need to paint a picture of what it's like to use it in everyday life. But it should be about how the viewer would feel; not about what the presenters are feeling at the moment.

## The future of eCommerce
Ecommerce is convenient and easy — but the lack of a human element and interaction means the experience still leaves something to be desired. 


However, livestream shopping fixes all of that by bringing people and the way they use the advertised products back into the center of online marketing. It gives just the right dose of human contact in an otherwise somewhat lifeless buying interaction.


Because of this, in the post-COVID era, livestream shopping and its future iterations will become one of the central pillars of ecommerce.

Livestream Shopping: Is it the future of eCommerce? 

If we've learned something from the past couple of years, it’s that change is the only constant— this is true of strategies we assumed we’d stick to, expectations we have of our workflows, and the way consumers shop, buy, and interact with brands. 

So, how are brands adjusting to these new changes in an ever-evolving digital-first world? And what’s trending in the world of retail to embrace this shift?

Here at Channable, we’re always looking for the latest strategies, insights, and trends that shape the retail world.

This is why a couple of months ago, we attended [Shoptalk](https://shoptalk.com/){nofollow} in Las Vegas, US, one of the world’s biggest e-commerce events. Shoptalk is where thousands of retail changemakers come together every year to create the future of retail. 

The Shoptalk agenda covered the latest technologies, trends, and business models, as well as the rapid transformation of what consumers discover, shop for and buy—everything ranging from apparel and electronics to beauty and grocery. 

What did we learn from the event and how can European brands and agencies benefit from these up-and-coming ways of selling online? Read on to learn all about it. 

## Trend #1: Exploring new forms of digital selling 

As a brand, **staying on top of the latest forms of digital selling will be pivotal to your success **in the coming years. This is why being where your customers are shopping for products and services is essential. Here’s what you can expect in terms of formats:


### Social commerce

Social commerce is the strategy you can tap into to market and sell your products via social media platforms. Sales through social media channels worldwide are expected to nearly triple by 2025 so this is definitely an opportunity many brands should leverage. 

To get started, you can use platforms like Instagram, Meta, Pinterest, and [TikTok](https://www.channable.com/blog/tiktok-dynamic-showcase-ads-setup-channable) as each of them offers a unique set of features to place your products in front of potential customers. 

A Statista study shows that 30% of e-commerce companies are already selling on social media and 12% plan on selling on social media platforms in 2022. 

![Untitled-1.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/e8ZH5RpQXWFIazN7Xndb)

While online marketplaces and shopping sites are created as shopping spaces, **social networks also provide an opportunity for brands to create a community**.

As influencers engage with their online communities, they are leading the way in this regard. As a result, e-commerce companies are increasingly collaborating with them to market their brands.

This is particularly true for Gen Z, who expect a convenient shopping experience catered to their digital lifestyle. 
![Untitled-2.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/KqIrGw2mQRuXChzbXLX4)

Experts in marketing and retail talked about this topic at Shoptalk, focusing on understanding consumers’ preferences and behaviors, and how they shape product and marketing decisions. 

### Live commerce

Already well-established in Asia, live commerce, also known as live shopping, is now predicted to become more prominent across other regions including Europe. **Live commerce enables brands to sell their products online through live video while shoppers interact with them in real time**. 

The movement has been pioneered by the Chinese retail giant Alibaba in 2016 when they launched Taobao Live, opening a new chapter in retail. 

While the Asian market is already advancing quickly in this space, it’s important to look at how retailers like Alibaba have managed this innovative approach – they simply linked up an online livestream broadcast with an e-commerce store to allow viewers to watch and shop simultaneously.

Ever since, live commerce has quickly established itself as a key tactic in sales campaigns for key events like Valentine’s Day or Singles’ Day—major shopping events in China—and, as a reliable way for increasing customer engagement and online sales. 


“In 2020, the first 30 minutes of Alibaba’s Singles’ Day pre-sales campaign on Taobao Live generated an impressive $7.5 billion in total transaction value. Today, the value of the Chinese live commerce market is expected to reach $423 billion in sales by 2022,” states McKinsey.

Similarly, Amazon Live is also using the same model through their free live streaming app that’s aimed at brands and influencers who want to interact with shoppers in real time. 

![Untitled-4.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/Fc0UPvgQ5OISGPdVAiSq)

We already know that [videos](https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/){nofollow} are a key format in the buying process: 96% of users turn to videos to learn more about a product, while 88% of users are convinced to make a purchase after watching a video. Combine that with an influencer or personality with an established community, and you’ve got yourself an engaged audience for the right market. 

If you’re keen to experiment with this format, [livestream shopping](https://www.channable.com/blog/livestreaming-shopping) events are already mainstays on platforms like Amazon, TikTok, and Meta.

For instance, in 2020, Walmart streamed their “[Holiday Shop-Along Spectacular](https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2020/12/17/you-can-now-shop-walmart-on-the-hottest-place-on-the-internet-tiktok){nofollow}” on TikTok in collaboration with 10 popular creators. The event had a bigger audience than expected and helped the retailer increase its TikTok follower base by 25%.

What does this mean for other regions in the world? 

Tapping into live shopping while continuously using deep learning through social media listening, data analyses, and behavior tracking can really create a new “[phygital](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/06/30/phygital---what-is-it-and-why-should-i-care/?sh=45bc7723587a){nofollow}” experience, where there is no longer just a physical or digital world, but a completely connected one. 

### Visual search and video shopping

The reason why many brands continue to move their marketing budgets in this direction is simple — digital advertising offers a scalable and direct way to reach consumers online.

So as a marketer, you’re presented with a challenge: How do you benefit from the reach provided by digital advertising without disrupting your potential customers’ shopping experience?

This is why **retailers are looking to incorporate even more video content into their marketing and advertising strategies in 2022**. 

At Shoptalk, Connie Chan, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz referred to this phenomenon as “[Shoptainment](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2022-03-28/shoptalk-2022-retail-s-future-is-on-social-video){nofollow},” the overlap of videos on social media made to entertain and an opportunity to make a purchase.

On the other hand, Google is also betting big on this trend. Google sees YouTube and Google Shopping as their most important shopping platforms to provide an immersive and seamless shopping experience. 

In the future, it’s most likely that text ads won’t get priority anymore as Google will focus more on putting visual, image, and live video shopping and advertising at the forefront. 

The bottom line? As the online consumer journey will get longer and will include more touchpoints, managing this whole journey will be more effective if it’s done in a more automatic way. 

## Trend #2: The cookie-less future is (almost) here 

As Google states, [cookie tracking](https://blog.chromium.org/2020/01/building-more-private-web-path-towards.html){nofollow} has become more and more invasive.

But first, what are cookies, really? According to WIRED, the technology in question is called [FLoC](https://www.wired.com/story/google-floc-privacy-ad-tracking-explainer/){nofollow}, or Federated Learning of Cohorts. It aims to give advertisers a way of targeting ads without exposing details on individual users by grouping people with similar interests together.

**Third-party cookies have always been crucial as they serve personalized ads, and retargeting, and enable advertisers to conduct a detailed analysis**. While they are not perfect, they offer an easy way to capture usable data. Losing cookies will have massive consequences on audience sizes and targeting ability. 

As third-party cookies deprecate in 2023, marketers face many challenges in creating hyper-targeted, measurable digital marketing campaigns.

But retailers are experimenting with how to replace cookies, and there are alternatives outside of Google's Floc. 

In the future, Google intends to use artificial intelligence (AI) modeling to understand users, identify the ads with the highest conversion level, and identify which users are the most valuable.

AI modeling, however, requires a lot of information. Google will need more “signals” to identify users and conversions. And the most valuable signals will be each customer’s personally identifiable information (PII). This consists of customers’ last names, email addresses, and physical addresses.

What does this mean, practically? 

A Hubspot article explains: “If someone looks for your product on Google, then clicks on your ad, and goes to your website, Google now has all the information it wants. However, without cookies, it’s no longer possible to store the anonymous identifier for that user. If that same user returns to your website later and converts, there’s no way to connect the original ad viewed to the conversion.”

With Google pushing back the implementation of its privacy changes to 2023, advertisers will have time to start planning and testing alternatives. In general, there seem to be six major alternatives considered by advertisers: 

- [Google's Sandbox environment](https://ahrefs.com/blog/google-sandbox/){nofollow}

- First-party data from other sources such as physical stores, your own website, etc

- Location and contextual targeting 

- Traditional media channels like the TV will play a bigger role

- Blockchain

- AI technology like building your brand’s marketing strategy on proprietary post-purchase question streams


## Trend #3: - Creating highly personalized customer experiences

We’re heavily experiencing a culture of change for many retailers who’ve long held a mentality anchored only in brick-and-mortar shops. 

**As a retailer, you need to create an interwoven journey that’s relevant to your target consumer **— and define your channel ecosystem, in a way that provides a personalized experience along that journey. 

For instance, Care/of, a subscription service that delivers a portable package of high-quality daily vitamins to its customers, has come up with a lifestyle quiz for their customers in which they receive a personalized list of daily vitamins and water-soluble supplements. 

![Untitled-3.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/2iyleoFHQxueNU9x1pVt)

Care/of presents detailed information regarding the reasons behind its vitamins and supplement recommendations in an entertaining, personalized, and engaging way, but the final decision about the consumption amount always stays with the clients.

**Start creating personalized experiences that speak directly to your audience** – think quizzes, on-site interactions, and other snackable formats – that can help you get to know your audience better and offer them the experiences they want. 


## Trend #4: - Retail Media

Retail media advertising provides a straightforward way to shop, especially when the ads are relevant to consumers’ interests and purchase behavior.

Retail media is becoming increasingly relevant today. Not only is it growing rapidly but it’s also estimated to account for 25% of all digital spending by 2026 (=$100B). Retail media dollars will be shifted or generated from: 

- Organic growth in digital ($24B)

- A shift from other digital channels (11B)

- A general shift in trade ($21B)

**Retail media is experiencing significant growth across the US, EMEA, and APAC** because it fits perfectly what a retailer wants, what a consumer wants, and what an advertiser wants – all in one package. And for advertisers, retail media also gives access to first-party data owned by the website owner.

Take Walmart, for example. Walmart’s retail media network is second only to Amazon’s in terms of volume and revenue, with 150 million customers visiting either Walmart or its online portal every week. 

According to Walmart Connect, 35% of shoppers research items on their website before buying them in a physical store. Their omnichannel approach, which closes the loop between the app and physical stores, enables brands to accurately attribute in-store conversions to digital campaigns. 


## Trend #5: - Managing product data is essential

Providing a personalized and localized (visual) shopping experience is key, and social platforms already allow brands to do this. For that, however, [managing your product data](https://www.channable.com/industry/retail-ecommerce) is important.

Combining different types of data will become highly important to provide a truly personalized and localized experience (e.g product, behavior, and COVID data). 

When you start advertising through third parties, such as comparison sites and affiliate networks, you will notice that compared to what you have on your webshop, these platforms require your product information in various formats. 

This is why modifying your product feed information to match requirements is key. However, if you want to make use of several third parties, this requires multiple, different product feed configurations. This can become overwhelming so ensure that the product data you manage is always done in an automatic way. 

From improving productivity and scalability to reducing mistakes and getting your products to market as soon as possible, being on top of your data will be a key strategic element to look out for this year and beyond.

## Takeaways 

The dimensions of e-commerce are increasing fast – and implementing these up-and-coming strategies will play a key role in keeping up with this momentum.

Instead of banking on ads alone, leading companies are investing in more interactive activities to create a more engaging relationship with their customers.

At the same time, the consumer journey is no longer linear either – what starts online can end up in-store and the other way around. Therefore, understanding and defining your omnichannel approach will become increasingly vital as we move through 2022 and beyond. 

With these strategies, you can start increasing your revenue and retention and impact your brand awareness by always staying top of mind. 

Want to create more engaging shopping experiences for your customers and learn the latest strategies in the industry? We’re always sharing articles and insights on the blog. Check it out! 


Exploring new forms of digital selling: 5 ways that are reshaping retail

Entering the eCommerce space can be quite daunting for some. Once established, many take a well-deserved breath but are not quite sure what their next steps should be to maintain growth or reach the next level. 

On this topic, we had the privilege to interview [Andrew Lolk](https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewlolk/){nofollow}, Founder of digital marketing agency [SavvyRevenue](https://savvyrevenue.com/). 

In this interview, Andrew shares his story and breaks down the path he sets for his clients to achieve the advertising goals they desire.

## Topic covered

- **The power of specialization:** Learn how SavvyRevenue focuses on one area, Google Ads for established eCommerce businesses, to create the best ad strategies.
- **The importance of conversion rate optimization:** Discover how investing in a consistent conversion rate optimization program can greatly impact your eCommerce business's performance.
- **The challenge of attribution:** Understand the difficulties businesses face in tracking and attributing their marketing efforts, and the need for performance reporting to make informed decisions.
- **The significance of understanding your business model:** Determine which marketing channels, whether push or pull strategies, are best suited for your eCommerce offerings and resonate with your target audience.
- **The limitations of automation:** Explore the pros and cons of automation in online advertising and why it's crucial not to solely rely on automation algorithms for optimal performance.
- **The future of marketing:** Gain insights into the evolving landscape of marketing, including the challenges posed by data protection and the need for marketers to adapt their strategies to changing data access and targeting limitations.


## Can you tell us your backstory and how you got started?

**Andrew**: Pertaining to my career, the most interesting thing about me is that I'm originally from Denmark and never went to college or any higher education as part of my journey. 

This was mainly due to the fact that when I finished my mandatory military service back in 2009, I jumped right into online marketing. After doing that for a few years, I realized that there was nothing I could go back and learn from university that I had not already experienced in the field.

So I decided to just keep going and creating media websites, mostly for affiliate marketing. After doing that for a while, I then started with Google Ads and played around with buying domain names. 

One memorable story that really ended up changing the course of my career was when I bought around 40 domain names for affiliate marketing, and one of the owners of the domains called me and asked what I was doing with all these websites? 

We ended up having a good conversation and wishing me luck. As the conversation came to a close, one piece of advice that he shared was to get out of Denmark, joking that the taxes were too high. 

Six months after that conversation, I moved to Malta and started my own business. Within those first three months, I was able to furnish my apartment, which was my first company goal. 

![Traveler.png](https://media.graphassets.com/d151IsPWSJGvzkJG5iO2)

Directly following those first three months, a friend reached out and said he was starting a Google Ads agency in the US, asking if I wanted to come out and help train his team. Of course, I said yes, but what started as a one-week training trip turned into three months. 

Ultimately, I became a third-party owner in an agency based in the US and Nicaragua with over 150 employees.

After living and working in Nicaragua for 6 years, where I met my wife and had my two children, I eventually sold out in 2017, moved back to the States, and ended up starting a new agency all over again - just differently.

## That’s an amazing story! Tell us what was the “aha moment” that led to the idea for your current company. 

**Andrew**: At the last agency, we would do everything for everyone, primarily Google Ads, but also SEO, online marketing, and website building. After that experience, I knew how hard it was doing marketing for everyone so I focused when I had the opportunity to start something new. 

> SavvyRevenue was created out of this hyper focus, we had one type of business that we wanted to specialize in and master. That was Google Ads, for established eCommerce businesses.

The idea was to do one thing first class and that was create the best ad strategies in eCommerce, without spreading ourselves too thin – and we knew the clients would come.

## What do you think makes your company unique?

**Andrew**: Part of the push that led to creating SavvyRevenue was that I did not want to go back into the advertising world meaning I did not want to feel the tension you often get between clients and the agency. Because of our choice to specialize and focus, that tension has fallen away and we have a very good relationship with our clients.

> Everything we do is product-focused.

A driving factor to this balance in our relationships is that everything we do is product-focused. We let our abilities speak for themselves, we don't have salespeople, and we don't have a CEO or managers from outside the industry. 

Everyone in the company is knowledgeable in eCommerce and knows the pains many digitally-native brands face. Simply put, we enable clients to make informed decisions and achieve better results.

## Can you share a story about a funny mistake you made when first starting out? What lessons or takeaways did you learn from it?

**Andrew**: It would have to be from early on when we were first starting to grow. But before we jump into the story, I want to say for context, that I had been used to running and working in larger agencies. 

Ok, now time for the story. When we started out with SavvyRevenue, it was just me and co-founder Filip Lindblom. So I wanted to get up and running, and we hired four people in the course of a few months in Q4. 

I knew that as you grow, some things get easier and some get harder. But since our target market was eCommerce, in hindsight, Q4 was not the optimal time to be onboarding, with Black Friday, the holidays, and January sales.

It worked out in the end but it was very difficult to onboard our new people because: 

- I was not in Denmark to work with them in person
- We didn’t realize that onboarding in a small business is way more labor intensive than in a larger company just because of resources and time 
- There's a lot more impact because every person is essential 

The lesson learned is not to hire during busy periods for your business unless you have the resources to allocate to them. I had to remind myself in different situations that we were not a hundred-person company anymore and make decisions accordingly.

## What ad strategies are eCommerce businesses implementing to adapt to the influx of online shopping?  

**Andrew**: The hardest thing for many advertisers has been figuring out not only what is performing well but also what has been performing poorly.

![Funnel.png](https://media.graphassets.com/5q5ZIiWRzWnRcG8vycBn)

In many industries, online advertising has been doing great due to the circumstances. We've all seen positive numbers, but now reality is setting in and a lot of businesses have been shutting down or struggling as things shift around. 

Some companies have been able to ride the wave and keep the momentum going. These companies are the ones that have added more products to diversify their offerings and were not COVID-dependent products. 

A good example is apparel; it’s doing really well right now but was not performing during COVID. 

The ones we have seen with the most success are the ones who went back to business basics instead of just pushing into outdoor goods because it was popular over the past few months as an example.

## Can you name some tools or software that can empower growing businesses to be more effective and successful?

**Andrew**: I would say It's not really a tool; we work with a lot of mid-level eCommerce businesses. We do not normally work with the giants in the industry and we do not handle the Mom and Pop shops. We work with purely digital eCommerce businesses. 

> The most crucial tool we find in this category of clients is tracking their performance.

The most crucial tool we find in this category of clients is tracking their performance. We need to track everything that they do, but once they reach a certain level of scale, this gets very difficult manually. Think about tracking, Facebook, YouTube, Google, SEO, and the website along with affiliate ads running; they are all measuring different things, a different attribution.

When you get to this point, you don't know what’s contributing to what or where success is coming from especially with European privacy protection laws such as cookie consent and GDPR. 

We also know now that metrics such as email open rates were not giving us the best indication of performance. So performance reporting and knowing where that performance is coming from is key.

> Performance reporting and knowing where that performance is coming from is key

Having a strategy and an opinion on what you do with attribution can really help. It doesn't have to be technical, you just need to really choose what to measure across the board so that you can compare performance. 

Just knowing we are tracking this from this marketing channel and knowing what the outcome is, helps in making informed decisions and tracking success.

## What are the best strategies eCommerce businesses can implement to increase conversion rates?

**Andrew**: Start with just being a good eCommerce business, building on your product base, having good logistics, and selling products on margins you can profit on. 

Once you get past the business basics, my number one piece of advice is to **[invest in a consistent conversion rate optimization program running at all times. 

Just investing a little bit of your marketing budget into conversion rate optimization can have a huge impact on your performance. 

> Conversion optimization is constantly testing and improving everything on your website; this could be visibility, usability, making the website convert better, optimizing images, and even just better reviews.

To implement this, all you need to do is change your mentality. Many marketers will happily spend a million on advertising, but nothing on analyzing in detail the impact of that spend with conversion rate optimization. This will put you ahead of the game if implemented correctly.

## What's an approach you used to help a client achieve greater results?

**Andrew**: The fluffy part is we try to go in and define what the issues are for our clients. From an online marketing perspective, it's about finding and highlighting segments of a product catalog or inventory that are over and underperforming. 

![Savvy-Revenu-Article.png](https://media.graphassets.com/0gvMp5szSdmL5HUN5qsg)

Let's say you have 10,000 items; finding the 20% of products that are performing and converting the best is the key. You need to make sure your top performers show first and are prioritized. 

We never let our clients show their products evenly and leave it to chance to get those clicks. Segmentations and prioritization are key and actually work great with the shift to automation.

## What are some of the major challenges you face and that advertisers are dealing with today?
 
**Andrew**: The biggest issue in my experience is attribution. We see it so often that businesses do not know what is coming from where. This is essential data needed to make informed decisions on strategy. 

> Consistent conversion rate optimization is key.

This goes back to the previous answer where I think consistent conversion rate optimization is key. 

But this is a very tough issue to solve and we’re not the magic bullet that solves all their problems with one simple solution. It takes constant monitoring and adjusting to find the sweet spot.

## What are the most important things you need to create a successful ad strategy for your eCommerce business?

**Andrew**: Understanding your business model and what marketing channels work for that business model is imperative. 

![Push & pull.png](https://media.graphassets.com/saekBHzHSrSFeQWo1i8g)

There are two main methods you can implement. One is **push marketing** (traditional marketing) in which you try and push your message to your audience – think radio, TV, and billboards. 

The second one is **pull marketing** (attracting people that show an interest in your product or have intent to buy). This can be targeting people on Google or even people walking into a mall. By their behavior, you know they have an intent to buy.

> Do not just chase whatever tactic or strategy you hear from across the room.

There's an inherent desire for marketers to use both [push and pull marketing](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/push-vs-pull-marketing){nofollow} methods thinking that they will increase results if they just use more channels. This is mainly because businesses see the success of others and think that if they copy their strategy, they will see similar results.

But you have to keep in mind what method fits your offerings. In eCommerce, if you have a pull product strategy, you have a lot of different products that you use to pull people into your store. Think Nike shoes; a lot of people want Nike shoes and a lot of businesses offer Nike shoes. 

![03 Feed visual - 7 ways to overcome the fear.png](https://media.graphassets.com/9D1vSgeTmqGSkQfEbUND)
> Don't just chase whatever tactic or strategy you hear from across the room and make sure you choose channels and strategies that work for your offerings and resonate with your target audience.

If you have a push business, you have something unique that you need to make people aware of for them to find you. You must have a good overall packaging of the experience. The same marketing strategy will not work for both types of products.

If you're a pull company, you don't have to be that creative; everyone sells Nike shoes, and even if you have an amazing ad and creative for that product, it's still only 1 out of your 10,000 items and you cannot give everything your attention. 

That is why you need to **focus on your conversion** (logistics), building out a flywheel that you do things that make your business better. 

If you have a push business, you have to be really good at the creative, the experience, and overall upselling of your products. 
		
## A lot of people promise success with various methods and strategies. What is something you see being implemented that you don't believe in or doesn't work?

**Andrew**: This is a double-edged sword. The overall idea of automation is both the best and worst innovation that has happened to online advertising. 

Let's take a [Google campaign](https://www.channable.com/blog/responsive-search-ads) as an example. You can create a campaign that will do well without much effort. It will perform well enough for their business and because the automation is doing something for them, many feel that this is all they need to do. 

I refer to this as (**the pasta on the wall effect**) where you just throw all your products into the automation algorithms and whatever does well will stick. 

But what if half your products fall off the wall? Is this a good or bad thing? Considerable parts of your business may no longer be advertised and you need to find out what is stopping them from performing well. 

> Automation tells you they are not profitable or that they are performing well, but why? This is not where you should stop. This is the baseline of where you should begin in regards to optimizing your performance. 

Don’t accept poor performance – **automation is not smarter than you are** – it’s only the baseline of what can be achieved.

## What do you see trending in the next few years in the marketing space?

**Andrew**: In general, I think that it's going to get harder before it gets easier, and maybe that's vague, but I’m referring to data and data protection. 

How are we going to make up for data disappearing as marketers? It's getting harder and harder for the little guys and there are a lot of things right now skewing towards the big players: they have more data,  more resources, and more access to data. 

> Marketers are going to have to learn how to optimize other parts of their advertising funnel to make up for this lack of targeting.

Marketers are going to have to learn how to optimize other parts of their advertising funnel to make up for this lack of targeting. I honestly don’t know what the future holds, but advertising strategies are going to have to adapt as the rights of individuals and data access will change.

## What advice would you give advertisers that are struggling to reach their audience in the right way at the right time?

**Andrew**: Too many people don’t look at marketing from the right angle. There is a barrier to entry for each platform/channel, but once you learn how the platform works either via an agency, freelancer, or in-house, you still have to tie it into your business. 

If you are then still having issues with your marketing goals, you have to find the source. 

And this is usually not a problem with the chosen marketing channels, but something in your business model that needs to be fixed, such as the push or pull strategies. 

Don’t give up if things get tough; there are always avenues to pursue and [eCommerce is everchanging](https://www.channable.com/downloads/key-trends-ecommerce-digital-marketing), so don’t be afraid to try something new.

## How can our readers further follow you online?

**Andrew**: I'm primarily active on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewlolk/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AndrewLolk). You can follow me there if you’d like more of my insights.

## Key takeaways from this interview

- The most crucial tool to success is performance reporting and knowing where that performance is coming from
- Invest in a consistent conversion rate optimization program
- Don’t chase whatever tactic or strategy you hear from across the room
- Choose an eCommerce ad strategy that fits your products
- Optimize every part of your advertising funnel, not just ad spend

Enjoyed the insights provided by Andrew? Stay connected and check out all the resources we have available on our [blog](https://www.channable.com/blog).

The future of eCommerce advertising: ad strategies and insights with Andrew Lolk

Inflation is running at almost [9% in Europe](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/14675415/2-18082022-AP-EN.pdf/03725c05-b76b-8faa-b9b9-2d867781e735?t=1660739117989#:~:text=The%20euro%20area%20annual%20inflation,%2C%20the%20rate%20was%202.5%25) and shows no signs of slowing down. Driven by the conflict in Ukraine and increasing competition for natural resources, inflation can significantly impact our disposable incomes and influence our purchasing behavior. 

Businesses worldwide are worried about the impact of inflation on their bottom line, but what’s the reality? 

First, let’s look at what inflation is, why it matters, and its impact on consumer behavior.

## What is inflation, and why does it matter?

As you’ll know, if you’ve bought gas or shopped for groceries, prices are rising for almost everything. 

[Inflation](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/30-inflation.htm){nofollow} is a collective measurement of price increases over a set period. In Europe, inflation in Europe is running at 8.9% at the moment, compared to 2.5% in 2021. That means that during the past year, prices for goods have risen an average of 8.9% across Europe. Some inflation is OK (in fact it’s desirable), but too much inflation can damage an economy very quickly. 

Some countries have seen higher levels of price rises than others. You’ll also notice that some items have increased in price much more than others. That’s because inflation is an average that reflects the increase in costs of a specific set of goods that reflect national spending habits.

Inflation is measured according to the [Consumer Price Index](https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/july2022){nofollow}, which reflects the housing costs of the average person. 

It’s important to understand that inflation will affect us all differently. Some people, particularly those on lower incomes, will be affected more than those with larger incomes, for example. Those who drive will be hit harder than those who cycle.

On the surface, higher levels of inflation should translate into lower sales across the board. But that’s not the case. Here are three things every business and brand needs to know about the impact of inflation on our spending habits.

## Consumers don't stop spending immediately

Inflation may see our spending power reduced, but people that doesn’t mean we stop spending. 

Instead, we’re more discerning about where we spend our money and on what. The lesson? During levels of high inflation, there are winners and losers.

One example is sales of groceries that actually increase during periods of high inflation.

Why is this the case? George Rogers Clark, Professor of Management and Marketing at Yale explains [this phenomenon](https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/how-does-inflation-change-consumer-behavior) with a simple example: 

> "When people start eating out less at restaurants, they spend more on food products they’ll consume at home. Since I’m not spending $20 on fish at a restaurant this week, I can go to the store and buy not the cheapest fish, but one of the better fish.”

This anecdote is supported by [PWC](https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2022/global-consumer-insights-pulse-survey.html){nofollow}, who found that 75% of respondents expect to maintain or even increase current levels of spending across most categories in the next six months. While prices will rise, the willingness to pay them remains the same. Economists call this "inelasticity", which means price changes don't affect consumer purchasing behavior. 

The important takeaway here is that inflation provides opportunities for some eCommerce players and threats to others. It depends on what you’re selling and who you are selling to. 

## If consumers change their shopping habits, they do so usually in five ways:
![4 habit changes copy.png](https://media.graphassets.com/wTFlYcRQe6l6bH6WGAOj)
If consumers change their spending habits during economic downturns, they usually engage in what economists call "trading down" behavior. It means finding a cheaper and (subjectively) lower-valued alternative to a product they have previously purchased. 

A simple example is swapping your regular Starbucks coffee for a homebrew. The coffee beans and milk you buy at the grocery store, are substitutes for the more expensive Starbucks coffee. As a result, you’ve traded your coffee consumption down. 

## During inflation, trade downs operate in five ways:

### 1. Choosing lower prices or lower quantities

[McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-great-uncertainty-us-consumer-confidence-and-behavior-during-inflationary-times){nofollow} estimates that the most respondents (60%) who said they will "trade down" are doing so by reducing their quantities or pack sizes. The lesson is, they won’t stop spending on a product or category, but will spend less.

Retailers have quickly jumped on this trend. They’re using a selling method some call "*increasing the whole of the donut*". Essentially, you’re charging the same price for a smaller product. Imagine your favorite potato chips. The pack price is the same, but instead of getting 150g, you get 130g.

Have you ever picked up a chocolate bar and remembered it being bigger? It’s probably because it was bigger years ago. Same price, smaller product. Slimming down portion sizes may seem underhand, but for [Cadbury’s](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/mar/28/cadbury-family-size-dairy-milk-bars-get-10-smaller-but-price-stays-the-same){nofollow} at least, it hasn’t affected sales. 

### 2. Switch to private labels and lower priced brands

A more extreme form of "trading down" involves substituting brands for lower-tier products. This particularly affects the luxury and premium goods industry, but also the entertainment and fashion sectors.

[An Ipsos survey](https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/knowledge/consumer-shopper/How-Inflation-is-Changing-Consumer-Behavior){nofollow} found that 35% and 33% respectively will buy cheaper brands, private labels or in-house brands from larger retailers. The cited McKinsey survey found that "only" 26% of respondents will change to cheaper priced brands or private labels.  

Procter and Gamble and Unilever, which offer generally premium brands have recognized this trend and responded by introducing cheaper, lower-tier products across many categories. 

In [a recent Reuters article](https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/procter-gamble-quarterly-sales-beat-market-expectations-2022-04-20/){nofollow}, Proctor and Gamble executives said that “for now consumers were switching to better-value premium products such as single-dose detergents or higher-priced diapers, adding they would focus marketing efforts on such offerings.”

### 3. Customers go after promotions and discounts

Customers are more willing to spend on goods with discounts and promotions during inflation. 

Professor Georg Rogers explains: 

> "One very clever thing Costco does is to offer a few cents discount on gas. People hate to pay for gas, so when gas prices go up a lot, they go to Costco more and end up buying a lot of other stuff." 


### 4. Shoppers will be more selective and research more

[FullStory](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fullstory-second-annual-us-digital-experience-survey-reveals-consumer-behavior-shifts-due-to-inflation-301570881.html){nofollow}, the digital experience intelligence company, and Ipsos have found that customers are researching products in more detail than ever before purchasing. Over half (51%) say they’re getting into the details for every purchase, to ensure they’re getting the best deal. 

Most of the research consumers do is aimed at cutting costs. 42% search online for coupons or discount codes. 33% are researching lower-priced alternatives, including discount brands.

Consumers also spent time checking out different retailers and stores to find the lowest prices. But is it a strategy that will work? 74% of 18-24 year-olds believe some retailers are doing a better job in managing increasing prices than others. 

![Header (1).png](https://media.graphassets.com/XdvALwFfTcGpZCDQwacS)

### 5. Delay purchases or buy in bulk

A significant portion of consumers are delaying purchases, says Morning Consult. Where they may have made impulse purchases in the past, they’re waiting – even if their incomes haven’t immediately been hit. The most affected sectors are, understandably, luxury/premium goods, dining out, entertainment, and fashion, says [PWC](https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2022/global-consumer-insights-pulse-survey.html){nofollow}.

Almost two-thirds of US consumers (64%) are very concerned about their spending, and it’s influencing our consumer decisions. We’re less likely to load the credit card with debt, instead making considered purchases and searching for the best value.

Customers are seeking strong value signals from brands they chose, which means online retailers must adopt new pricing strategies, says [McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/five-ways-to-adapt-pricing-to-inflation){nofollow}. Instead of losing customers altogether, brands must build new relationships, addressing pain points while preserving customer value. 

## High-income millennials are top spenders during inflation
![Millenials top spenders.png](https://media.graphassets.com/19ZYqGR6SHeg0NIA1OwT)

Ipsos, PWC, McKinsey, EY all agree that during times of high inflation consumers will increase their spending on necessities, such as groceries, and decrease spending on discretionary goods, such as electronics and fashion. 

Inflation will have a differing impact, depending on the age and income levels of customers. Millennials, who earn more than $100000 per year are willing to increase spending across all categories and are optimistic, says McKinsey. 

However, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers with an income below $5,000 are most likely to cut back spending to the bare essentials. 

## What can businesses do?

It’s critical that businesses understand that inflation will have an impact on demand, but that demand will still be there. During times of high inflation, brands must react and refocus their offer to customers.

Strategies could include cutting prices, promoting lower-cost options or increasing information so customers can compare alternatives. It’s also important to[ reflect changes in products](https://www.channable.com/blog/how-to-recession-proof-ecommerce-business) in your advertising strategies and creatives.

The key for every business is to find a strategy that continues to deliver customers. We can’t predict the future with any certainty, but those businesses who can ride out the tough times are best placed to embrace the benefits when inflation recedes and the recovery kicks in.

Channable provides digital retailers with the tools to rapidly create, roll out and manage product feeds across thousands of channels. Learn more about the potential of Channable to inflation-proof your digital marketing strategy.

Understanding inflation and its effects on consumer behavior

The retail sector is an exciting place right now, with shifting consumer behaviors and evolving technologies requiring brands to be agile, creative, and future-looking. 

Some of the major trends affecting the industry, from social commerce to personalization, to diversification in terms of market, channel, and audience, present significant challenges for new and existing brands - but these pale in significance with the opportunities on offer.

What's more, retail is no longer a siloed experience. It’s about connecting the dots between channels, customers, and personalized experiences. 

So how can retailers tap into a sustainable strategy as a way of connecting the right products to the right audiences and drive revenue for their business? 

> 
“Retail means change. Hardly any other sector is experiencing changes as strongly as today’s retail industry, which has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade and continues to evolve quickly.” - **Deloitte, “The New Retail Operating Model of the Future”**

## There’s no one-size-fits-all retail strategy

In this guide, we're sharing the emerging trends and insights to support you in your strategy in 2023 and beyond. 

Get a sneak peek into our guide to learn insights and tips from key advertisers, and how they can empower retailers worldwide to opt for a sustainable strategy that works for your specific niche. You'll learn:

-  Key trends in retail for 2023 including social commerce, retail media, personalization, and more

-  Insights to understand your customers, embrace digitalization, and testing 

-  Tips on including Conversion Rate Optimization in your retail strategy

## Get the guide now and gain competitive advantage in retail
[![Web-site-BLOG-image.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/GtQibz2QeiMjUpx77UGF)](https://www.channable.com/downloads/ultimate-guide-retail-2023)



Announcing our new e-book "The ultimate guide to retail in 2023"

Nothing quite demonstrates this more than the concept of eCommerce personalization. These days, technology like [AI-driven algorithms](https://www.channable.com/smart-categorization) tailor the front-end site to an individual’s personal needs. The most common instance of this is the use of algorithms to recommend products that are most relevant to the customer.

This isn’t new. In fact, these improvements are so widespread that Semrush reports that up to 51% of eCommerce companies are already using AI to provide a seamless experience in 2022.

Are you new to the world of eCommerce personalization or looking to brush up on your knowledge? Well, this article will cover everything you need to know, from the benefits of such a technology to the specific implementations you may want to explore.

## What is eCommerce personalization?

In short, eCommerce personalization is all to do with dynamic content. That is the sections on your website that display different content depending on the user. Personalization solutions inform the website of which content to show, based on the data they have collected in their customer database.

The customer data must come from legal sources such as purchase history or browser cookies, and cannot be bought from third parties (refer to this [NDA example](https://www.pandadoc.com/nda-template/) for the legal specifics). As such, only established online stores can generally explore an extensive personalization strategy.

This goes beyond simple user customization, where the customer designs their own product or experience. Rather, with personalization, the website is doing this on the customer’s behalf.

Therefore, an enhanced experience is delivered without the customer having to input anything on their end – ensuring a seamless process for the end user.
 
## How personalization gives you the competitive edge

In short, personalization solutions allow online stores to better fulfill their customer’s wishes.
To illustrate this, a study by Gartner revealed that by 2023, customer satisfaction will grow by 25% in organizations that use AI.

Consequently, companies late to adopt personalization tech will be fighting an uphill battle against their competitors. Their websites will be less receptive, harder to navigate, and will produce an outdated customer experience.
 
Over time, the companies that embrace hyper-personalization will grow their market shares, until the tech is seen as the ‘industry standard’ or ‘new normal’.
![Ecom_v4-02.png](https://media.graphassets.com/IULNN9SYSNSGZ9HHxeBr)

## Benefits of eCommerce personalization
So what are the specific advantages of pursuing personalization for your eCommerce business?

### Improved brand image
Every retailer, whether online or based in a brick-and-mortar store, will understand the importance of building their brand image. In doing this, you are building a recognizable style for your customers, which hopefully they will come to love. It helps your brand to stand out from competitors and ensures a high-quality experience.

When done successfully, a quality brand image can drive inbound marketing effects, bringing new customers directly to you. In addition, they are more likely to engage with your marketing deals, [social media content](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-why-integrate-social-media-into-your-marketing-strategy), and newsletters. This will ensure a steady revenue stream as new clients keep returning to become loyal customers.

### Higher sales conversion rate
A study by Martech company Netcore found that personalization in eCommerce boosted the KPIs of over 200 retailers.

Retailers reported a 45% sales conversion rate, along with a lower cart abandonment rate and a higher average order value.

Why is personalization able to achieve this? It’s because it preempts the sort of content that audiences want to see before they search for it. In many cases, it may recommend products and services that a customer didn’t even know they needed until that point.

In terms of boosting the sales conversion rate, this mostly comes from innovations at the checkout stage. For instance, offering alternative products that may be more relevant to the customer, such as multipacks or budget brands.

### Access to customer analytics data
It goes without saying that for an eCommerce personalization strategy to be effective, it must collect data from its customers. This is how the algorithms know which content is most relevant for the individual and personalizes it.

But another benefit of this is that it provides online stores with a database of information on their customer demographics. This connects them to their customer base more than any anecdotal insights could ever provide.

For example, if the data shows a company has a mostly corporate customer base, it could inform their marketing team’s efforts. In this case, it may be best to target LinkedIn as that largely matches the corporate demographic. Likewise, it could identify potential B2B clients for your networking strategy (if that interests you, take a peek at this [financial proposal sample from PandaDoc](https://www.pandadoc.com/financial-services-proposal-templates/)).

To give another example, a company may find that their customers are largely based in Spanish-speaking countries. In this instance, they may want to implement Spanish language options on their website. Additionally, it could help shape their product inventory, by stocking products popular in those regions.

### Enhanced customer experience
As a combination of all the above factors, personalization is likely to deliver an overall better customer experience.

In the short term, this provides increased product engagement and revenue for the operating store. Over the long term, it will improve customer retention rates and foster a quality brand image. One such benefit of this is that your loyal customers will recommend your store to their friends and family, thus marketing your products by word of mouth.

To sum it up, personalization offers better outcomes for both consumers and businesses. It’s a real no-brainer for online stores in 2022.
![Ecom_v4-03.png](https://media.graphassets.com/ZDTbRReDRfSqLibyR4Gq)

## Aspects of personalization to consider
By now, you hopefully understand the benefits of pursuing hyper-personalization in eCommerce. But what elements are necessary to create a personalization strategy that delivers?
 
### Recommend relevant products
The most obvious application of personalization tech is the use of algorithmic segmentation.
This works by first collecting customer data on several relevant factors, such as:

- Customer age/gender
- Type of account (personal, small business, or enterprise)
- Purchase history (average spend, frequency, and type of products bought)
- Browsing history (what products were viewed, engaged with, and for how long)

From here, your customer base can be sorted into various groups. This can inform your [recommendations process](https://www.channable.com/products/channable-insights) to push the most relevant products to relevant customers.

For example, a person who has bought a set of porcelain plates may be interested in seeing other premium cookware. On the other hand, a customer who bought a set of cheap paper plates might be more interested in seeing party products.

Your recommendations algorithm may be used across your online store. Besides including a ‘For you’ section on the homepage, you might show more specific recommendations at the bottom of product pages, or even at the checkout.

### Push localized content to target customers
Localized content is another way to boost engagement with your website’s visitors.

It works by showing dynamic content to a customer based on where in the world they are. This can be used for distributing useful information on marketing deals or promotions, for instance. Here are a few specific examples:

- A customer in Texas may be shown a banner that reads “Come visit us at our local store in Houston”. By doing this, the online retailer creates a connection with the customer, instilling the image they are a ‘local business’.
- If you have a customer browsing from Canada, you may show them a banner that reads “Canada Day special: 2 for 1 on selected ranges”. Again, this suggests your business is local and strives to provide the best service it can for its Canadian users.
 
### Targeted discounts
eCommerce personalization can go one step further than simply recommending products on a customer’s location. Rather, it may tailor content, deals, and promotions to the individual customer themselves.

One great example of this is the targeted discount. Essentially, an online store looks at what a customer is likely to buy next. This is usually done by looking at recurring products in their purchase history or repeat visits to a specific product page.

Once the ideal product has been identified, the online store can start offering discounts on that product alone. The customer will think “How useful!” and is highly likely to complete the sale. On top of that, they may buy other products at the same time or return frequently to check for other relevant offers.

### Navigation adjustment
Once a customer has visited your website multiple times, a pattern of their behaviors will emerge. For instance, what product pages do they most frequently visit? Or are specific products viewed at a certain time of day?

To help your customers find what they are looking for, you can implement navigation adjustments in your personalization strategy. That might simply be a banner that acts as a shortcut to their common pages, with the wording “Looking for this?”.

Additionally, algorithms may identify that a customer is doing their Christmas shopping. In this case, a navigation pointer to delete browsing history or send the item in discreet packaging may be favorable.

### Checkout optimization
Finally, eCommerce personalization helps customers over the line at the last stage of the sales process: the checkout.

Useful integrations here include:

- Offering alternatives to products in their baskets, such as a budget or premium option
- Showing a “Customers like you also bought…” section
- Providing shortcuts to autofill preferred delivery and payment options
- Informing the customer of specific targeted discounts they may have missed
- Taking them directly to their preferred authentication services (such as [PandaDoc, Adobe Sign, and DocuSign](https://www.pandadoc.com/blog/adobe-sign-vs-docusign-comparison/))
![Ecom_v4-04.png](https://media.graphassets.com/Mo51wXMHRBmWHxuZ39qW)

## The power of personalization
Ecommerce personalization is an immensely useful tool for online stores to connect with their customer bases. 

As a retailer, it allows you to provide a service that is more bespoke, more relevant, and more accessible. The result? Enhanced customer experiences and better KPI outcomes for your business.



Understanding eCommerce Personalization For a Better Competitive Edge

The word that best encapsulates this past year—both in eCommerce and beyond—is “**transition**.”

Not only have we begun to adjust to a largely post-COVID world, but we’ve also had to adapt to a number of social and political changes. The wake of the pandemic has left widespread economic uncertainty, rising costs, and volatile labor markets. 

Rising global tensions and the outbreak of war in Ukraine have led to international trade disruptions and shaky supply chains. 

And a general demographic shift—as members of Gen Z increasingly join the workforce and flex their new buying power—has spurred renewed reflections on how consumers value and evaluate preferred brands.

![Ecommerce_v2-03.png](https://media.graphassets.com/NN09jFGlTG5PitADQEyJ)

Together, these transitions have landed us in a charged eCommerce landscape where it’s difficult to predict what’s just around the corner. 

Rather than trying to steer this ship through unfamiliar waters, the wisest voices in our industry are taking cues from consumers themselves and letting buyer behaviors and expectations take the helm.

So, what does this mean for the coming year—and how can retailers and marketing teams prepare to weather any potential storms? Below are four top eCommerce insights and observations to ease the way into 2023.

## 1. The division between online and offline shopping is breaking down.

Going into 2022, [many eCommerce giants](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-10-11/amazon-amzn-wayfair-w-online-shopping-bets-aren-t-paying-off?leadSource=uverify%20wall) bet big on digital, predicting that the elevated online shopping numbers of the early COVID-19 era would hold. That hasn’t necessarily come to pass.

It’s true that eCommerce [sales surged](https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/04/ecommerce-sales-surged-during-pandemic.html#:~:text=E%2DCommerce%20Boom&text=More%20than%2020%20years%20later,to%20%24815.4%20billion%20in%202020.) at the height of the pandemic, thanks to stay-at-home orders, consumer stimulus payments, and reduced opportunities to spend on experiences like dining out. 

![Ecommerce_v2-04.png](https://media.graphassets.com/zz4b4mbzRyaavyiHrB3i)

This trend drove many brick-and-mortar shops to [bring their goods and services online](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-covid-19-has-pushed-companies-over-the-technology-tipping-point-and-transformed-business-forever) on an accelerated timeline that shattered all records and forecasts. 

On the whole, interest and activity in eCommerce has since stayed strong, and the industry itself has [continued to grow](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/e-commerce-at-the-center-of-profitable-growth-in-consumer-goods).

And yet, as many analysts have pointed out, reports on the death of in-person shopping have been [greatly exaggerated](https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevendennis/2022/03/31/what-we-often-get-wrong-about-e-commerce-and-why-it-matters/?sh=69c355e11bfb). Purchases at physical stores still account for [almost 90%](https://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec_current.pdf) of all retail sales.

> It turns out that eCommerce and in-person commerce aren’t at odds after all. In fact, the boundaries between these two shopping experiences are growing increasingly thin.

With more small, local businesses adopting digital transformation—and, conversely, digital-native companies like Allbirds and Warby Parker opening physical retail stores—many brands are finding that online and offline initiatives can work in tandem to fuel their growth.

The most forward-thinking among them, including Bonobos and Starbucks, are tweaking their omnichannel marketing strategies to build a hybrid model, ensuring their online and offline customer experiences fit seamlessly together. 

That way, they don’t have to choose between remote and in-person audiences and experiences—they can channel the best of both.

## 2. The rise of Gen Z means more social selling and more social consciousness.

Members of Gen Z—the segment of the population born between 1997 and 2012—are now coming into their own, with an estimated [$360 billion](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-17/gen-z-has-360-billion-to-spend-trick-is-getting-them-to-buy?leadSource=uverify%20wall) in collective disposable income.

There are several characteristics that set Gen Z apart as consumers. For one thing, they tend to rely on [social media platforms](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1252593/global-social-media-product-discovery-by-generation/) more than search engines to discover new products, and they’re [far likelier than any generation before](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1260868/social-media-influence-on-shopping-by-generation-us/) to purchase a product after seeing it on a social channel.

That means, for today’s marketers, social selling isn’t just quicker, cheaper, and more accessible than traditional advertising, it’s also the best way to connect with the next generation of buyers.

![Ecommerce_v2-05.png](https://media.graphassets.com/9Y5h8u8GQiWah4IRL2Cb)

Another key consideration with Gen Z is their heightened commitment to social and environmental causes. That extends to the way they shop, with a substantial number willing to [boycott brands](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffromm/2022/07/20/as-gen-zs-buying-power-grows-businesses-must-adapt-their-marketing/?sh=7fd2029b2533) that don’t meet their ideological expectations. 

One [recent Deloitte survey](https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/human-capital/at-gen-z-millennial-survey-2022.pdf) shows that 64% of Gen Z consumers are willing to pay more for an environmentally sustainable product, versus a cheaper but non-sustainable alternative.

## 3. For businesses, recession-proofing is key.

While it’s too early to say that a recession is a sure thing, it’s not too early for eCommerce retailers and business owners to heed the warnings and get their profit margins in order. A few [basic tips and strategies](https://www.channable.com/blog/how-to-recession-proof-ecommerce-business) can help merchants along the right track, including:

- **Keep operations as efficient as possible**: This includes looking for opportunities to automate key workflows with tech-forward tools and optimizing any and all ad campaigns.

- **Market intentionally**. For example, use [data and analytics](https://www.channable.com/products/channable-insights) to define an ideal audience, track shopping and spending habits, cut products that aren’t hitting desired margins, and boost products that are. Prioritize channels that offer a higher return on ad spend.

- **Take full advantage of available marketplaces**: This also means finding smaller, niche marketplaces that cater to a specific, dedicated audience and, importantly, take a smaller cut from each sale.

- **Keep teams nimble and up to speed**. Fast-evolving technology, paired with the effects of the Great Resignation and a dearth of qualified labor, are leaving many eCommerce and marketing teams scrambling to keep up. Lean on industry experts and tech partners that offer [built-in learning resources](https://www.channable.com/channacademy), intuitive platforms, and hands-on customer support.

Among other things, a looming downturn means that a race to the bottom with pricing is no longer sustainable. Now is the time to be strategic.

## 4. Breakthroughs are coming.

If there’s a silver lining to all this talk of recession, it’s that economic hardship tends to be a breeding ground for new ideas and inventions. One strongly suggested New Year’s resolution for eCommerce professionals is to embrace them.

There’s a tendency during uncertain times to take a conservative approach, protect existing assets, and avoid any form of risk. 

But research has found that encouraging entrepreneurship and experimentation not only helps build a [thriving business culture](https://hbr.org/2020/03/building-a-culture-of-experimentation), it also [yields better business results](https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckswoboda/2020/06/22/in-business-as-in-life-the-greatest-risk-is-doing-nothing/?sh=6406774f1828). 

The key is to experiment with the right kind of advanced technology at your back and to use concrete data and intelligence to your advantage.

![Ecommerce_v2-06.png](https://media.graphassets.com/rcktfrFtQ2iwPRSSVHFP)

There’s a wealth of cutting-edge eCommerce solutions already on the market and an untold number on the horizon. Keep an eye out for those that will drive efficiency and effectiveness—and maybe even stimulate ideas of your own.

## The bottom line

As we navigate a growing number of transitions and uncertainties heading into 2023, make them work for you and your business. Use the tools at your disposal to ensure you’re listening to your customers—and building strategies that meet their needs.

## What does 2023 hold for Channable?

This coming year, Channable is going all in on innovation. We’re investing in a team of creative thinkers and mapping out new products and features that will help eCommerce marketers thrive.

[Sign up for a trial account](https://www.channable.com/signup) to explore our platform and learn more about our emerging solutions—or [browse our open positions](https://jobs.channable.com/?&_ga=2.145258231.231850655.1671033140-2099800567.1660231302) to join our growing team and help bring them to life.

What to expect from eCommerce in 2023

To gain a more comprehensive understanding of how best to use your ad dollars, you should also track return on ad spend (ROAS).

Let’s explore what these two metrics are, how each is calculated, and how they can be used together to more strategically assess your performance and adapt your marketing campaigns.

## The difference between ROI and ROAS

One of the more common mistakes marketers make when it comes to tracking ad performance is treating ROI and ROAS as interchangeable. In fact, these two metrics measure different things.

ROI is the ratio between your net income and your total investment, while ROAS determines the revenue earned for every dollar spent on advertising. 

In other words, ROAS asks: How many sales dollars does one advertising dollar generate for your business? 

To calculate ROI, you subtract the initial cost of an investment from its ultimate value, then divide this figure by your total cost. Finally, you multiply the result by 100 to express the final figure as a percentage.

![Roi_v1-01.png](https://media.graphassets.com/IArSsC4lTgmrpM0XfdiK)

While the similarity of these equations might support the idea that ROI and ROAS are comparable, they actually illuminate different aspects of your digital marketing strategy. 

ROI is best used to get a general understanding of a campaign’s success and how it will impact your profits in the long term. 

ROAS yields a more immediate, short-term view of how distinct ads or campaigns are performing.

## Identifying the ideal ROI or ROAS

Here’s where it gets more complicated. While aiming for a [ROAS of 400% or higher](https://www.webfx.com/blog/marketing/roas/) and an ROI [of 10% or higher](https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-a-good-roi) is considered good practice, the ideal number will vary from business to business and depend heavily on the market and your unique profit margins.

![Roi_v1-06.png](https://media.graphassets.com/atoOF8YSJiBgQix3aUP0)

Rather than focusing on an ideal percentage for either ROI or ROAS, your organization can benefit from tracking how each relates to and impacts different campaign goals. 

This will help strengthen your marketing strategy in areas like target setting, segmentation, and more.

## The benefits of tracking ROI and ROAS

- **More actionable insights** 
By tracking both ROI and ROAS, you can see how individual campaigns are impacting your bottom line and adjust accordingly. For example, you can choose to reduce ad spend on products with low engagement and reallocate those funds to higher-performing items.

- **Strategically segmented campaigns**
Monitoring ROI and ROAS will allow you to be more intentional about how you execute your marketing plans and diversify how you scale your campaigns. Rather than investing ad dollars solely based on intuition, you can segment your products or services based on how much revenue they generate and customize your strategy for each item or category.

- **Opportunities to build conversion revenue**
Counterintuitively, a higher ROAS isn’t always better. In certain situations, you might want to incur a lower ROAS to increase the converted value or revenue from ads. The table below illustrates how a higher ad spend can lead to a lower ROAS but ultimately produce more revenue. 

![Roi_v1-07.png](https://media.graphassets.com/Mf26t9WfTUmeYQgF58Ev)

- **Better evaluation models**
By factoring in CLV, you gain a better perspective on the ROI range you can expect, which in turn helps you decide on the ROAS you’re comfortable with. For instance, services with subscription pricing models tend to require lower initial ROAS targets, because they generate a higher CLV. On the other hand, luxury goods demand higher upfront ROAS targets, because their CLV potential is ultimately lower.

## How ROI and ROAS elevate your marketing strategy

For practical examples of how ROI and ROAS work together to inform successful marketing strategies, consider two of Channable’s customers. 

For instance, Toppy uses integrated metric tracking to implement their innovative marketing plans.
 
Toppy‘s business model is highly seasonal. Using Channable’s fully integrated product suite, they track both their ROI and ROAS to analyze conversions and compare sales across different time frames. 

This allows them to recalibrate their ROAS targets to offset any seasonal dips in revenue.

![Roi_v1-08.png](https://media.graphassets.com/421sW7RJS5iqI6L5cMU9)

Similarly, Suitable, a longstanding merchant of sustainable quality menswear, calculates their ROI and ROAS [across multiple points of sale](https://www.channable.com/success-stories/suitable-retail-use-case-channable-insights) and automatically aggregate all of that data into a single sales metric. 

They can then make quicker, more informed decisions about where their digital ad dollars go.

This is where the value of tracking these metrics really lies. It’s not all about achieving a fixed, ideal ratio of ROI or ROAS, but being able to modify your strategy quickly and effectively to meet the evolving dynamics of today’s eCommerce marketplaces.

## The bottom line

ROI and ROAS aren’t interchangeable, but they can work together to help you build more powerful, productive, and personalized digital marketing campaigns.
 
By considering these two metrics in tandem, you’ll not only get a more holistic view of your ad performance, you’ll be able to tailor your ad spend to your—and your customers’—specific needs.

## Discover the value of ROI and ROAS with Channable

Check out our integrated, customizable [Insights & Analytics tools](https://www.channable.com/products/channable-insights), and learn how you can empower your eCommerce growth through smarter, data-driven marketing. 

Or [sign up](https://www.channable.com/signup) for a free account to explore our solutions and chat with an expert digital marketing professional today.

How ROI and ROAS can impact your digital marketing strategy

Any business with a strong digital marketing strategy will know the importance of personalization. By working with user data, companies can deliver tailored messages and experiences that help to attract and retain customers. [90%](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/future-of-marketing/creativity/marketing-personalization-statistics/) of the best marketers have said that personalization improves profitability.

However, consumers are increasingly wary of companies that collect and use their personal data without their consent. These concerns have led to more stringent privacy regulations, such as GDPR and Google’s plan to end third-party cookies on Chrome. Businesses have to be careful to follow these regulations and make their customers feel safe and valued.  

Striking a balance between personalization and privacy is, therefore, a crucial part of any digital marketing strategy as more and more business takes place online. Whether you're a small business owner or a marketer at a large corporation, learning how to find the common ground will let you develop effective strategies that respect your customer's privacy.

## Why are privacy and personalization such big issues for companies?

Every business that works online, from software services like [PDFPlatform](https://www.pdfplatform.com/) to eCommerce advertisers, has to consider how to protect their customers' data. At the same time, however, data collection techniques such as cookies and tracking pixels have become integral to digital marketing strategies, with personalization used for a better competitive edge.

User data allows adverts and marketing messages to be tailored specifically to the customer. Whether this means that they directly address the user through bespoke content or a target demographic that is more receptive to certain marketing, modern digital marketing strategies have to take personalization into account. 

However, with high-profile data breaches and scandals making headlines, consumers are more cautious about who they share their personal information with. Companies need to be transparent about how they collect and use data or risk losing consumer trust.

There are also legal implications for companies that fail to protect user privacy. Many countries have enacted data protection laws requiring businesses to obtain user consent before collecting data and to allow users to opt out of data collection. Failure to comply with these laws can result in hefty fines and reputational damage.

As well as this, there is a risk of consumer backlash if companies are perceived to be using personal data in an intrusive or unethical way. This can lead to negative reviews, social media backlash, and even boycotts, which can harm a company's reputation and bottom line.

Therefore, it's more important than ever that you find the right balance between the demands of privacy and personalization. But how can you do this in your digital marketing campaigns?

## How to strike a balance between privacy and personalization

Having the right company mindset is invaluable in finding the right middle ground between privacy and personalization. You have to be sure that protecting customer privacy is at the center of every action involving user data.

However, there are three key principles that will ensure that you can see the [benefits of personalization](https://www.channable.com/blog/understanding-ecommerce-personalization) in your marketing campaigns while also prioritizing privacy:

![Privacy-p3.png](https://media.graphassets.com/wORLuQoOQL4PO2RYcEfA)

### Start preparing for the end of third-party cookies

In an attempt to address rising concerns about privacy Google will be ending the use of third-party cookies on Chrome in 2024. This will help put consumers at ease, but will make personalization that much harder.

Without the use of third-party cookies to guide the way, companies will have to find other methods to attract and retain customers. This may mean relying on first-party cookies to improve site optimization or gather data on user experience or it could mean getting to grips with Google’s Topics API which will form part of their Privacy Sandbox.

Consider adapting your strategy now to prepare for the change. Think about setting up enhanced conversions for web with Google, encouraging user accounts to help you collect data, as well as things like newsletter creation. Get your team together and start brainstorming ideas.

Whatever strategy you choose, it’s important to get ahead of the change and start putting things in place now. This way your business will be best placed to continue to deliver a personalized service while protecting your customers’ data.

### Be transparent with customers

Customers want to know what data you collect about them and how you will use it. By being transparent, companies can build trust with their customers and reassure them that their personal data is being used ethically and responsibly.

You should provide clear and concise explanations of your data collection practices on your website and your marketing materials. This could include details about what data you are collecting, how it is collected, and how you'll use it. However, keep this simple, short, and snappy!
 
Say, for example, that you offer free downloads of a [settlement letter template](https://www.pandadoc.com/settlement-agreement-template/) and ask for an email address to send it to. You should be upfront about if you will use that email address in the future. A customer who receives unexpected marketing emails after a simple download might become frustrated and unlikely to use your platform again.

###  Put your customers in the driving seat

As well as being transparent, you should give customers full control of how much data they want to share with you. You can do this by allowing customers to access, edit, and delete their data, as well as opt out of data collection altogether.

While [personalized PPC adverts](https://www.channable.com/blog/create-personalized-ppc-ads-improve-ctr-roas) can be effective, some customers can find them unsettling; it is good practice to include a visible opt-out button in these marketing materials. This demonstrates your commitment to privacy while it also improves customer experience.

By giving your customers control over their data, you’ll be able to both improve your own data privacy practices and visibly demonstrate how much you value privacy to your customers.

As well as this, you should provide regular updates to customers on their data usage policies and any changes that may impact users' privacy. This could be done through email notifications, blog posts, or other communication channels.

Transparency is key to building trust with customers. By being transparent about data collection practices, companies can balance personalization and privacy to ensure their customers feel comfortable sharing their data.

## Keep optimizing your personalization

![Privacy-p2.png](https://media.graphassets.com/2CNf6NIvTXuOeAQkjAmX)

You should always test your marketing strategies and find areas to improve. As well as helping to improve your marketing success rates, this will ensure that you are using customer data effectively.

Marketeers should use data analysis to identify areas where they may be collecting unnecessary data and adjust their practices accordingly. Similarly, you could find out what level of personalization is most effective for your customers. This allows you to avoid using personal data when it isn't leading to positive interactions.

## Privacy and personalization: a reconcilable set of demands

Finding common ground between personalization and privacy may seem challenging. While personalization can enhance the customer experience and improve marketing success rates, businesses must also ensure they respect customer privacy. Failure to do so can result in loss of trust, legal repercussions, and reputational damage.

However, you can reconcile these important demands of any digital marketing strategy. The three key principles of transparency, customer control, and continuous optimization can help companies strike the right balance between personalization and privacy.

By keeping these in mind when designing your digital marketing campaigns, you can build trust with your customers, respect their privacy, and deliver personalized experiences that will keep them coming back.





Privacy And Personalization: How to Find Common Ground in Your Digital Marketing Strategies

The eCommerce industry is constantly evolving, with new trends emerging at a lightning-fast pace, and it can be overwhelming for digital marketers to navigate. However, there are trends that stay steady and that we see our users adopting.

## Top eCommerce channels on Channable

Channable's analysis showed that our [platform's](https://www.channable.com/products/platform) top eCommerce channels in terms of usage are: 

- Google Shopping
- Bol.com
- Amazon

The most popular industries using our solution: 

- Home & Garden
- Fashion & Apparel
- Sporting & Outdoors 

Another trend our users adopt is PPC automation for improved online presence and ad spend. Many advertisers also use automation to boost quality scores, with an average improvement of 10.5% in Facebook Quality Ranking. 

Detecting errors and using data/ insights can be useful for digital marketers who want to stay ahead of the curve and keep their ads running at 100% across all eCommerce channels.

Read all out data and insights directly in the report
<p style="text-align:center;"><a style="display: inline-block; padding: 12px 24px; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: .0625em; text-transform: uppercase; background: #e54692; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;" href="https://reports.channable.com/agency-insights-2023/">Dive into the report</a></p>

## Growing trends

As social commerce continues to grow, marketers are also adopting newer platforms like TikTok to account for the preferences of Gen Z and millennial consumers. 

This is just one example of the fast-paced trends that require constant attention and testing. Using a feed management platform to centralize campaigns and collect first-party data is crucial, as it enables businesses to identify top-performing campaigns and streamline performance.

Attribution is also a significant challenge for eCommerce businesses, with some companies shifting towards a profit on ad spend (POAS) strategy to gain visibility into the total conversion value of the customer lifecycle. 

Automation has also proved successful for agencies like [Artefact](https://www.channable.com/success-stories/artefact-increased-their-clients-ctr-by-19-through-automation-and-precision-marketing) and [ClickBoost](https://www.channable.com/success-stories/delivering-a-higher-ctr-and-better-roas-for-clickboosts-clients-ppc-campaigns-video), who experienced a **19%** increase in click-through rate (CTR) and **25%** increase in return on ads spend (ROAS).

## Strategies for Agencies and Marketers

Despite the growth of online shopping, consumers are re-discovering in-store experiences, presenting an opportunity for marketers to explore options like augmented reality to enhance interactive experiences. 

Marketers should be smart about their strategy and pick channels wisely. Instead of creating a campaign for every social channel, it's important to focus on the media that will best benefit the brand.

With Q4 always on everyone's minds, it's important to take the time to rest and relax, but also to prepare for the biggest selling period of the year. 

Applying best practices early on will give businesses the resources they need to succeed during the holiday season. Encouraging clients to decide on their core channels and allocate resources early on will allow teams to focus on holiday campaigns by the end of the summer.

Staying up-to-date with digital marketing trends is crucial for businesses to stay relevant in the ever-changing eCommerce landscape. 

Using a feed management platform to centralize campaigns and collect first-party data is essential, as it enables businesses to identify top-performing campaigns, streamline performance, and gain an overview of all campaigns. 

Read all the trends, insights, and numbers in our interactive report: "The State of eCommerce for Agencies: Building a Smarter Marketing Strategy." 

Dive into our data and start discovering trends you can use below!


<p style="text-align:center;"><a style="display: inline-block; padding: 12px 24px; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: .0625em; text-transform: uppercase; background: #e54692; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;" href="https://reports.channable.com/agency-insights-2023/">View the full report</a></p>



The State of eCommerce for Agencies: Building a Smarter Marketing Strategy

## Which Nordic industry predominantly relies on the utilization of agencies, in your observation?

**Thomas**: The scope for digital marketing agencies is getting increasingly broad. Where it used to be primarily B2C companies selling physical products who had the biggest need for an online presence, we are now seeing more and more diverse companies venturing towards agencies for help. 

This stretches out to service providers, and even to B2B sellers who are acknowledging that even professionals start their search for new suppliers on Google. 

For these B2B companies, digital marketing was never a main area of focus, meaning they now often need to seek help from the agencies who deal with this stuff on a daily basis.


**Daniel**: Among industries that rely on digital marketing agencies, eCommerce stands out. The constantly changing eCommerce landscape requires businesses to tap into the specialized knowledge of these agencies, focusing on data feed optimization and PPC management, allowing them to flourish in the intensely competitive online environment and boost visibility, customer interaction, and in the end, increased revenue.

## What vertical do you see most of our Nordic agencies active in?

**Thomas**:If I would highlight a specific vertical as a Nordic trend, it would be Consumer Electronics. Advertisers in the Consumer Electronics vertical tend to be selling the exact same products as their competitors, so just being present online is no longer enough to properly stand out from the crowd. 

For these companies, the quality of ads has become increasingly important to get ahead of the competition, and this is often where agencies are able to step in and assist.

**Daniel**: When looking at different verticals, the Retail Fashion sector is definitely unique. It has a lot of seasonal changes and trends that are always moving. 

This makes it important for Nordic fashion brands to stay updated and be ready for what's next. Working with skilled professionals helps these businesses make sure their advertising strategies match the latest styles and changes in the market. This way, they can keep attracting customers and stay successful in a world that changes with the seasons.

![IImage 1.png](https://media.graphassets.com/4F5P4pNwSoyiErRSgxzF)

## What advertising formats/channels do you see most Nordic agencies using via Channable?

**Thomas**: Google Shopping is by far the most utilized channel by agencies. This is maybe a bold statement, but anybody with even a basic understanding of online marketing can create a simple Google Shopping feed - But it takes an expert to create a great one! 

In an industry where quality is often the determining factor for whether your ad is shown or not, a simple feed is not enough anymore… A great feed is a must!

**Daniel**:I would say that price comparison sites such as Prisjakt and Pricerunner are particularly popular. These sites enable businesses to display their products in direct comparison with competitors, allowing customers to easily evaluate prices and features. 

To efficiently manage multiple clients and feeds across these platforms, utilizing a tool is essential. By leveraging these tools, agencies can streamline their clients' advertising efforts and keep them happy.

## What are the most profitable Nordic eCommerce channels according to you?

**Thomas**: I believe any channel could be profitable if it is done in the right way, and as long as the quality of the data you are pushing out is up to par.

In the Nordic market, I would consider Google Shopping to be one of the most effective channels to be on because this is where the majority of consumers are. 

If we were looking towards a different market such as Benelux, then I think online marketplaces become a lot more relevant, with [Bol.com](https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/) being one of the best channels to achieve success.

**Daniel**:  It's tough to pinpoint the most profitable Nordic eCommerce channels, as it really depends on each client's unique situation. However, any channel can be a winner if it's tailored for your business. 

That being said, I do notice that [Google Shopping](https://www.channable.com/blog/google-shopping-optimization) and price comparison sites tend to be successful for many businesses across the board. So, while it's important to look at individual needs, these channels are worth considering as they've proven to be effective for a wide range of companies.

## What are the most popular social media advertising channels in Nordics eCommerce according to you?

**Thomas**: The most popular [social media channels](https://www.channable.com/downloads/social-commerce-2022) for advertising are difficult to pinpoint because it all comes down to the persona you are chasing. 

If I look at advertisers in the fashion industry, then we are primarily looking towards channels like Instagram and TikTok, where the visual aspect plays a big part in making the sale. 

If you are appealing to a younger generation, then perhaps Snapchat is the best approach to take. If you are looking to target women in particular, I would recommend Pinterest. 

**Daniel**: Determining the most popular social media advertising channels is challenging because the right choice depends on your target audience. In the past, [Facebook ](https://www.channable.com/integrations/facebook-shops)and [Instagram ](https://www.channable.com/integrations/instagram)have worked well for a lot of businesses. 

![Image 3 .png](https://media.graphassets.com/XOOG9lyWQXCet21SSPAb)

Lately, we're seeing platforms like [TikTok](https://www.channable.com/blog/tiktok-dynamic-showcase-ads-setup-channable) making a big splash in advertising. So, it's important for businesses to think about who they want to connect with and choose the social media channels that work best for their audience in order to get the best results.

## What surprised you the most recently in the Nordic digital advertising sector?

**Thomas**: In conversations I have with Nordic agency specialists, it is becoming more and more likely that the conversation is about a B2B advertiser who is finally acknowledging that Digital Marketing is the way forward for them. 

This trend of B2B companies steering towards eCommerce is definitely caused by the Covid pandemic, but I am positive that it will never revert fully to the now outdated method of bulky catalogs in the mail. 


**Daniel**: I've noticed a shift in focus among [agencies and advertisers](https://www.channable.com/blog/smarter-ecommerce-marketing-strategy-agencies). Instead of primarily concentrating on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), there's a growing trend toward emphasizing Profit on Ad Spend (POAS). 

This change is surprising because it indicates a shift in mindset from simply measuring top-line revenue to evaluating the actual impact on the bottom line. It highlights the importance of considering not just the revenue generated by ads but also the profitability of those campaigns.

## What is your top learning from last year within the Nordics eCommerce industry in terms of channels and formats?

**Thomas**: Quality is so important when it comes to top-performing ads in the Nordics. Anybody can be present online, but it is the high-quality ads that really stand out in the crowd. 

**Daniel**: It's really interesting to see how businesses are changing their strategies to better match their overall goals and financial objectives, taking a more well-rounded approach to measuring their advertising success. 

When I think about the top lesson from last year, I'd say the importance of diversification and flexibility really stands out. Businesses that can adapt and try out different channels and formats have a better chance of succeeding. 

By using a variety of advertising channels and formats, companies can reach their target audiences and stay strong in a world where market conditions and customer preferences are always changing.

![Image 2.png](https://media.graphassets.com/mQom6iOtQK8GFmuDdOxf)

#### Key takeaways from the Nordic eCommerce industry

- The scope for Nordic digital marketing agencies has broadened, with diverse companies, including service providers and B2B sellers, seeking help from agencies.
- eCommerce is a prominent industry that relies heavily on digital marketing agencies for specialized knowledge in areas such as data feed optimization and PPC management.
- Consumer Electronics and Retail Fashion are verticals where Nordic agencies are active, emphasizing the importance of high-quality ads to differentiate from competitors.
- Google Shopping is the most utilized channel by Nordic agencies, highlighting the importance of creating high-quality feeds for better visibility and ad performance.
- Price comparison sites, such as Prisjakt and Pricerunner, are popular channels for Nordic agencies to manage clients' product displays and optimize pricing and features.
- The profitability of eCommerce channels depends on factors like market-specific channels, quality of data, and tailored strategies that align with business needs.
- Social media advertising channels vary based on target audience and industry, with Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat being popular for fashion and younger audiences, and Pinterest.
- The Nordic digital advertising sector has witnessed B2B companies recognizing the significance of digital marketing and eCommerce, likely due to the impact of the Covid pandemic.
- There is a shift from focusing solely on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) to emphasizing Profit on Ad Spend (POAS), indicating a greater focus on bottom-line impact and profitability.
- Quality is crucial for top-performing ads, and Nordic businesses need to prioritize high-quality ads to stand out in the competitive online landscape.
- Diversification and flexibility are key lessons from the previous year, as Nordic businesses need to adapt, try different channels and formats, and remain agile in response to changing market conditions and customer preferences.

Want to read more eCommerce insights and trends from the Nordics as well as other regions? Then sign up to our newsletter by filling out the form down below. Also, don’t forget to check out our recent report:

<p style="text-align:center;"><a style="display: inline-block; padding: 12px 24px; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: .0625em; text-transform: uppercase; background: #e54692; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;" href="https://reports.channable.com/agency-insights-2023">Report: State of eCommerce for agencies - Building a better Marketing Strategy</a></p>

Nordic eCommerce trends and insights - Presented by Thomas and Daniel

### UK eCommerce trends and insights - Presented by Rodney and Ohudy, 2023

Following the launch of our [Global Insight Report](https://reports.channable.com/agency-insights-2023/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=blog&utm_campaign=dive-campaign&utm_content=blog&utm_term=en), filled with key figures and useful information about the eCommerce sector, we wanted to bring you trends and insights relating to the UK market.

We had the opportunity to interview Rodney Johnson, our Senior account Executive UK and Ohudy Luna, our UK & International Customer Success Manager on the UK digital marketing agencies and eCommerce landscape. 

They provide valuable information on various aspects of the UK market, including popular advertising channels, industry trends, and the impact of tools like Channable. 

Let's dive into the interview to discover their perspectives.

### What verticals do you see most agencies active in within the UK market?

**Rodney:** In the UK agencies are particularly active in the fashion and apparel, home & garden, and consumer electronics sectors. These industries have a strong presence in the UK market, and agencies play a crucial role in helping them navigate the digital advertising landscape.

**Ohudy:** I agree with Rodney and as we aim to provide a responsive platform that makes it easier for them to manage their marketing campaigns, I’ll add that for most of them, the biggest benefit in adopting Channable is the level of stability, standardization, and consolidation of their product information and the value and growth that this can unlock for them. 
 
And although the tool may seem overwhelming at first due to the wide array of functionalities, our customer support team is always available to help guide agencies successfully set up their clients’ campaigns.

![IImage 3.png](https://media.graphassets.com/5HkIXFAsRSqVgE5ujcKX)

### Are there any specific industries that use agencies more frequently?

**Rodney:** In my observation, large consumer brands with a direct-to-consumer (D2C) omnichannel strategy tend to utilize agencies the most. These brands often require specialized expertise to effectively manage their diverse digital marketing channels.

**Ohudy:**  In addition to the industries Rodney mentioned, I have noticed a broadening range of specialized agencies that target a niche market such as musical artists, airlines, and hotels. 

### Which advertising formats and channels do you see most agencies using via Channable?

**Rodney:** Gold standard channels for agencies using Channable include Google Shopping, PPC text ads, meta ads, and Instagram. We are also witnessing rising stars such as Amazon ads and TikTok ads/shop gaining traction.

**Ohudy:** To piggyback on Rodney's comment, our API is crucial in sending information to GMC and getting notifications whenever errors occur, making it a winning strategy in managing setting up and managing Google Shopping campaigns.


![varrious.png](https://media.graphassets.com/m9nzi7mwSjC5KBvt89Iw)


### What are the most profitable e-commerce channels, according to your observations?

**Rodney:** Pureplay marketplaces like Amazon and eBay remain at the forefront of profitable eCommerce channels. In terms of search acquisition channels, Google, meta search engines, and Amazon rank high in generating revenue for brands.

**Ohudy:** In addition to Amazon and eBay, Google, meta search engines, and Amazon itself also contribute significantly to the profitability of eCommerce  channels.

### Moving to social media advertising, which channels do you see as the most popular?

**Rodney:** Meta tends to be the most popular social media advertising channel. TikTok is also gaining traction, particularly among younger users.

**Ohudy:** Meta, specifically Instagram and Facebook, dominate the social media advertising landscape in the UK. However, TikTok's appeal lies in its relevance to younger demographics, emphasizing the experiential aspect over pure data.


![image 1.png](https://media.graphassets.com/5C2FSgVVQe2K0xJST7d1)


### What has surprised you the most recently in the digital advertising sector?

**Rodney:** Two developments have caught my attention. Firstly, the rise of "Retail Media". The term has been around for a number of years, primarily driven by the successful global Amazon ads business, but it has been gaining prominence recently and we now see other marketplace channels, such as Walmart USA and BOL.com in the NL, adopting this approach with their dominant local market presence. 

Secondly, It's interesting to see how brands are shifting their focus from platforms like Meta and reallocating their social media budget spend towards channels like Tik Tok ads and Tik Tok shop.

### Could you both share your top learnings from last year in terms of channels and formats?

**Rodney:** One of the biggest learnings for me was the post-COVID shift in digital marketing agencies' strategies. With consumers dominating e-commerce marketplaces during the lockdown, agencies that were previously focused on Google and social media platforms have started creating e-commerce marketplace services and dedicated teams. This shift aligns with the rise of "Retail Media" and the changing ad spend budgets for advertisers. By leveraging these channels, significant revenue and sales can be generated. 

**Ohudy:** That's an excellent observation, Rodney. From my perspective, last year, we witnessed a scenario that was polarized when it came to budgets. Some businesses faced recession and budget cuts, leading to a cautious approach. On the other hand, less established brands were making big investments to take advantage of the changing landscape. It became evident that businesses needed to respond to the situation rather than simply reacting to it. This empowered them to refocus their strategies and find new opportunities for growth.

**Thank you both for sharing your valuable insights. It's been a pleasure discussing the digital advertising sector with you, Rodney and Ohudy.**

### Eager for more?
You can find more data-driven insights over and beyond the UK in our [Global Report](https://reports.channable.com/agency-insights-2023/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=blog&utm_campaign=dive-campaign&utm_content=blog&utm_term=en)here. 

And if you want to** stay ahead of the curve** and get fresh insights directly into your inbox, scroll down and subscribe to our newsletter.

[Interview] UK eCommerce trends and insights - Presented by Rodney and Ohudy, 2023

## Even though the U.S. is currently navigating a period of economic uncertainty, there’s no doubt about it; eCommerce continues to grow 

In Channable’s latest report, [The State of eCommerce for Agencies](https://reports.channable.com/agency-insights-2023/), we shared that social media ad spend is expected to reach a global, record-breaking high of [$262 billion](https://www.statista.com/statistics/271406/advertising-revenue-of-social-networks-worldwide/). Consumers are still buying, and marketing efforts are accelerating to grab their attention. 

In order to stay flexible and adaptable, agencies need to be smarter than ever about their digital marketing strategies. 

Below, we explore the biggest eCommerce challenges they’re experiencing and some best practices they can put into place. 

## Key learnings

- eCommerce continues to grow despite economic uncertainties, presenting opportunities for digital marketing agencies to overcome eCommerce challenges.

- Digital marketing agencies face challenges in navigating consumer diversification across multiple channels, marketplaces, and formats in the eCommerce landscape.

- Navigating different selling requirements across channels is crucial for digital marketing agencies to address eCommerce challenges and capture consumer attention.

- Managing omnichannel selling for multiple clients is a complex eCommerce challenge that requires adaptation to changing consumer preferences and behaviors.

- Measuring campaign success is an important aspect of overcoming eCommerce challenges, with the need to shift metrics and utilize advanced tracking systems.

- Understanding GA4 eCommerce and its implications is essential for digital marketing agencies to tackle eCommerce challenges and leverage new opportunities.

- Best practices play a significant role in addressing eCommerce challenges, including optimizing product data, catalogs, and feeds, and enhancing customer trust and reducing friction in the shopping experience.

- Automation is a valuable solution for digital marketing agencies to overcome eCommerce challenges, offering time and resource savings while improving campaign management and results.

## eCommerce challenges for digital marketing agencies 
Today, digital marketers are facing distinct eCommerce challenges. Consumers continue to diversify their attention and preferences across an ever-growing number of channels, marketplaces, and formats, and inflation has impacted the number of available marketing roles and the size of digital marketing teams. 

> Across the board, marketers are expected to do a lot more with less resources.

### 1. Navigating different selling requirements 
On average, a consumer interacts with [20 channels](https://internetretailing.net/as-shoppers-interact-with-brands-on-20-different-channels-marketers-struggle-to-keep-up-study-finds-23106/) before making a purchase. If your clients choose not to promote on a certain channel—or you don’t have the resources or capabilities to offer them the opportunity to promote on that channel—it’s a lost chance to snag the consumer’s attention. 

The more channels where a brand establishes a presence, the greater their chances of conversion. 

But each of those channels has its own set of selling requirements, making the process of building and managing multiple channel connections technically difficult and time-consuming. 

For example, [Amazon](https://www.channable.com/integrations/amazon-product-feed) has a very complex product taxonomy, which is different from [Walmart’s](https://www.channable.com/walmart-api) or [eBay’s](https://www.channable.com/integrations/ebay). 

If the product data doesn’t meet the requirements, then the listing won’t be readily visible to consumers. This becomes even more complex when you’re dealing with large inventories. 

![eCommerce Marketing.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/Qo4sEdxETUDnam94WZMp)

Digital marketing agencies manage individual channels across brands with thousands of stock keeping units (SKUs). That’s a lot of manual labor and a greater potential for errors to occur. 

It's easy to lose track of order management because of the sheer volume of data to process, including ever-changing variables like price, inventory, and promotions. 

### 2. Managing omnichannel selling for multiple end clients 
In addition to tackling the different selling requirements, agencies also have to manage feeds for multiple clients. Imagine keeping all the requirements straight, then turning around and having to repeat the process for dozens and dozens of clients. (**It’s complex!**)  

Meanwhile, with the rise of social commerce continuing to drive audience diversification, Gen Z and Millennial consumer preferences are changing. 

They’re seeking out more personalized experiences and prefer video content on [newer platforms like TikTok](https://www.channable.com/blog/tiktok-dynamic-showcase-ads-setup-channable), where personalization is emphasized. In fact, the number of TikTok users is expected to rise to over [1 billion by 2025](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1327116/number-of-global-tiktok-users/). 

Omnichannel strategies always need to include new, different social media platforms to reach diverse audiences, amplify brand awareness, tap into viral marketing potential, and cater to individual platform preferences. 

Otherwise, agencies risk losing out on key customer segments which, in turn, could put their own client revenue at risk.

### 3. Measuring campaign success
Even the measurements of success are becoming more complicated. Most companies who used to rely on return on investment (ROI) as a basis for success started to focus more on return on ad spend (ROAS), which yields a more immediate, short-term view of how distinct ads or campaigns are performing. Now, companies are shifting again—away from ROAS and towards profit on ad spend (POAS).

POAS takes both cost and order combinations into account allowing more visibility into the total conversion value of the customer lifecycle. 

However, this metric requires a more advanced tracking system that is capable of attributing profits to specific ads or campaigns, in addition to a team that is knowledgeable about these metrics and feels confident in their calculations.

eCommerce marketers have also been preparing for the transition to GA4 by [exporting data](https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/core/v4) and setting up [eCommerce events](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/12200568) in the Google Tag Manager container. 

GA4 will have codeless event tracking and enable marketers to have a unified view of website and mobile data in the same property, but the switch from UA to GA4 is still a structural overhaul. Understanding GA4 eCommerce will require different approaches to the data sets, plus the time and resources spent on the new learnings, setup, and implementation. 

## Top 5 best practices for  eCommerce challenges 
![Top 5 best practices for  eCommerce challenges .jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/PSrwchzkRgiENr3BH72E)

As we’ve demonstrated, managing multiple eCommerce feeds across multiple channels and marketplaces is a daunting task, but there are best practices to guide you. 

First and foremost, it's essential for products to be accurately listed across channels and marketplaces. Optimizing product data, product catalogs, and product feeds helps you develop a more effective approach to overall campaign optimization. Each of these elements play a critical role in your campaigns’ success.

By understanding the differences between them, you can better allocate your time, resources, and efforts. 

Automating the creation and optimization of ad campaigns is another way your team can quickly scale their efforts, optimize campaigns based on real-time performance data, and personalize campaigns based on consumer behavior, preferences, and demographics—all while continuing to cut back on manual tasks. 

### 1. Increase customer trust, drive sales, and improve product discoverability through optimized product data
Optimizing product data is all about paying attention to the details and helps improve the accuracy of product information, which can drive more sales and improve product discoverability. 

Here are some tips: 

- Use descriptive and accurate product titles that include relevant keywords people are using to search for the product.

- Provide complete and detailed product descriptions including features, benefits, and specifications such as size, color, material, and any other relevant information.

- Use high-quality product images that are clear, well-lit, and show the item from multiple angles.

- Keep pricing information consistent across all channels and clearly communicate any discounts or promotions.

### 2. Increase customer trust and reduce friction in the shopping experience
Optimizing the product catalog is all about organization. This ensures a user-friendly, intuitive shopping experience that helps increase consumer loyalty and retention. Below are some tips for optimizing product catalogs: 

- Ensure that products are categorized correctly and all relevant attributes are included to help consumers find your products when they’re filtering search results. 

- Use a hierarchical structure, such as subcategories, to make the catalog easier to navigate.

- Include consumer reviews and ratings on the product pages to help potential buyers make informed decisions about quality and suitability.

- Make sure the product catalog has a mobile-friendly design and fast load-times.

- Continuously test and refine your categorization as you track consumer behavior and identify areas of improvement.

### 3. Improve product visibility and performance
Optimizing product feeds is all about requirements. It involves preparing and formatting product data so it’s compatible with the rules of different channels and marketplaces to increase product visibility and performance. Check out some tips for optimizing product feeds: 

- Regularly review and update the product data to remove any out-of-stock items, update pricing information, and add new products.

- Use standardized product identifiers, such as global trade item numbers (GTINs), to help improve the accuracy of feeds.

- Localize product feeds if your clients are selling products in multiple countries or regions by providing translations of the product data. 

- Consider using a [feed management tool](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) to switch to a dynamic feed setup and streamline the process with product data mapping, feed formatting, and channel-specific optimization.

### 4. Automate the creation of advertising campaigns
Using a feed management platform to automate the creation of your ad campaigns provides your team with more reliable data, greater ability to track more complex metrics like POAS, and more time to focus on strategy instead of manual tasks. 

For example, a pay-per-click (PPC) solution allows you to automate the creation of campaigns in one place across different formats like responsive search ads (RSAs) and dynamic search ads (DSAs), while adhering to the rules of different channels and marketplaces. 

You’re also able to utilize reporting and optimize the campaigns on an as-needed basis by: 

- Automating bidding strategy
 
- Ensuring you have proper audience segmentation 

- Utilizing all ad placements 

- Retargeting based on real-time performance data 

## 5. Take a realistic approach to automation
While dynamic feed setup can offer more flexibility and customization options for campaigns, digital marketing agencies may first need to invest some dedicated time and resources to fully leverage these capabilities. 

But the benefits of automation result in so much time- and resource-savings that—simply put—it’s more than worth it in the end. 

For example, [once Savvy Revenue started using](https://www.channable.com/success-stories/automation-enables-ppc-strategy-savvyrevenues-ad-campaigns) a dynamic feed setup and PPC automation solutions, they saw a 50% decrease in campaign creation time and a 50% decrease in monthly hours achieved for eCommerce stores with more than 10,000 SKUs.

Likewise, Roots Network established a multi-market PPC strategy for their client Otrium, an online fashion outlet that sells hundreds of thousands of products across nine markets throughout the U.S. and Europe. 

Once the PPC strategy was put into place, Roots Network went from allocating eight full-time employees to manage Otrium’s feeds to only two full-time employees and saved approximately 50% of their time on feed maintenance across their client base.

Those are just two examples of the many [success stories](https://www.channable.com/success-stories) digital marketing agencies have with a dynamic feed setup. 

## Put best practices into action with Channable
At Channable, we’re a partner that understands the unique challenges of digital marketing agencies. [Sign up](https://www.channable.com/signup) for a free demo account today, and [subscribe to our newsletter](https://share.hsforms.com/1oUSMiLQXSQOi4b1EM8iiJw2g6hv) and stay up to date on the latest eCommerce news and trends. 


eCommerce Marketing: Navigating the Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Agencies

Recently, under the auspices of AMA-New York's Catalyst for eCommerce Series —co-sponsored by Channable—four experts gathered to give their best shot at answering it. The event took a long-range look at the future of AI in eCommerce, tackling the moment's most-hyped subject from a variety of angles. 

Read on for five key takeaways on eCommerce's bright, shining, somewhat scary, and comprehensively AI-facilitated future.

## 1) Generative AI is a very different beast from legacy AI

The first thing it's important to note is that marketers have [been using AI in eCommerce for at least a decade](https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/09/09/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-marketing/?sh=1476e88e697f). As [Hunter Hartwell](https://www.linkedin.com/in/hhartwell/), Partner at Glasswing Ventures, pointed out, this legacy AI was "deterministic in nature." 

Marketers would turn to a machine algorithm to solve a problem with a concrete, objective answer—say, the best way to disperse ad inventory or position a banner ad. 

What makes generative AI "earth-shattering," per Hartwell, is its ability to generate new content whole-cloth—to take in pre-existing material and spit out something that didn't previously exist, whether that's advertising copy or a quarterly report. It's this distinction that is at the root of all the exciting developments in AI-facilitated eCommerce right now.

## 2) If you think you know what "personalization" means in an eCommerce context, think again

Right now, in the [dying days of the third-party cookie](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/third-party-cookie-phase-out), personalization in an eCommerce context takes on a few familiar forms—say, the sunglasses you look at once which then follow you around the internet for a month. 

These techniques aren't going anywhere anytime soon, but the level of personalization facilitated by AI in eCommerce—as sketched out by the panelists—does suddenly make them look old-fashioned.

Per [Cara Schlanger](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cara-schlanger-3230953/), current freelance consultant and former Senior Vice President of Global Marketing & eCommerce at Williams-Sonoma, "hyper-localization and hyper-personalization" are the future. Already, she pointed out, there are lifestyle companies offering radically [personalized experiences](https://www.channable.com/blog/understanding-ecommerce-personalization), like skincare brands that can analyze your skin type and then recommend the best product, or home decor brands that let you test out products in a virtual version of your own living room.

But that has nothing on what's coming next—what Schlanger describes as the "personalized upsell." 

In the not-too-distant future, according to Schlanger, AI will have the ability to analyze a customer's shopping cart and (if available) their past preferences and then actually invent a customized product on the spot to sell to them. [Kapil (Kap) Sharma](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kapilnsharma/), Technical Lead at Wipro, even floated the idea of personalized influencers designed specifically for individuals or households—fake people spun up via AI to get consumers on board with a brand. 

## 3) Marketers aren't getting replaced by robots any time soon—but AI in eCommerce will change their job responsibilities drastically 

It's true, as Schlanger pointed out, that "some disciplines [within marketing] may disappear" in the near future. At the same time, though, Sharma says, "with AI the power of the marketer goes up quite a bit.” 

Marketers can be marketers rather than data jockeys—that's exciting to me," Schlanger said.

In other words, instead of wasting time on repetitive manual tasks—like bugging the guys in the data science department to pull specific reports—marketers can quickly generate that information themselves and put it to creative use. "A single marketer can now wear several hats," said Hartwell, rapidly generating campaigns and reports and ad copy, A/B testing on the fly, compressing weeks of trial-and-error into a playful afternoon.

## 4) AI in eCommerce might soon change almost everything—but no matter what happens, brands will always matter

All panelists were at pains to point out that AI will always just be a co-pilot: brands will always matter, and in fact they might matter even more in a world of AI-facilitated deep-fakes and unreliable, fly-by-night drop-shipping companies. 

Schlanger brought up the experience of finding a too-good-to-be-true product on Instagram and then—when it arrives in the mail—promptly discovering that it actually was too good to be true. "Brands continue to matter," she said. "AI just allows us to move faster and smarter and to better-understand what the customer wants."

In the context of AI in eCommerce, humans will likely always be at the wheel, shaping the inputs, and the brand voice. Now, they'll just be navigating with a much more powerful vehicle.

## 5) Setting up in new markets will soon be a breeze

Launching a brand in a new market is currently an involved ordeal, requiring not just language skills but also a deep awareness of what resonates with a given population. AI is set to turbocharge that process by enabling companies to "go global faster," in Schlanger's words. 

As Hartwell pointed out, using AI in eCommerce will allow marketers to translate the copy and tweak the product design "so it fits different trends in different countries." Instead of laboriously rolling out a brand market-by-market over a period of years, brands can effectively hit a few buttons and at least experiment with other markets—even if it doesn't work, AI lowers the cost (and thus the stakes) of brand expansion.

In fact, Channable is already allowing brands to [go to market faster](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) and gain global visibility in record time. 

By tapping into the power of AI, it lets brands [categorize millions of products](https://www.channable.com/blog/smart-categorization-digital-marketing) while connecting them to thousands of new markets, at a speed that would’ve been impossible just a few years ago. 

Sign up today for a [free customized demo](https://www.channable.com/demo).

5 Trends to Know About the Future of AI in eCommerce

Enter competitive PPC analysis: a powerful technique that unlocks the secrets behind real-world campaigns. By analyzing your competitors' PPC efforts, you can uncover missed opportunities, identify gaps in your own strategy, and ultimately transform your campaigns for maximum success. 

## What is competitive PPC analysis? 

Competitive PPC analysis involves examining and understanding how your competitors are using paid advertising. It's essentially a chance to learn from their strategies and identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for your own [PPC campaigns](https://www.channable.com/blog/ppc-best-practices). This analysis usually focuses on the following key areas:

- **Ads:** Analyzing headlines, descriptions, and calls to action to see what messaging works well.
- **Keywords:** Discovering the keywords competitors are using to attract customers, giving you ideas to expand your own keyword list.
- **Bids:** While you won't see exact figures, you can get insights into how aggressively they're bidding on keywords.
- **Landing pages:** Seeing where people land after clicking a competitor's ad. This can help you design landing pages that are more likely to convert visitors into customers.

## Why is competitive PPC analysis important? 

By learning from your competitors' PPC efforts, you can make data-driven decisions to improve your own campaigns and gain a competitive edge. Here are some other benefits of conducting a competitive PPC analysis: 

### Craft stronger ads and landing pages

By analyzing your competitors' ads and landing pages, you can see what kind of messaging resonates with your target audience. You can learn from their successes (compelling headlines, clear calls to action) and avoid their mistakes (confusing landing pages, weak offers). This can help you create more effective ads that grab attention and landing pages that convert. 

For instance, if you sell eco-friendly cleaning products, your analysis might reveal that your competitors’ ads are focusing on generic features like “no plastics” or “natural materials” but not on benefit-driven messaging like “reduce your footprint”.

### Improve your PPC strategies 

By keeping an eye on your competitors' strategies, you can see what tactics are trending and what's working well in your industry. This helps you stay informed about the latest PPC trends and allows you to adapt your campaigns accordingly. 

For example, imagine you run an eCommerce store selling athletic wear. Through competitor analysis, you notice several competitors are having success with video ads showcasing their clothing in action. You might then decide to incorporate video ads into your strategy. 

### Discover hidden opportunities 

Competitor analysis can reveal gaps in the market. Maybe your competitors are focusing on certain keywords but neglecting others. Maybe their landing pages lack a key element that could boost conversions. This gives you the chance to identify these opportunities and tailor your campaigns to fill them. 

Let's say you sell fitness watches and you discover that your competitors are all focusing on keywords like "fitness watch" and "running watch", but not "heart rate monitor watch." As your competitor analysis reveals a gap in the market for this long-tail keyword, you can include it in your campaigns and reach a new audience. 

[![PPC.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/Wa2tAP7jQceAnStbTGyY)](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool)

## Top 5 PPC competitor analysis tools for eCommerce brands 

It’s important to equip yourself with the right tools before tackling competitor analysis. Here are 5 tools that every advertiser should use: 

### Tools for paid search competitor analysis

**1. Google Ads Auction Insights**

The [auction insights report](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2579754?hl=en) lets you compare your performance with other competitors who are participating in the same Google Ads auctions as you are. This report provides six different statistics: impression share, overlap rate, outranking share, position above rate, top of page rate, and absolute top of the page rate. Here’s a brief description of the most important insights:

- **Impression share and top of page rate:** Impression share tells you how often your ads are shown, while Top of Page Rate indicates how often they appear at the most prominent spots on the page - in comparison with your competitors. 
- **Overlap rate:** This shows which competitors you regularly encounter in the same auctions. A high overlap rate suggests that you're competing for the same audience.
- **Position above rate:** This lets you see how often a competitor's ad outranks yours in shared auctions. This might indicate a difference in bidding strategies or the quality score of your ads. 

**2. Google’s Keyword Planner**

![PPC keyword competitor analysis.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/bJ0PNbQXQa27m05AeJLH)

Although this free tool by Google is not specifically designed for competitor analysis, it can still be a valuable asset. For instance, if you enter a competitor's website URL in Keyword Planner, you can see a list of relevant keywords they might be targeting. This helps you to: 

- **Identify potential gaps:** Keyword Planner helps you discover keywords that you or your competitors might be missing. You can also filter by competition level, allowing you to uncover keywords with lower competition. 
- **Refine your targeting:** You can also discover long-tail keywords with high intent that your competitors might not be focusing on, allowing you to attract users further along in the buying journey.

![PPC bid competitor analysis.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/Bi1JobrYTcasq1sbHDA3)

**3. Ahrefs**

[Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) goes beyond basic keyword research, providing a powerful suite of features for in-depth PPC competitor analysis, such as: 

- **Paid keywords report:** This report allows you to enter a competitor’s URL and see what keywords they’re bidding on, the estimated cost-per-click (CPC) per keyword, and which keywords send the most paid traffic to your competitor’s website.
- **Ad position history:** This chart allows you to see your competitors ad copy, giving you inspiration for headlines, unique selling propositions, and calls to action. 
- **Low-cost keywords:** Ahrefs paid keywords report also enables you to find relevant, low-cost keywords to add to your PPC campaigns.

**4. Google Ads Transparency Center**

This free resource allows advertisers to search for specific businesses or browse by category to see the Search and [Display ads](https://www.channable.com/blog/google-display-ads-best-practices) they're running across Google Search, YouTube, and Discover, allowing you to: 

- **Explore ad details:** Dive deeper into individual ads to see the format (text, image, video), timeframe it ran, and estimated impressions.
- **Learn targeting strategies:** Discover the criteria advertisers use to reach their target audience, including demographics and interests.

### Tools for paid social competitor analysis

**5. Meta Ad Library**

The [Meta Ad Library](https://transparency.fb.com/en-gb/researchtools/ad-library-tools/) is a free tool that lets you see the ads other businesses are running on [Facebook](https://www.channable.com/blog/enhance-facebook-conversion-rates) and Instagram. It's a goldmine of information for advertisers, helping you stay on top of industry trends and get inspiration for your own campaigns. This comprehensive tool allows you to: 

- **See all of your competitors’ ads:** Simply enter your competitor’s brand name in the search bar and get a list of all the ads they’re running.
- **Filter by location:** Allowing you to get insights on your competitor’s global marketing strategy, such as the specific messaging or creative they use per country.
- **Get specific ad details:** Besides an ad’s start date and end date (if applicable), you can also see the different variations of a particular ad.
- **Understand targeting strategies:** You can see details about who sees each ad, such as age ranges, gender, and how many people they might reach. 

## How to conduct a competitive PPC analysis in 5 steps 

Staying ahead in the PPC game requires knowing your competition. A competitive PPC analysis helps you understand their strategies, identify potential gaps, and ultimately, refine your own campaigns for maximum impact. Here's a breakdown of the process in five easy-to-follow steps:

### 1. Identify your main PPC competitors 

It might sound obvious, but it’s important to know who you’re up against. Start by brainstorming your main competitors. Then, take your top keywords and search them on Google to see which companies consistently appear in the results. Finally, use tools like Ahrefs or Google Ads Auction Insights to reveal the full list of competitors targeting the same keywords as you. 

![competitor ad analysis.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/k9psVaKRjGQ3XdGdkEys)

### 2. Analyze competitor ads 

Now that you’ve identified your main competitors, the next step is to analyze the ads they’re running. What keywords are they bidding on? What messaging are they using in their ad copy? What offers are they promoting? If you notice “free shipping” or “free returns” featuring prominently, it could suggest that these offers are resonating with the target audience. 

### 3. Assess competitor keyword strategy 

Understanding your competitors' keyword strategy is crucial. Look at the types of keywords they're targeting (broad, long-tail, etc.) and analyze their keyword mix. Make sure to note down any relevant keywords that you’ve not included in your own campaigns. Once you have a list of new keywords, start to test them in your campaigns and regularly monitor the results. 

### 4. Review competitor landing pages

The next step is examining how competitors craft their landing pages for conversions. By dissecting their landing page strategies, you can identify best practices to implement on your own landing pages. Here are few things to keep an eye on: 

- Headline and value proposition
- Visuals and overall layout
- Call to action 
- Social proof (customer testimonials or reviews)

### 5. Monitor bidding strategies and estimated costs 

Google Ads' Auction Insights can reveal if competitors consistently appear in the top ad slots. If you’re constantly being outranked, it could suggest that your bids are too low, or that your ad quality score is low. Ahrefs can take your analysis one step further by providing you with estimated cost-per-click per keyword. This data can be used to inform your bidding strategies going forward. 

## Simplify your Google Ads with automation!

Facing the challenge of creating thousands of ads with the right headlines and descriptions? Struggling to keep your ads updated with constant stock and price changes? Feeling overwhelmed trying to stay in control of your ad campaigns and performance? These common pain points can make managing effective advertising campaigns feel impossible.

Our [Google Ads automation tool](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool/google-ads) can take the load off! It uses your product feed to automatically create dynamic ads, ensuring they're always updated! 

Here’s how it works:
1. **Easy ad creation**: Create one template, connect it to your data, and let our tool do the rest.
2. **Quick asset addition**: Efficiently scale the integration of assets into your campaigns in just a few simple steps
3. **Real-time updates**: Stock or prices change? Your ads update automatically—no manual work required.

Jump quickly into creating highly-targeted and accurate ads, making sure your brand stays relevant at all times.



Outsmart the competition: How to master competitive PPC analysis

The fashion industry is hugely lucrative, with global revenue predicted to reach [$770.9 billion in 2024](https://www.statista.com/outlook/emo/fashion/worldwide). But while this figure continues to be made up of sales from established high street names and their glossy brick-and-mortar stores, it is also driven by businesses with a significant digital presence.

Of course, fashion industry marketing strategies vary significantly depending on the type of product being sold, competitor analysis, pricing, and more. Whether sales are predominantly digital or physical will also have a huge bearing on your fashion marketing strategy. Whatever approach they take, marketing for fashion brands remains hugely important. In fact, it is crucial if they want to secure a piece of the growing eCommerce market. 

The fashion industry is currently one of the biggest players in the eCommerce business. As consumer behavior continues to evolve, eCommerce has grown to play an increasingly prominent role for retailers. Whether it’s across mobile devices or desktop computers, [fashion and eCommerce](https://www.channable.com/blog/fashion-ecommerce-tips-improve-online-visibility) appear to be growing in tandem with one another. Today, [almost 21%](https://www.statista.com/topics/9288/fashion-e-commerce-worldwide/#editorsPicks) of worldwide fashion sales are the result of eCommerce transactions.  

The reasons for the growing importance of eCommerce to the sector are numerous. From the rise of [eCommerce personalization](https://www.channable.com/blog/understanding-ecommerce-personalization) to enhancing [data-driven performance](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-analytics-insights-for-better-performance), there are several reasons why fashion brands are increasingly devoting resources to their online sales channels.

## Digital and other developments
Getting your fashion industry marketing strategies right depends on you remaining abreast of the latest trends and developments in the sector. ECommerce shoppers and those who visit physical stores behave differently - so engaging with them and getting them to convert also requires brands to act differently. 

Below, we’ve outlined some of the major trends we’ve identified around eCommerce and fashion - and how you can take advantage of them:

### Personalization: 
Fashion consumers are craving personalization from retailers. [Research by Accenture](https://www.accenture.com/content/dam/accenture/final/a-com-migration/pdf/pdf-166/accenture-retail-fashion-personalization-pov.pdf) has found that 81% of shoppers are interested in personalized products but, aside from luxury brands providing personal shopping assistants, this has proven difficult for most retailers to deliver - until now.

ECommerce in fashion has created a multitude of opportunities for fashion brands to tap into the personalization trend. For example, data pertaining to your customer’s location, time and past shopping habits can all be incorporated within your fashion marketing strategy. Retailers can leverage real-time [insights & analytics](https://www.channable.com/products/channable-insights) so their website and product recommendations are more engaging to customers on a personal level. 

This is all made possible at scale with automation. With a data feed management solution, you can highlight top sellers, manage ad spend, and even dynamically [update prices](https://www.channable.com/products/channable-insights/segmentation) or descriptions, to optimize your sales and engagement.

### Sustainability:
Another noticeable trend within the industry is sustainability. Many shoppers are asking for more environmentally and socially sustainable fashion options, with [51%](https://retailnext.net/blog/retail-impact-europes-move-towards-sustainable-fashion) of shoppers willing to pay up to 10% extra for items sustainably made or shipped.
![Image_01 (7).jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/QxcHyYFdSCq9ioCDN1A5)
ECommerce can help the fashion industry to embrace this trend. With eCommerce product listings, it becomes easier to place the sustainability credentials of your clothing and other apparel at the front and center of your product listings. This can also be incorporated within other elements of your fashion marketing strategy. For example, if your potential customers care about sustainability, consider whether you can [optimize your keyword strategy](https://www.channable.com/blog/final-url-keyword-level-dynamic-keyword-insertion) so your fashion ads reflect this.

### Mobile shopping: 
The rise of fashion eCommerce doesn’t mean that shoppers are only looking for items using their laptops and desktop computers. Increasingly, mobile is playing a prominent role for consumers, with research by AI platform, Syte, finding that [81%](https://www.syte.ai/ebooks/product-discovery/state-of-ecommerce-discovery-2023/) of fashion shoppers used their mobile devices to complete transactions.

Check whether your eCommerce site or payment gateway is working effectively on the smaller screen. Also, are your ads optimized to reach them via mobile devices? Whatever the product, eCommerce now depends on [omnichannel and multichannel marketing](https://www.channable.com/blog/omnichannel-and-multichannel-marketing). That’s why we included adopting a mobile-first approach as one of our key tips for [how to optimize your return on ad spend](https://www.channable.com/blog/return-on-ad-spend).

### Innovation:
ECommerce in fashion has moved beyond simply having an online portal for shoppers. In the current market, consumers expect cutting-edge solutions to be a part of their shopping experience, from [AI](https://www.channable.com/blog/ai-ecommerce-trends-to-know) to augmented reality. 
![Image_02 (5).jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/QsJF47DHQPs7g26V2gM5)
Although it may be possible for fashion brands to employ some of these innovations in their brick-and-mortar stores, eCommerce platforms represent a natural fit for many of these solutions. Virtual try-ons, social media integration, and more can all be employed by retailers exploring more innovative fashion industry marketing strategies.

## eCommerce fashion industry marketing strategies: Our top tips

Fashion retailers hoping to boost sales with their eCommerce marketing should do more than simply be aware of the latest trends. That’s why we’ve put together the below tips to help you with your fashion industry marketing strategies. 

### 1. Explore all relevant marketplaces
You might have your own website, but is that the only place your eCommerce sales could come from? Might they be driven by [Amazon Ads,](https://www.channable.com/blog/amazon-sponsored-products) [Google Shopping Ads](https://www.channable.com/blog/google-shopping-ads), or an entirely different marketing channel? Ensure you are advertising your fashion items across all relevant channels. Missing out on engaging with customers, means missing out on sales.

### 2. Maintain an overview of your ads
While it’s a good idea to post marketing materials on all relevant channels, this does present a challenge for fashion brands. How can they manage all these ads? The right third-party solution can help. With Channable’s [PPC tool,](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool) for instance, brands can boost their visibility and maintain an overview across ads and campaigns to save time and scale.


### 3. Use high-quality images
Visuals are important for any product - but this is especially true for the fashion industry. Good-quality images can add trust and credibility to your brand - while convincing customers to convert. [Dynamic creative optimization](https://www.channable.com/products/dynamic-image-editor?utm_term=product%20image&utm_campaign=uk-ie-search-en-generic-prospecting+%5Bppc-tool%5D&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&hsa_acc=9335244591&hsa_cam=21133291670&hsa_grp=158968278223&hsa_ad=694831436879&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-299056558709&hsa_kw=product%20image&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwnei0BhB-EiwAA2xuBopMvZgfbhIFuXhyNlfHO6NBQ-6aImrtj9b0Idja9MnKApFKU06QOhoCYSoQAvD_BwE)can also align the visuals and text you use to ensure your ad has an even greater impact.

### 4. Understand your customer
Every customer is different - it’s important for fashion marketing strategies to reflect that. Recently, there has been an [eCommerce revolution](https://www.channable.com/blog/multichannel-ecommerce-solution), where the lines between search, commerce, and social have become blurred. Where is the best place to direct your advertising spend in this new digital-first landscape? Where and how can your customers be reached?

Make sure that your fashion product ads are directed to the right customers and via the right channels. The fashion industry is highly competitive and the eCommerce landscape is increasingly complex. Make sure you leverage data and third-party tools to gain a real understanding of what your customers want and how best to engage them.

## Use Channable's multichannel eCommerce platform to reach fashion consumers today

Amid the many different fashion industry marketing strategies around today promising to boost your sales, only our eCommerce solution combines the power of cross-channel listing, advertising, and insights to engage with your customers on their dynamic, multichannel buyer journey. 

Are you looking to better market your fashion products to consumers? Channable could be the right fit. 


Fashion industry marketing strategies: eCommerce trends and tips

Have you ever gone to Reddit to discover new products, weigh the pros and cons of different options, and get validation from like-minded people before making a purchase? You’re not the only one. 

That’s why Reddit recently introduced [Dynamic Product Ads](https://www.business.reddit.com/advertise/ad-types/dynamic-product-ads) to connect shoppers with relevant products as they explore, discuss, and decide on purchases.

What does this mean for eCommerce advertisers? Well, it allows you to get your products in front of Reddit visitors who are primed to buy. 

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Reddit Dynamic Product Ads, including what they are, the key features, how to set them up, and some tips for success. 

## What are Reddit Dynamic Product Ads? 
Reddit Dynamic Product Ads automatically create ads from your product catalog, showcasing the right product to the right user at the right time. Dynamic Product Ads combine user shopping signals with machine learning and advertiser product catalogs to deliver “the most relevant products to convert high user intent into action by connecting people with the products they’re looking for, at the very moment they’re looking for them.” 
![Reddit Blog - Image 1.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/M4kQUW7tSLq9qGsMlDJz)
***Note**: Reddit DPAs are recommended for advertisers with catalogs of more than 2,500 products.*

### Reddit Dynamic Product Ads key features and benefits 
Reddit advertisers who want to launch Dynamic Product Ads can benefit from the following features: 

1. **Instant campaign creation**: The ads are dynamically populated with up-to-date product imagery, pricing, and details directly from your product catalog.

2. **Two targeting options**: Retargeting displays ads based on previous website interactions, while Prospecting shows relevant products based on Reddit or advertiser site engagement. 

3. **Support across the purchase journey:** Engage Reddit users throughout the discovery, consideration, and decision-making phases using feed and conversation placements, as well as single image or carousel ad formats.

Reddit Dynamic Product Ads offer a streamlined way to serve relevant products to the right people at the perfect moment. Let's dive into how to create them.

## Setting up Reddit Dynamic Product Ads in 3 steps
Before you can start creating your Reddit Dynamic Product Ads campaign, you need to [set up a product catalog](https://business.reddithelp.com/helpcenter/s/article/catalogs). In the Reddit Ads dashboard, go to ‘Catalogs’ and either upload a CSV file of all your products or sync it with an existing data feed. Additionally, make sure that you’ve installed the Reddit Pixel so that you can accurately track your conversions and measure the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns. 

### Step 1: Create your campaign 
In the Reddit Ads dashboard select ‘Create Campaign’. Next, name your campaign with something easy to identify such as “DPAs Prospecting Q3 2024”. Select ‘catalog sales’ and click ‘continue’.

### Step 2: Create your ad group  
Reddit recommends creating two ad groups, one for prospecting and another for retargeting, with a similar budget, as well as splitting ads between feed and conversation placement to reach users across different purchase journeys. 

Once you’ve named your ad group, select the product catalog that you want to advertise. If this is your first DPA campaign, select ‘all products’ when asked to choose a product set. Enable the ‘Dynamic ads’ toggle before choosing your audience type. Select ‘Prospecting’ if you want to find new people interested in your products or ‘Retargeting’ to target people who’ve previously shown interest in your products on your site. 
![Reddit Blog - Image 2.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/quIhB563QoWefW805b5d)

### Step 3: Create your dynamic product ads 
Once you’ve created your ad group, you’re ready to create your ads. Here’s how:

1. Give a name to your ad, e.g. “Spring / Summer Collection” 

2. Select your post type. Choose ‘image’ to advertise a single product or ‘carousel’ to advertise multiple products. 

3. Add a headline that’s under 300 characters. This will appear above or next to your products. 

4. Select whether to display the product’s description or price in your ad’s bottom caption. If you include sale prices, users will see the sales price and the original price striked out. 

5. Choose whether to use the destination URL from your catalog or override it with a custom URL. 

6. Select a call-to-action. 

7. Select ‘Review’ and then ‘Publish’. 

## Reddit Dynamic Product Ads: Best practices 
Reddit Dynamic Product Ads offer a powerful way to reach potential customers and drive sales. Here are three tips to set up your DPA campaigns for success: 

### Optimize and maintain your product feed
As DPAs are automatically generated based on your product feed, it’s crucial to make sure that your product catalog is up-to-date with accurate product titles, descriptions, images, pricing, and availability. This prevents redditors from seeing out-of-stock items or incorrect prices in ads.

It’s also important to provide as much detail about your products as possible, including size, color, material, and other relevant attributes. This helps Reddit's algorithm show the most relevant products to users.

***Tip**: Upload high-resolution images that are at least 500x500 pixels. Reddit recommends uploading an image that displays your item in front of a white background.*


### Use product sets to organize your catalog

While Reddit recommends selecting ‘All Products’ in your catalog when first getting started, after the first 30 days you can start to create product sets. Product sets allow you to specify which products are served in your Dynamic Product Ads. For example, you might create a category product set to drive conversions to a new collection, or create a promo product set based on items that are on sale to create sale-specific ads.

## Increase your Reddit Dynamic Product Ad conversion rates with Channable

Maintaining an up-to-date product catalog is crucial for succeeding with Reddit Dynamic Product Ads. Channable’s [Feed Management tool](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) keeps your product information up-to-date and consistent across all of your platforms. 

With Channable, you can save time and resources by creating and managing all your product feeds in one place. 

By seamlessly connecting product data with image templates and using an advanced rules engine, Channable enables automatic updates to ads based on specific conditions like sales or product launches. 

This solution addresses the challenges of managing extensive product catalogs by ensuring personalization and consistency at scale, reducing manual effort. 

[The Dynamic Image Editor ](https://www.channable.com/products/dynamic-image-editor)enhances marketing outcomes by embedding product information, highlighting discounts, and customizing visuals, leading to improved engagement, click-through rates, and conversions.

Want to learn more about Channable? [Sign up for a free trial account](https://www.channable.com/signup). 



Reddit Dynamic Product Ads: What you need to know

With the growing focus on safer and more transparent eCommerce, the EU has introduced the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) to enforce new standards for online sellers. These regulations mandate that marketplaces and sellers share specific information about product safety and accountability, aiming to protect consumers and streamline responsibilities.
 
For online businesses, this means adapting to new requirements for uploading product and operator information—yet the specific compliance steps vary across marketplaces. Here’s a breakdown of what the DSA and GPSR require and how Channable is working to support businesses in staying compliant.

## What is the Digital Services Act (DSA)?
The [DSA](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act-package) introduces strict measures to combat illegal content, promote transparent advertising, and curb disinformation on online platforms. For online sellers, this means ensuring that detailed contact information of a responsible economic operator within the EU is available to consumers.
 
This information includes the operator's name, address, phone number, and email, making it easier to track product accountability. Sellers on platforms like social networks, app stores, and marketplaces are required to ensure this information is complete and accurate.

## What is the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)?
The [GPSR](https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/doing-business-eu/eu-product-safety-and-labelling/product-safety/general-product-safety-regulation_en), effective from December 13, 2024, replaces the previous General Product Safety Directive for non-food products, introducing new packaging and online listing requirements.
 
When selling online, businesses need to include certifications and documents showing compliance with safety standards for specific product categories. This can involve uploading certifications like CE marks or images showing product safety labels, allowing marketplaces to easily verify safety standards before products reach consumers.

## How marketplaces handle DSA and GPSR compliance
Not all marketplaces are implementing the changes the same way. Here’s a look at two main approaches:

1. **Direct datamodel integration**: Some marketplaces, such as Amazon, OTTO, Allegro, and Zalando, have chosen to add fields directly in their datamodels to capture the DSA-required information. This includes fields for manufacturer/importer contact details, which can be filled with static values or set to vary by item. In Channable, these fields are available in the Build step, allowing sellers to easily manage compliance for each product.

2. **Creating an economic operator profile**: Other marketplaces, like Miravia and bol, ask sellers to create a profile for the economic operator within their seller environment. This profile, which includes essential contact information, receives a unique ID that can be linked to products. For sellers using Channable, this ID can be added in the Build step, streamlining the process through Channable's rule engine.

## GPSR compliance and safety documentation
To comply with GPSR, sellers need to provide category-specific safety documents and product labels on marketplaces. These safety files, such as CE certifications or product safety warnings, appear as fields within Channable’s Attributes section.
 
This simplifies compliance by integrating safety labels and certifications directly into product listings, ensuring visibility and accessibility for buyers across multiple platforms.

## Current challenges and ongoing support from Channable
While some marketplaces are well-prepared for DSA and GPSR requirements, others are still defining their processes, leading to variations in implementation. Channable’s team is actively tracking these updates and adapting our platform accordingly.
 
For those marketplaces that have clarified their requirements, Channable provides tools for users to manage compliance with minimal friction. As we learn more about how marketplaces like TikTok Shops and others plan to support these changes, we’ll update our platform to ensure users can maintain compliance efficiently.

## Navigating compliance with Channable: Simplifying DSA & GPSR requirements
Adapting to new regulations like the [DSA and GPSR](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/22175644897042-Staying-compliant-with-DSA-and-GPSR-regulations-with-Channable) may seem daunting, but with the right tools and support, online sellers can ensure compliance and build trust with consumers. Channable is committed to providing users with solutions that simplify these processes, from data model integration to seamless profile management.
 
As we continue monitoring marketplace changes, our goal remains to support sellers in navigating these evolving requirements—empowering businesses to focus on growth while meeting the latest standards in product safety and transparency.

DSA & GPSR explained: Essential compliance for online sellers

PPC Automation | Channable Blog

Google Ads | Channable Blog

Bol Ads | Channable Blog

Amazon Ads | Channable Blog

Insights and Analytics | Channable Blog

Performance Segmentation | Channable Blog

Dynamic Image Editor | Channable Blog

Multichannel eCommerce | Channable Blog

API and Marketplaces | Channable Blog

Feed Management | Channable Blog

Solutions | Channable Blog

Events | Channable Blog

Podcasts | Channable Blog

Webinars | Channable Blog

Media | Channable Blog

Company Updates | Channable Blog

Google updates | Channable Blog

Affiliates

Agencies

Amazon

Black Friday

Comparison websites

eBay

Ecommerce

Electronics

Events

Feed management

Google

Guest blogs

Holidays

Infographic

Magento

Marketplaces

Product updates

Rules

Sales season

Shopping campaigns

Social media

Travel

Whitepaper

## What is Smart Shopping?

*Smart Shopping is Google's automated solution that integrates product ads, smart bidding strategies, and remarketing. It's a type of campaign that utilizes machine learning algorithms to optimize your shopping campaigns.*

For far too long, setting up shopping campaigns has been a series of long, complex, and, frankly, dull tasks. Setting up campaign priorities, identifying negative keywords, and setting up bidding strategies, are probably tasks most digital marketers of yesteryear still have nightmares about. 

With Smart Shopping campaigns, you no longer need to perform these tasks. You merely need to set a campaign goal and a budget. After which, the Smart Shopping campaigns will start using its machine learning algorithms to optimize your campaigns with automated bidding strategies and the ideal ad placements. It’s that simple. And in the end, this will help you free up loads of time. Time you can use to focus on matters that are more important or beneficial to your business or life in general. You could refine your marketing strategy or even go for a walk on the beach.  

Smart Shopping campaigns are ideal for eCommerce companies with smaller budgets or who have less time to strategize and manage their campaigns. 

![Blog-image_Smart Shopping_resized_1_smart shopping mobile display_2.svg](https://media.graphcms.com/u4VzjrLQRo6E4qwY1hmk)

*Smart Shopping campaigns will feature both in Product Shopping Ads and Display Ads (e.g. remarketing ads and similar audiences through Google Search, Display Network, Youtube, and Gmail).*
 
## Is there a catch?
*A small one.*

At first glance, Smart Shopping might seem like the right path to go down. However, there is a small tradeoff between ease-of-use and campaign control that you should definitely take into account. 

With Smart Shopping campaigns, it’s not possible to set negative keywords or specify on which devices you want to be visible. Those tasks are all set by Smart Shopping’s algorithms that optimize your campaigns towards your goals.

When developing this feature, we talked to a lot of agencies and marketers who have already set up Smart campaigns on Google. Even though the lack of control was received with caution, they did concede that Google’s algorithms are effective when best practices are followed. 

## Optimize your campaigns with smart bidding strategies

Smart bidding strategies are the key feature of Smart Shopping campaigns. When setting up your campaigns, Google gives you the option to choose between two different strategies. Choosing one over the other will determine how Google's algorithm optimizes your campaigns. The two options are:

![Blog-image_Smart-Shopping_02_EN.svg](https://media.graphcms.com/GVg7E9QZysbIq3cagMCw)

If your main campaign driver is to optimize towards sales value, then you should choose **Maximize Conversion Value**. Choosing this option will maximize the number of conversions by determining exactly which of your products is most likely to convert, then to promote and make it visible to potential customers.

The downside of this strategy, however, is that there is no way for Google to know what your profit margins are on a sale. If you do want to take this into consideration, the **TargetROAS** strategy is the better option to choose. 

Setting up with TargetROAS will determine what type of campaign Google will run for you. For example; by setting a **low TargetROAS** goal on products you want to promote, you essentially tell Google that you are willing to spend a lot of advertising budget to make these products more visible. You can even decide to **set the TargetROAS to less than 1** if you are willing to make a loss with your sales as long as you’re more visible through advertising. 

Let’s simplify it further. Assume you choose a TargetROAS strategy with a relatively low TargetROAS of 3. In this example, you are telling the algorithm that for every one euro of advertising budget you spend, you want €3 of revenue back in return.  

Choosing the ideal smart bidding strategy is completely up to you. You can even combine them with the standard shopping campaigns in order to test out and find the winning formula. 

## Why feed management and Smart Shopping Campaigns are a great fit

Smart Shopping Campaigns are incredibly smart! However, they are only as smart as the information you provide them with. You can therefore easily state that feed health is the foundation for succeeding with Smart Shopping Campaigns. 

If your product feed is not in a great condition, then Google's machine learning algorithms will have a harder time optimizing your campaigns. It is therefore crucial that you ensure that your product feed is optimized and [eligible to serve](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112?hl=en). This is where feed management and tools like Channable suddenly become very handy.

With tools like Channable you can utilize built-in feed templates for more than 2500 different advertising and price comparison platforms. A template for Shopping Ads that works perfectly with Google Merchant Center is no exception and you can even set up a [top-quality feed](/blog/create-quality-google-shopping-feeds) in no time. Not only will this result in greater feed health, it will also help Google better to determine when and where products should show up in searches. 

## So, where do we go from here?

Well, if you are relatively new to Channable and feed management, then we would recommend to first take a closer look towards our blog named: [What is Feed Management and why do I need it?](/blog/blog-what-is-feed-management-and-why-do-you-need-it) This blog gives you a great introduction to Feed Management while explaining all its benefits along the way. 

On the other hand, if you already know quite a bit about feed management, already have a healthy feed or maybe you are already a client or partner of Channable, then you might jump right ahead towards our guide named: [How to set up Smart Shopping Campaigns with Channable.](/blog/how-to-set-up-smart-shopping-campaigns-with-channable)

Take your Shopping Ads to the next level by using Smart Shopping Campaigns

For quite a bit of time, we have been familiar with the four keyword match types: *Exact match, broad match, phrase match*, and *broad match modifier*. But before we know it, we have to say goodbye to the broad match modifier as Google has announced they will bring its behaviour into the phrase match type. 

> To simplify the keyword portfolio and help advertisers reach more relevant user searches, we are bringing behaviors of broad match modifier (BMM) into phrase match, and phasing out support for BMM, tells David Wihl from the Google Ads API Team, source: [Google Ads Developer Blog.](https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2021/02/changes-to-phrase-match-and-broad-match.html)

It is no secret that many advertisers have been experiencing lots of overlapping behaviour between the two match types in the past. Therefore, it seems only logical that Google will bring both match types together and thereby give advertisers an easier way to gain more control and a better reach. 

To give a more detailed explanation of what a pairing between the two means we would like to refer to Google´s very own example of a moving company that wants to be found by people interested to move away from the city of New York and up to Boston. Using the optimized phrase match, the moving company can now reach people who want to make this exact move, even without reaching people who want to move the other way around. Check out the illustration below for more details.

![About changes to Phase match and BMM final V3-01.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/9r1wuGgsSE2759pCA5I2)
Source: Google, [Making it easier to reach the right customers on Search](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10346549)

## What can users expect from these changes?

Obviously, this depends a lot on the individual users' usage of both phrase match and/ or Broad match modifier. Let's try to set up two scenarios: 

1. **Users who to a greater extent uses phrase match**
    
    These users should expect to see an incremental increase in both clicks and conversions. The reason for this is because of the added queries to which keywords will now be eligible to match. For example, “vacation on Ibiza” as the updated phrase will begin to match “vacation hotels on Ibiza”, which was previously only eligible for broad match modifier in the past. 

2. **Users who to a greater extent uses broad match modifier**

    These users should expect to see a slight decrease in clicks and conversions. The reason for this is due to these broad match modifier types where the modifier was only added to one part of the keyword, for example, football +shoes.

    Furthermore, Google will also start to consider the order of the words when it has some importance to the meaning of the keywords. Therefore, for some matches that were previously matched by a broad match modifier, these will be filtered out. To shortly go back to the illustration from Google before, this is also what you see at the very bottom of the illustration (the optimized phrase match will not catch “Boston to New York” but only “New York to Boston” because this has importance to the keyword and the advertiser). 

*Note*: all changes to broad match modified and phrase match will **not** have an impact on negative keyword match types.

## When will these changes happen and is there anything you need to do?

As mentioned in the introduction, Google has already taken the first steps to move the behaviour of broad match modifiers into the phrase match. They will start with the languages English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, and Russian before continuing in Q2 2021 with all the other Google Ads languages. Google expects to have the new phrase match fully updated in July 2021.

But is there anything you need to do? *Only a tiny bit*.

At Channable we will also start phasing out the creation of broad match modifier keywords, meaning from July 2021 you will no longer be able to create these types of keywords. What this also means is that Channable will no longer be able to send broad match modifier keywords to Google, meaning you will have to make a decision with your setup, if you are using these types of keywords. Maybe they need a conversion to phrase match or some other type?

We know this task can be quite challenging, especially if you run multiple Google Ads generators at the same time. To smoothen the transition just a tiny bit we will be releasing a bulk-convert button later in May 2021. With this button, you will be able to convert your broad-match modified keywords to other types of keywords all at once. 

[tip]**A few tips in the end:**

1. With all this in mind, we recommend all users decide which keyword types they want to convert to. Phrase match might be the most straightforward option, but we will leave the choice fully up to you.
2. Going forward, we likewise recommend all users stop creating new broad match modifier keywords.
3. As traffic might fluctuate a bit, depending on your keyword usage, we recommend monitoring the performance and make budget adjustments if needed.
4. If you are concerned about losing coverage, try to use broad match keywords in combination with a smart bidding strategy. This will most likely help you generate more relevant searches that also meet your performance goals.[/tip]

New changes to phrase match and broad match modifier - What does that mean for you?

If you have an online shop, there are more and more events that you have to mark as important on the calendar. Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday, Christmas, summer sales, and for the last few years, Amazon Prime Day. In 2015, <a href="/integrations/amazon-product-feed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon</a> wanted to innovate the sales seasons by offering great deals that were only available for 30 hours. This way the marketplace not only joined the “sales bandwagon” but made Amazon Prime Day a highly anticipated date for their loyal Amazon Prime customers.

<img class="size-full wp-image-26829 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/jVuKzBjQGaYU0jcQr5bv" alt="" width="600" height="787" />
<h2>What is Amazon Prime Day?</h2>
Amazon Prime Day is an annual event that is celebrated in 18 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and China. For approximately 30 hours, people can buy all kinds of products at very low prices.

In order to enjoy Amazon Prime Day, you must be an Amazon Prime customer. The offers are changed and renewed throughout Amazon Prime Day, so customers have to complete purchases quickly for their desired products. It is estimated that in 2019 approximately **40% of the products came from small/medium businesses** that use Amazon as one of their online sales platforms.

It is possible to find discounts on all kinds of products, although the biggest offers are found on Amazon-brand products, especially those related to the electronics sector. In 2019 the best sellers were Echo Dots, Fire TV Sticks, and Kindles.

Historically, it has always been celebrated during the month of July. However, this year due to the uncertainty experienced by COVID-19, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/02/amazon-delays-prime-day-until-october-due-to-coronavirus.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the date has been postponed several times</a>. With the huge increase in orders that Amazon received during the first half of the year, it was impossible to stage an event as popular as Amazon Prime Day. In the absence of official confirmation, everything indicates that it will be held in October, but we are still waiting for a final date.
<h2>Why should you participate in Amazon Prime Day?</h2>
Amazon Prime Day 2019 was a resounding success, becoming the largest event in Amazon's history; even surpassing Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday 2018. In 2019 more than 1 million offers were available worldwide.

While Amazon never discloses the revenue generated by Amazon Prime Day, there is that suggests its great growth year on year. For example, it’s predicted that over 100 million products were sold in 2018. However, in 2019 the number of products sold is said to have almost doubled reaching 175 million.

This large number of purchases implies a large number of returns. According to Adobe Digital Insights, 30% more products were returned in 2018 than during Amazon Prime Day 2017. This means that sellers must have an incredible logistic service to be able to handle this event with the required guarantees.
<h2>How can you sell your products on Amazon Prime Day?</h2>
First and foremost, if you still don't have your catalog integrated into Amazon, you definitely should in preparation for Amazon Prime Day and in general. In the following video, we explain the 6 steps you should follow to create a quality listing for Amazon in a quick and easy way.
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k24FayMRioY" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
Once your listing is integrated into Amazon, you need to improve the visibility of your products to make sure you stand out from the competition. Competition is fierce, especially on a day as important as Amazon Prime.

Here are some of our best tips that can help your business succeed on Prime Day:

- Create attractive titles for your products including keywords and relevant attributes such as brand, color, material, and size.
- Use Amazon Pay Per Click to give your products a jump-start.
- Reduce shipping times, response times, and the number of faulty orders to reach the Buy Box.
- <a href="/blog/blog-improve-opinions-amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Improve your verified reviews on Amazon</a>.

Check out our other blog in which we offer you more tips you should implement to help you to <a href="/blog/blog-tips-for-advertising-your-products-on-amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">advertise your products successfully on Amazon</a>. With Channable's feed manager, it’s simple to configure your Amazon listing. You can also manage all your <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon orders directly from your eCommerce platform</a>, and even configure the <a href="/integrations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">listing for other marketplaces</a>. If you have any further questions, <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">our dedicated team</a> is more than happy to help.

Amazon Prime Day - What to expect and how to profit from it

<a href="https://marketingplatform.google.com/intl/en_uk/about/search-ads-360" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Search Ads 360</a> (SA360) is the part of the <a href="/integrations/google-marketing-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Marketing Platform </a>that enables advertisers to plan, measure, bid, and manage search ads on Google, Bing, Yahoo Japan, and Baidu. As it is part of the Google Marketing Platform, users can easily jump to and integrate data from other products in the Google Marketing Platform such as Analytics 360, <a href="https://marketingplatform.google.com/intl/en_uk/about/display-video-360" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Display &amp; Video 360</a>, or Optimize 360. SA360 makes it more efficient to manage PPC in one place, as well as with a familiar interface.

[caption id="attachment_18660" align="aligncenter" width="500"]<img class="size-full wp-image-18660" src="https://media.graphcms.com/J0wUOBMR5aXrpCSfNqAz" alt="channable google marketing platform " width="500" height="352" /> <a href="https://www.blog.google/products/marketingplatform/360/introducing-google-marketing-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Source</a>[/caption]
<h2>What makes SA360 different?</h2>
Advertisers with a significantly bigger budget and larger, dynamic inventory benefit most from SA360’s offering. This is because, in addition to managing ad campaigns for many search engines (multi-platform management), there are a few notable features that make SA360 appealing:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**ADVANCED BID STRATEGIES**
The bid strategy options in SA360 are more advanced and intricate for a more effective ad campaign. Auto bidding is powered by Google’s machine learning technology. There are various options for bid strategies including revenue and conversion options. SA360 also integrates with conversion tracking analytics, which can be used in building a bid strategy. Furthermore, there are advanced targeting options and even formulas to make a customizable bid strategy. In addition, as SA360 is multi-platform, your bids can be unified across all search engines.</li>
</ul>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**INVENTORY MANAGEMENT**
With inventory management, advertisers are able to distribute ads on an individual inventory level (e.g. per SKU) in inventory campaigns.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>What are inventory campaigns? Search Ads 360’s inventory campaigns are similar to traditional ad campaigns, but they automatically change when your product inventory changes.</blockquote>
To get started with inventory campaigns, you need to supply Google with your inventory. Your inventory needs to be supplied in a feed that meets the standards of Google. <em>BEWARE</em>, often, your feed is not in the right format to be correctly uploaded into Google so using a data feed management tool like Channable is recommended to improve your setup experience.
<h2>Improving SA360 with Channable</h2>
<a href="/success-stories/tui-channable-improve-group-wide-collaboration-save-time-offer-flexibility" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Channable client TUI has had plenty of experience with using Channable</a> to make the most out of SA360’s inventory campaigns. TUI began using SA360 because it could help centralize the whole TUI group’s PPC in one platform. “We use Search Ads 360 in order to be able to advertise all our stock. All our keywords, all our combinations, all our hotels, all our destinations, all that is done in a dynamic way.”

However, the team discovered it had the issue of having non-complementary feeds. Whilst it is possible to manage modifications in SA360, TUI found the SA360 interface and setup was far from ideal. “That’s where Channable came in place because we’re way more flexible doing it, it’s faster, and the UX is way better.” Once TUI was able to build the perfect feed in Channable, it was simply a matter of connecting the feeds in SA360 and then deciding what to send out and where to advertise.

In addition to using Channable to meet SA360’s feed standards, TUI improved their use of SA360 because it is easier to manage what inventory is sent to SA360. “Why should we advertise a certain town on Crete if we only have 5 departure dates available to that specific destination? From a PPC perspective, if you know that something is most likely to occur, you can put it in the feed.” Without Channable, TUI would only be able to react after a sales opportunity ends e.g. stop advertising a flight with only a few seats left.
<h2>Getting started</h2>
To use SA360, you will need to contact <a href="https://marketingplatform.google.com/intl/en_uk/about/contact-us">Google’s sales team</a>. Once you have access, Channable can help you get started with SA360 faster and save you time. TUI has also seen improvement in expenditures by using Channable with SA360. Channable has attributed to a huge number of savings in terms of conversion expense. <a href="https://app.channable.com/login">Sign up to Channable today</a> to begin building the perfect feed for SA360.

If you only like the sound of SA360’s inventory management feature and only want to focus on Google Ads and/or Microsoft advertising or have a lower budget, <a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">try Channable’s PPC tool</a>. With Channable’s PPC tool, you can build campaigns, ad groups, and ad copy with your inventory values. Unlike Google’s custom pricing, Channable’s PPC tool starts from<a href="/pricing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> €99 a month</a>. <a href="/contact">Contact the team</a> for a free demo and exclusive access.

How can you improve your use of Search Ads 360? - TUI & Channable

You’ve no doubt heard of eBay. Alongside Amazon, it is one of the biggest marketplaces in the world, and it’s an attractive sales channel for many retailers. But are you selling on it? That decision is up to you but a few tempting facts include that there are over **182 million buyers (1)** on eBay worldwide, eBay users spend an average of **07.22 minutes per visit (2)**, you can easily [sell variants](https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/creating-listings-variations?id=4150), create detailed listings, and assign different profiles to products within minutes by listing with Channable’s latest eBay integration. 

By choosing to send your products to eBay with Channable, you will be able to upload masses of products with optimized listings in minutes.

## Variants support

Channable supports sending products as a product group with variants. This is a useful function if you have a certain product in many different sizes or colors. Instead of uploading them as separate items, you can set up product groups with Channable. What’s even better about this possibility, is that you will only need to pay the one monthly eBay listing fee for the whole group. [Learn how to set up product listings for eBay with our step-by-step tutorial](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002829565-How-do-I-create-product-listings-for-eBay-)

## Supply eBay with every single detail

Channable’s [attribute builder](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360030477513-What-does-the-attribute-builder-do-) is the bread and butter to structuring, building, and sending your information via APIs to channels, such as eBay. Channable offers a complete attribute builder for all of eBay’s categories (and there are many). This gives you the flexibility to optimize your eBay listings by providing the buyer with any and all information they can need. Any retailer will know that today, information is vital in the buyer’s journey. [Read more about how to set up attributes with eBay](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002829565-How-do-I-create-product-listings-for-eBay-)

## Shipments and stock updates

If you choose to also opt for an eBay [order sync](/products/marketplace-integrator) in Channable, you will see that Channable will send shipment and offer updates between your online store and eBay. Streamlining your order processing. 

**Do you have multiple profiles on eBay?**

Good news, Channable gives you the flexibility to configure different profiles for selling products. This means that you needn’t only link your products to one payment, shipment or return profile - but with any! This feature is a little more fiddly, but nothing Channable’s technical support can’t help you accomplish. 

**Keen to get started?**

If you haven’t already, sign up to Channable in seconds with your email address. Once you’ve [created a project](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002825365-How-do-I-set-up-a-new-project-) and [imported your items,](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002825625-How-do-I-import-products-) you can start setting up an eBay connection in the API tab. Full instructions can be found on [the Channable support site](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002829565). If you’re already using Channable’s eBay connection and want to migrate to our newest version, please contact your customer success manager or our support team via [support@channable.com](mailto:support@channable.com).   

1. [https://www.oberlo.com/blog/ebay-statistics](https://www.oberlo.com/blog/ebay-statistics) 
2. [https://www.similarweb.com/website/ebay.com](https://www.similarweb.com/website/ebay.com)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vlDgoNVXacg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
***Callum explains you in this video how to get started with eBay in Channable.***

The most seamless integration to eBay

Google has grown beyond the modest search engine it began as. Whilst the consumer mostly uses it to search for results, images, items, flights, and so forth, businesses are more acquainted with Google’s vast portfolio of products. Many of the Google products accept <a href="/blog/infographic-product-feed-for-online-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a data feed</a> of inventory or information to simplify, optimize, and even enable usage. Channable offers many different feeds for Google. It can be tricky to understand the difference between each and where a data feed comes in.

This whitepaper will clarify what each Google product does, who it is for, how you can use it, and how a <a href="/products/product-feed-management-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">feed management tool</a> is used. The following Google products will be covered:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Google Shopping</li>
 	<li>Google Shopping Campaigns</li>
 	<li>Google Display</li>
 	<li>Google Ads</li>
 	<li>Google Search Ads 360</li>
 	<li>Google Analytics</li>
 	<li>Google Manufacturer Center</li>
 	<li>Google Play Books</li>
 	<li>Google Product Ratings</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Download the Google products whitepaper</h3>
<p style="text-align: center;">Complete the form below to receive the Google Products whitepaper in your inbox.</p>
[form id="be174dcc-6133-4eb1-b71c-72c177cffc8d"]

Use Channable to generate your feeds for all your Google needs and speed up your scaling process. <a href="https://app.channable.com/companies/14426" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Create a free trial accoun</a>t today and ask one of our teams to give you an <a href="/demo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> in-depth demo</a> on how to build the perfect feeds for Google.


Explained: Google’s products for advertisers [whitepaper]

Google Ads offers many extensions to make your ads stand out even more. Price extensions and sitelinks are two possibilities. With these extensions, your ads will stand out even more and enrich your ad copy. Potential customers are more inclined to click on your ads and therefore the click-through rate will be generally higher!
<h2>What are price extensions?</h2>
Price extensions allow you to highlight some of your products and/or services. They are displayed under your ad as a kind of menu, and the price will be shown too. See it as a showcase of the items you want to put in the spotlight! For example, products that are on sale, or relevant for a certain season or holiday. Users can browse through that menu and click on a product or service that interests them. They will then be taken directly to the page of that specific item.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21605" src="https://media.graphcms.com/arLy0koPS4ej6LEAWgV8" alt="" width="771" height="395" />A working example is imagine you’re selling electronics, including laptops. You could set price extensions for any type/brand of laptop, such as Apple, Asus, or Toshiba, with a "starting from" price. If you have a couple of laptops on sale, then you could set price extensions for each laptop and its promotional price. You can make it as specific as you want!

**Advantages of price extensions**
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Price extensions display well on computers and mobile devices. Make sure that the pages to which the price extensions lead to are also optimized for mobile devices!</li>
 	<li>There are no additional costs. A click on a price extension costs the same as a "normal" click on your ad.</li>
 	<li>It requires less effort to update your ads with new information. You don't have to rewrite your ad copy, you just add price extensions. You will also not lose any performance statistics because of this.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Price extensions in Channable</h2>
Google Ads <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037375474-How-do-I-add-price-extensions-to-Google-ads-">price extensions are available in Channable </a>and can be implemented easily Now you can dynamically highlight your items in your ads. The different elements of a price extension are: "headline", "description" "landing page", and "price". In Channable, these fields are completely dynamic. This means that you can generate many price extensions based on your product feed. Note: In Channable, price extensions are created at ad group level.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21595" src="https://media.graphcms.com/a25NGHQdS9OproncG6rS" alt="" width="1200" height="743" />

Some of our customers already use the Channable price extension feature. Erik, Acquisition Marketing Lead at international online travel company Travix, says "With the price extension feature in Channable we can automatically and widely add relevant price extensions in Google Ads at the ad group level. The feature is easy to set up and with the rules in Channable, we can customize it as desired. "

Travix, uses Google Ads for Cheaptickets.nl, which has a very large and rapidly changing inventory. "We are now using the feature to communicate the prices of other departure airports in our advertisements. We see an improvement in efficiency because the extensions are updated daily, so this saves us manual work. But, we also see a nice performance improvement in which the ads with price extensions achieve a higher CTR than ads without price extensions, "says Erik.

Nick Oltvoort, head of Advertising at digital agency, and <a href="/partners">Channable Gold Partner</a>, Adwise, is also happy creating price extensions with Channable. Especially to keep the prices up to date, something that is not yet easy to set manually through Google. He says, "we think it is a top feature, which allows us to keep the prices in the price extensions up-to-date with feed-based campaigns. Google has not yet made it easy to automate this quickly, so you often see in accounts that prices are no longer up-to-date after a while. This takes extra time to manually check and periodically track, which is a waste of time that you prefer to put into strategic work."

In short, deploying price extensions through Channable will save you a lot of time in keeping everything up to date. In addition to price extensions, it is also possible to use another Google extension with Channable: sitelinks!
<h2>What are sitelinks?</h2>
Sitelinks <a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011084639-Adding-Sitelinks">are additional links</a> that are shown under an ad in the search results, and can lead people to specific pages on your site. They are extremely useful if you want to add extra links to website pages to your ad, for example, to a specific product page or a page with your opening hours. This allows potential customers to get faster to the pages of your website that are relevant to them. In addition, your ad with sitelinks occupies a more prominent place among Google search results, pushing other ads down. Your visibility is therefore also increased!

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21635" src="https://media.graphcms.com/BPkl6wXwQXmg91hBDa9Q" alt="" width="1500" height="997" />

**Advantages of sitelinks **
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Sitelinks display well on computers and on mobile devices. Your ad can show up to six sitelinks on a computer and up to eight on a mobile device. The minimum number of sitelinks is two.</li>
 	<li>There are no additional costs. A click on a sitelink is billed as a "normal" click on your ad.</li>
 	<li>It requires less effort to update your ads with new information. You don't have to rewrite ad copy, you just add sitelinks. You will also not lose any performance statistics because of this.</li>
 	<li>You gain insight into the specific clicks and you, therefore, know what your potential customers find most interesting.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Sitelinks in Channable</h2>
Add dynamic sitelinks <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360010996874-How-do-I-add-sitelinks-to-Google-ads-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to your ads using Channable</a>. All fields from a sitelink, the "link text", "link URL", and the two descriptions can be built entirely with dynamic fields. This means that you can generate many sitelinks based on your product feed. Note that in Channable, sitelinks are created at the ad group level.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21600" src="https://media.graphcms.com/NxlVfGHQmy5mriDvuIR3" alt="" width="1654" height="1024" />

Do you want to significantly increase your CTR? Are you ready to automate your ads and campaigns with <a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Channable's PPC tool</a>? Create your own free account <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> and / or <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contact one</a> of our Channable's sales teams for more information.

Increase the CTR of your ads with price extensions and sitelinks

On 28th April 2020, the <a href="https://docs.magento.com/m2/ee/user_guide/sales-channels/google-ads/google-eol.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Shopping ads Channel will be disabled and removed from the Magento Marketplace</a>. If you had been using the Google Shopping ads Channel extension, **Magento has recommended searching for alternative extensions** in the<a href="https://marketplace.magento.com?_ga=2.47602919.1536390789.1587384265-1906944811.1586434258" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Magento Marketplace</a> that meet your needs, and/or migrating your catalog manually to the Google Merchant Center and Google Ads.

If you’re a Magento retailer who was using the Google Shopping ads Channel,** your product data will not be sent to the Google Merchant Center** and **your Shopping Campaigns will no longer be synced**. The ads will continue to run as they were set up, but they will not be updated.

You can easily send your product data to the Google Merchant Center if you have a Google Shopping feed at hand. You may need to create one to fit Google’s requirements, or even <a href="/blog/create-quality-google-shopping-feeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">optimize it to ensure you’ll be creating high-quality ads</a>.

However, it is highly recommended by Magento to explore alternative extensions to minimize disruption to your Google Shopping campaigns. Channable’s PPC tool is one such alternative that can be set up within a day and gives you <a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011005320-How-do-I-create-shopping-campaigns-from-Channable-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">supreme control on your Shopping ads</a>.
<h2>How can Channable help?</h2>
<a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Channable’s PPC tool</a> can be used in a similar way to the Google Shopping ads Channel and even offers additional benefits such as back up templates, keywords generation, <a href="/blog/google-expanded-ads-with-channable" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sitelinks, and price extensions</a>. Channable can be found in the Magento marketplace and offers a seamless integration thanks to its <a href="/integrations/magento" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Magento plugin</a>.

Users can create ad groups per product for Google Shopping campaigns and ads in mass. The Channable PPC tool provides you with the power to advertise at a product level, enabling more control over which products are advertised in Shopping Campaigns, the bid for each product, and negative keywords per item.

Having full control lowers ad spend on products with a low ROAS, improving campaign performance. In addition, any new products added to the product feed will be automatically added to the Google Shopping Campaigns. Channable’s Shopping Campaigns can help you utilize Google Shopping Campaigns to its fullest potential without the need for a dedicated team or an advanced online advertising background.

If you’re a Magento retailer that has been affected by the discontinuation of Google Shopping ads Channel, Channable would like to offer the first month of Shopping ads created by Channable for FREE. Just use the promo code** MAGENTOGSC _2020** when you create an account in Channable. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">This promo code will be valid until 15th June 2020</span>. For more information, <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">please get in contact with a member of our sales team</a>.

Channable’s offering for all those affected by the end of Magento’s Google Shopping ads extension

As an online marketeer, you know the struggle of selling online. You have your own website, but that is not enough. You want to advertise on price comparison websites, marketplaces, affiliates and have lots of SEA campaigns running. To do so, you need a data feed - ideally one that is linked to your website and your actual shop system. This data feed can be used for your export platforms. But because the data feed requirements vary per platform, it is necessary to adjust your feed according to the standards of the platform.

For this task many people use feed management tools, like Channable. In a tool, like Channable, you are able to edit your feed with rules that are based on IF-THEN statements. <em>IF your price is empty, THEN exclude the product from the data feed.</em> Some rules will be specific to certain channels because they have specific requirements. Other rules might be needed for all exports in general, so it can be a real time saver to put them into the newly implemented master rule groups.

Master rule groups is a feature that Channable recently introduced. Normally, you would create rules for the export channel you have chosen. Whereas with master rule groups, you can create several groups and execute them for multiple exports. These rules are very convenient if you want to apply changes that are needed for multiple channels. Per export, you can select which master rules you want to apply. Below we’ll show a couple of examples of how you could use this new feature.
<ol>
 	<li>**Exclude seasonal products**
It’s winter, there is snow outside and your data feed contains winter coats but also beachwear, swimming suits and other summer fashion. At this time of year, you only want to advertise products that are relevant for this cold weather and exclude anything that is related to summer. With master rules you can easily do that for your entire product feed and won’t have to worry about it per channel.<img class="aligncenter wp-image-13271" src="https://media.graphcms.com/4p7Ff5RRCByWA1yWZllA" alt="" width="1200" height="558" /></li>
 	<li>**Exclude unwanted**
Does your feed contain HTML or textual discrepancies (e.g. unwanted capitals)? Do some items lack information like images, price etc.? These are issues in your feed that you certainly want to eliminate for any export. Use the master rules and you’ll save even more time!</li>
 	<li>**Exclude blacklisted products**
Some brands or categories are not meant to be advertised, so you usually blacklist them. Even if you work in travel, you might want to exclude certain destinations. Create a master rule group for the items you want to blacklist and be done with it forever!</li>
 	<li>**Exclude parent items**
Parent items or configurable products can be excluded in advance, so it’s easier for you to advertise only on the products on that you want to advertise.</li>
</ol>
In our <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015726134-What-are-master-rule-groups-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">help center</a>, we explain how to implement master rules in even more detail.

One master rule to rule them all

Feed-based marketing is becoming more accessible to marketers thanks for product feed management tools. <a href="/blog/find-the-perfect-feed-management-tool">Product feed management tools</a> enable data feed optimization that enables optimized advertising on your chosen online marketing channels. Channable offers a <a href="/products/product-feed-management-tool">product feed manager</a> and therefore knows all about feed-based marketing. Channable's international expertise in the field of digital marketing and its product feed management tool is used by many industries for a lot of different marketing purposes.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-13083 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/RNkFvZ4YTZqqXewtOcFg" alt="product feed Channable" width="600" height="1800" />

If you want to know more about how feed-based marketing can be useful for your business, <a href="mailto:support@channable.com">don't hesitate to contact us</a> for more info or <a href="/demo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">for a demo</a>!

And if you like this infographic, feel free to share it on social media!

What is a product feed in marketing? [infographic]

It was time to make the health check section a bit more user-friendly. Therefore, it has been renamed from "health check" to "quality check" and of course it has had a little upgrade at the same time.
<h3>What has changed</h3>
The quality check functionality is more extensive. You can now click on the items affected by the issue. Once you click, the tool will show you all the items that lack the specific information.

As examples speak better than words, let’s say that 39 items lack a description in your Google Shopping feed. With Channable’s quality check, you can now see exactly which ones, and you can even use the search bar to flick through them. The next step is still yours to make and would be to go to add this missing information by using the rules section to make your feed better and more complete.

<img class="size-full wp-image-13469 alignnone" src="https://media.graphcms.com/botDK95gRuHyREQMZRpu" alt="New channable functionnality: quality check" width="1902" height="770" />
<h3>Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger</h3>
Not only is it easier for you to check the errors in your feed, but this functionality is even faster! Test it with your feeds to see how fast it is and start using it to improve the data in your export feeds.

New Channable feed quality check will give you more insights

<h2>Why is there a new Fnac API?</h2>
The Fnac **Products** API is the new API and it allows you to send unknown products (EAN and other important information) to Fnac. No more “product not found” errors! It only needs to be used once so that Fnac can add the product to its database. Fnac will receive and upload the item(s) and all its accompanying information into the Fnac system.

The other Fnac API (the one that has been in Channable a long time) has been renamed Fnac **Offers** API. It is used for creating, updating or deleting product listings/offers on Fnac. You can optimize product information, control flow, sync stock levels and provide Fnac with all the vital information they need in order to sell your products e.g. shipping costs. If you wish to use <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator">Channable’s order connection</a> for Fnac, a feature that synchronizes order information from Fnac to your online shop, then a Fnac Offers API is necessary.
<h2>How do I do it?</h2>
You will first need to create a Mirakl account. You can then create the new Fnac Products API in Channable and complete the attribute builder stage with all the required attributes. Then you just have to click “Run now” in the API overview and Channable will send the new products and their information (EANs, title etc.) to Fnac.

Once this has happened, the Fnac Products API can be paused. Simply because the new products will be in the system. There is no need to send them again and it will help keep the Channable tool running smoothly.

You will then need to create a <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004172333" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fnac Offers API</a> to control and modify the products offers you want on Fnac.
<h2>More information?</h2>
For a more visual and detailed guide on how to use the new Fnac Products API, check out the <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019296454-How-do-I-add-unknown-EANs-to-Fnac-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help center article</a> we’ve written. There is also a <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004172333" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help center article</a> for creating product listings for Fnac.

Send new products to Fnac with Channable’s Fnac Products API

Whilst there are multiple differences between both marketplaces and comparison sites, Channable identifies that both can bring you great benefits to your online sales.

<img class="wp-image-15450 size-full aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/XxFFscdZSjOwsK0I7nkg" alt="marketplaces vs comparison sites" width="800" height="1905" />

Feel free to share this infographic on the social media network of your choice.

Channable offers connections to more than a thousand marketplaces and comparison websites around the world. Take a look at the <a href="/integrations">different possibilities</a> that you have in Channable and choose the ones that fit best with your online sales strategy.

Marketplaces VS Comparison Websites [infographic]

Search advertising marketing automation tools were introduced to reduce the time and effort spent on tasks that could be done by anybody. They are there to enable the optimization of processes, costs, and efforts. Naturally, there will be certain processes that businesses will prefer to be handled by a real marketer. By identifying what those are, you can start to draw up a list of what you expect from a marketing automation tool, the essentials, and what would be nice for it to do. Not all tools are perfect, but knowing what aches and pains it can soothe are worth knowing.

Automating the generation of search ads is one method of marketing automation for search advertising. Whilst the functionalities of each search ad generation tool differ, they all aim to save time, lower CPA, and increase ROAS/ROI. Channable’s PPC tool is no exception and focuses on being a marketing automation tool for** feed-based automation** for both search and shopping campaign creation. But what does that actually mean? And how is it different from other tools?

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15188" src="https://media.graphcms.com/gnKmvF1pR96iL5eDifFj" alt="" width="1070" height="515" />
<h2>What can you do with the Channable PPC tool?</h2>
As the Channable PPC tool is a feed-based generation tool, you can use it for aspects of search advertising that can be generated from item attributes imported via a data feed, plugin or API. These aspects include:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Campaigns</li>
 	<li>Ad groups: medium and/or long tail</li>
 	<li>Ad copy</li>
 	<li>Shopping Campaigns</li>
 	<li>Keywords</li>
 	<li>Negative keywords</li>
 	<li>Basic targeting</li>
 	<li>A default CPC</li>
 	<li>Sitelinks</li>
</ul>
Using an ad generation tool is useful if you need to generate a large number of ads that are still unique for the right audience. Managing ads for thousands of items can be time-consuming. Not only when it comes to creating the ads but also having to keep them up to date and pausing irrelevant ones.

Channable’s tool ensures that your ads are up-to-date and relevant as you can use dynamic information in your feed to create the above-mentioned list.

For example, if you wanted a campaign for each subcategory or destination you offer, simply use the field ‘subcategory’ when building the campaign template in Channable. There is also a template for ad copy, so you can create unique ads from one template because of the dynamic information contained in your feed.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15186" src="https://media.graphcms.com/4aK3vBMYTT6ibH5oPXV7" alt="" width="1070" height="489" />
<h2>What will I still have to do?</h2>
Bid Management, budget, and advanced targeting are not included in the Channable PPC tool. Although Channable can be used to set a default CPC or targeting, we recommend you finetune this in your Google or Bing ads manager. Do not worry, adjusting CPC and targeting will not result in any errors in Channable.

Furthermore, if Channable is unable to help you create certain campaigns, ad groups or keywords you can still manually create them in your ads manager. As these manually added ads will not be linked to Channable, they will not be affected by Channable and will remain in your ad account intact.

Finally, campaigns and ad groups that are created in Channable, **cannot** then be edited in Google/Bing. This is because the synchronization between Channable and your ad manager will be lost. Therefore, ads will not be refreshed as they will no longer be recognized by Channable. This will ultimately result in an error in Channable.

When choosing a tool, you need to think about what it is you want it to assist you with, what’s necessary and what is nice to have. If you’re looking for a solution to help you manage and create the right ads, with relevant keywords, and a clear and comprehensible structure in campaigns and ad groups, then Channable’s PPC tool could be the best option.

The dynamic nature of the PPC tool means that the campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords are always cohesive with your site and relevant. So long as you’re aware that there will be certain aspects like bid management, budget and targeting that you will still have to do manually. Furthermore, remember a tool is there to compliment and help you but you will still have full control and can revert to manual when necessary.


Why use a marketing automation tool to automate search ads?

The rules within Channable work hierarchically. With every rule you create, you exclude, filter or modify items. Per rule, you can check which items are selected. These selected items are not only manipulated by the rule you are in at that moment but by any rule that is above the rule you are working in. This hierarchy is important to keep in mind if you download the CSV list of selected items.

Here are some ideas of what you could do with the download:
<ol>
 	<li>**Optimize your website**
Imagine you want to see which items are missing a certain field (image, description, etc.). This is an easy way to export all “faulty” products and optimize them right away.</li>
 	<li>**Share insights with other departments**
If you want to share certain values, missing fields, images or in general data of certain items with other departments, this is the perfect way to collect the data, download it, and share it. As a result, every colleague can use the data without needing to access Channable.</li>
</ol>
Did you know that you can also download CSVs in the master rules step? Read more about our <a href="/blog/blog-master-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">master rules</a> and <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">start using</a> them today!


Download sections of your items as CSV

In order to be “where your buyers are” marketers are investing more and more in the growing list of online channels to advertise on. From marketplaces and comparison sites to affiliate networks and social media platforms, the struggle today is creating unique ads for all these channels and keeping them up to date.

Pinterest is a social media network that has seen exponential growth in recent years and has begun to offer advertorial space for brands. Users, or aptly named “Pinners”, use Pinterest to search for inspiration, information, and entertainment. As an advertiser, your first goal should be to be discovered. Once you’ve accomplished that, you’ll want to convert pinners to buyers. Looking into advertising on Pinterest could be the next step to achieving that.
<h2>Why use Pinterest?</h2>
Pinterest is no longer a social network, it’s a search engine. Pinterest’s never-ending boards encourage visual discoveries and personalize the results based on a user’s interests. This engrossing way to entice users into spending hours scrolling and building their own pinboards introduces them to new brands every second. Pinterest is a great way to build brand awareness, boost favorability, shift perceptions, and get people to buy. One brand, gofeminin.de, recorded an impressive 20% of traffic coming from Pinterest, compared to only 2% from other social media platforms. Albeit, the conversion funnel may be longer with Pinterest, but awareness is the first step. Using Pinterest’s advertising option can further help improve your chances of conversion.
<h2>Why advertise on Pinterest?</h2>
There are many benefits to advertising on social media platforms. Namely, because social media is a fast and effective way to be in front of your target audience. At the time of writing, there were over 250 million Pinners worldwide. However, if Pinterest’s vast audience isn’t enough to persuade you to advertise on Pinterest, there are many other appealing factors depending on your target audience and goals.

If your target market is women between 25-50, advertising on Pinterest will most definitely be interesting for you. Brands such as IKEA, Boursin, and Hunter have found value in advertising on Pinterest. Their Pinterest ads helped to increase intent to purchase, heighten visibility during high sales seasons, increasing offline sales, and more.

By advertising on Pinterest, you are able to pay to promote your images (pins) to appear higher, and more frequently, on Pinterest boards. Your advertisement/promoted pin appears as an image with a short description and a link to the product on your website. A user is able to save this pin and it will be seen in other people’s boards too. Further increasing visibility and engagement.
<h2>How to get started with advertising on Pinterest?</h2>
The first step is to upload your products into Pinterest via Pinterest Shopping. Pinterest Shopping, aka Catalogs, allows “Pinners” to discover, save, and eventually buy your products via Pinterest. In order to list your products on Pinterest for shopping, you need to supply Pinterest with your product catalog/product feed. You can then generate hundreds of product pins.

To advertise on Pinterest, you will have to choose to promote a pin to a shopping ad. Simply choose which pins/products you would like as Shopping Ads through the Pinterest Ads Manager. These pins then become “promoted pins”. Pinterest uses a pay per click model, so you will only pay when a user clicks on your pin. The Pinterest Ads Manager works similarly to other ad managers, you will need to set a campaign, ad group, budget, time frame, etc.
<blockquote><em>Good to know! Advertising on Pinterest will mean your pins promoted status will come to an end. However, the pin will remain on Pinterest forever. Meaning your products will always be on display, generating only more views and clicks.</em></blockquote>
Converting your existing product feed into a Pinterest compatible one is really simple if you use a tool like Channable. It's merely a matter of uploading your product feed into Channable, choosing Pinterest as a feed, completing the steps to ensure Channable completes the Pinterest feed with the correct data from your original product feed, and then voila - you will be provided with a new feed URL that is Pinterest ready. This will save you a lot more time in becoming listed so you can start advertising on Pinterest faster.

Remember, Pinterest is visual. For every image you supply in your product feed a separate pin will be made. You can have multiple images for one product. Simply include them in your Pinterest product feed as additional images. If you have a separate feed with images you can easily combine it with your master product feed in Channable. You can use any pin to advertise on Pinterest.
<h2>Our tips for advertising on Pinterest</h2>
<h3>Create Pinterest titles and descriptions</h3>
Most likely the content in your pins will match what is listed on your site. To make your Pinterest advertising more relevant, consider adapting titles and descriptions. Write ad copy specific for Pinterest and consider excluding any overly generic images that wouldn’t generate as much attention as your fancier ones. These modifications can be simply done in the rules section of Channable.
<h3>Use keywords</h3>
It’s possible to use your Google keywords to improve your discoverability and advertising on Pinterest. You can pop them in your titles, descriptions, and even the image itself. Alternatively, experiment with Pinterest’s own search bar and see what the auto-completion suggests. If you use Channable, you can modify titles and descriptions for Pinterest without having to change your master feed.
<h3>Clickbait</h3>
Being found on Pinterest is just the first step, you also need to ensure that your pin gets clicked and saved. Anything that stands out is sure to give you the upper hand. Consider the following:
<ol>
 	<li>Big text in the image</li>
 	<li>Colors that POP</li>
 	<li>Text blocks in images</li>
 	<li>Keywords in images</li>
</ol>
<h3>Less isn’t always more</h3>
The Pinterest inventory seems unlimited. Therefore, ensuring that you have a sufficient reach will require you to post frequently. Some marketers recommend 20-30 pins a day. It may seem a lot, but reposting is also acceptable.
<p style="text-align: center;"> <img class="alignnone wp-image-15365" src="https://media.graphcms.com/qrlkgMmcR72xBLSxHzXs" alt="Pinterest advertising tips channable" width="176" height="329" /> <img class="alignnone wp-image-15364" src="https://media.graphcms.com/zBAwJROmQeKyYhUuiaY7" alt="pinterest advertising channable" width="176" height="327" /><img class="alignnone wp-image-15363" src="https://media.graphcms.com/er1fEhBcQOSQFDJN9Q82" alt="pinterest ads channable" width="98" height="330" /></p>
By making relevant ads for Pinterest you will also increase the value of using it as an online marketing channel. Pinterest advertising can be sped up with Channable. Save yourself time and use Channable to manage your online marketing channels so you can easily scale and spend more time on making ads more relevant.



Get the most out of Pinterest advertising

Being a Google premier partner often requires you to be on top of the latest Google developments, but you’re also eager to use them. <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7684791?hl=en-GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google’s responsive search ads</a> are the next biggest development in Google Ads, and Channable has ensured that the responsive search ads template is available in its <a href="/products/ppc-tool">SEA tool</a>. Roos Rabenberg from marketing agency <a href="https://www.yellowgrape.nl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yellowgrape</a>, a Channable Partner, has already been busy experimenting with responsive search ads in Channable and cared to share the experience so far.
<h2>What are responsive search ads?</h2>
The responsive search ads feature is Google’s AI ad structure that will adapt to the internet user depending on what the technology has evaluated as most effective. Roos shared that “by entering 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, Google Ads will automatically test the combinations and display the best performing ads to the right customer. Responsive search ads maximize the relevance of the ad to the search term of the customer. More relevance means that your advertisement can enter more auctions. More auctions lead to a higher probability of the advertisement to win, which results in an increase in impressions and traffic.”
<h2>Why would someone want to use responsive search ads?</h2>
Google says that responsive search ads allow you to display more relevant messages to your potential customers and may even improve performance. For Roos, “Responsive search ads are of great value to each advertiser out there that wants to maximize the probability of conversions. Before, advertisers needed to decide whether or not an advertisement was relevant or performing well. Now, we let a machine decide which ads are performing best based on a multitude of variables that is impossible to take into account as a simple human being. It not only saves time, but it also leads to better customer experience in Google.”

Functionality wise, responsive search ads can be desirable because you are able to:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Create flexible ads that can adapt to different device sizes</li>
 	<li>Save some time as you provide a set list of headlines and descriptions and Google will optimize the ad</li>
 	<li>Reach more people and increase ad group performance as combinations of your headlines and descriptions can generate more ads to compete in auctions and match more search queries</li>
</ul>
<h2>Why use Channable for responsive search ads?</h2>
Channable can be used to generate responsive search ads with dynamic information that updates the ads automatically. Dynamic fields use the information in your data feed to customize ads. One template can generate hundreds of variations of ads, headlines, and descriptions.

Yellowgrape was one of the first Channable clients to put Channable’s responsive search ads template to the test. Channable’s template was quickly deemed to Roos and the team as a valuable complement to starting with responsive ads as they realized “when using static ads, it can be hard to use up-to-date product information in your advertisements. In order to differentiate your ads from competitors, one must work with a feed management tool such as Channable. Creating advertisements in Channable can be done on different levels, such as brand-, category-, brand + category, and product level. By using keyword-related variables in a responsive search ad allows an advertiser to show relevant and up-to-date ads. This creates realistic expectations for the consumer. **Relevance level: 100%. Disappointment level: 0%.**”

<img class="alignnone wp-image-16656 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/O1ZxcbCyTFOUixU8jVBc" alt="channable responsive search ads" width="652" height="249" />

Channable’s SEA tool has proven to help improve relevancy, personalization, and save time. With the responsive search ads template, Channable has strived to ensure even more efficiency and the means to support even higher quality ads. Please<a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> get in contact</a> if you’re interested in Channable’s SEA tool and using Channable to generate responsive search ads. You can also <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">open an unlimited free trial account</a> to get started.



Why use Google’s responsive search ads?

Perhaps you discovered Channable in a blog, used it at your previous company, or you’ve met someone from our wonderful team. Whatever the reason, you know that your company can benefit from Channable, but your managers are harder to convince. Let us help you with ways to convince your manager that Channable is a valuable asset that improves performance and saves both time and money. Below you can find a letter template and manager-proof responses to the most common objections.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear ……..........................…………,

**RE: Using Channable as a feed management and SEA solution**

At [company name] we continue to optimize our processes to be more efficient to deliver more for our clients. I am aware that you are always on the outlook for new technologies and trends that can make our processes more efficient whilst saving time and money, so I wanted to bring your awareness to Channable. Channable is an all in one feed management and SEA automation tool that offers feeds and integrations to over 2500 online marketplaces, affiliate networks, and comparison sites, and enables ad generation for Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising.

The Channable tool can be used to:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**Save time** (Channable’s client <a href="/success-stories/cotswold-use-channable-to-merge-maximize-and-rise">Cotswold outdoor</a> were able to advertise on Criteo within an hour),</li>
 	<li>**Save money** (marketing agency <a href="/success-stories/adwise-generating-dynamic-text-ads-channable">Adwise</a> saw an 11% decrease in cost per click for their client Oad), and</li>
 	<li>**Optimize online marketing** (SDIM were able to <a href="/success-stories/automated-google-ads-for-recruitment-campaigns-tmi">generate highly specific keywords and ad copy</a> for recruitment agency client TMI improving relevancy and increase conversion rate).</li>
</ul>
Based on these factors, we will have more time to focus on [performance analysis/acquiring new clientele/optimizations/etc.] because Channable will relieve us from spending hours manually [making optimizations in Excel/asking IT to modify feeds/creating keywords/searching for the channel criteria/etc.]. By using Channable to automate at least 20% of our tasks, we can save a whole day a week.

We can get a demo of the tool when it is most convenient for you, and Channable offers an unlimited free trial of the tool that’ll provide full access to all the functionalities. In terms of pricing, Channable has different sizes of packages that can be easily activated, upgraded, downgraded, or canceled at any time. The Channable technical support team is also at our disposal to clear up any issues that may arise when trialing the tool.

Let me know whether you have any concerns or questions about the points I have raised. Otherwise, we can <a href="/demo">request a demo</a> or directly make <a href="/contact">contact</a> with the Channable team.

Kind regards,

…………………………………………………….

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If the above letter isn’t enough. You can find some compelling arguments to the most common objections below:
<h2>Common objections:</h2>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**We’re doing fine for now**
The world of marketing is rapidly changing, largely due to the innovation of technologies and AI. It is becoming essential to remain up-to-date and current with such innovations, which will require change. Looking into and adopting new technology like Channable is an investment in the beginning. However, over time Channable’s tool will save you time and money which will make your organization more agile and ready for the future.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>“Google is pushing for automation, everything is becoming automated. If you don’t push forward with these things, you might not see immediate changes now, but if you do it 2 years from now, you’re already too late. You will fall behind in the market.” - Martin Michels, Paid Search Manager at TUI</blockquote>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**It’s too expensive**
Channable’s monthly subscriptions are determined by the number of SKU’s imported, channels used, and projects created. The subscriptions are flexible with no setup charge, cancellation fee, commission on sales, or hidden costs. By using Channable, users cut down the average time spent on ad and feed management from 22% to 5% a week (based on a 40-hour workweek). Furthermore, Channable’s support team is free for all and available by phone or email during working hours.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>“Real value for money” - Mark M on Capterra</blockquote>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**We don’t have time right now to start**
Channable’s free trial is unlimited so creating an account takes just seconds and can be revisited whenever is convenient. As a welcome, Channable offers the first feed set up for free. Getting you up and running as fast as possible. Channable’s solution exists to save time. Therefore, if the lack of time your manager perceives is due to other tasks being too time-consuming, Channable could be a solution to that lack of time they’re rebutting with. If your team is wasting time using Excel or another software to manually edit product listings, keywords, ad copy, etc., then Channable is most definitely going to free up time.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>“Previously [using different marketplaces and prices comparison sites for each geographical market] was time-consuming because we did not have the feed adapted to each platform. Now we just need to open an account. It takes 1 minute to adapt the feed thanks to Channable. The feed is no longer a problem.” - Alex Poza, Consultant at ECCO Shoes</blockquote>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**It’s too confusing and time-consuming to learn to use**
Channable offers an unlimited free trial that allows you to familiarize yourself with the tool and all its functionalities in your own time. The tool has been designed to be as user-friendly as possible, and Channable is often praised for being the most user-friendly tool of its kind. The team is happy to give demos to you to help you get acquainted with all the tool’s features and answer any questions you may have. Channable has found that many of its clients conduct their own in-house training now, so it can only take one person to train the rest.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>“Super-duper user-friendly. I haven't tried yet, but I think I can teach a monkey to use Channable. In a PPC world where the use of feeds gets more and more important, it is of great value that there is a tool like Channable that enables me to manage my feed, without having any programming skills.” - Danny V on Capterra</blockquote>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**We’re just looking around right now**
Pitching an idea to a manager always requires plenty of evidence and solid reasoning. Snoop out the competitor and determine why in particular Channable is the best solution for you. Is it the user-friendliness? Potential? Affordability? Channable’s sales team has plenty of experience with existing and prospect clients. They are supplied with informative material should you need it for analysis. Together, you can develop a fool-proof strategy to win your manager over and start saving (both time and money) with Channable’s feed management and SEA solution.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>"We have tried many tools for both general feed management and building inventory management campaigns. But Channable is by far the best I have tried." - Christian H. on Capterra</blockquote>
Let us know if this letter proves successful, or whether you have any additions to add. The Channable team is ready to take on any and all managers to ensure that you and the team get access to the best feed management and SEA solution the web has to offer.

How to pitch Channable to your seniors

Adapting the numerical data in your product feed to the specifications of all your chosen online marketing channels can be a challenge. Prices, discounts, promotions, taxes, and fees come in different formats with a variety of different decimal separators. Imagine having to modify all figures to comply with Google Shopping, Criteo, and Amazon’s required format because yours is different.
<h3>How you could do it before?</h3>
Channable has always been able to help you modify your numerical information. You could create a set of rules to ensure the modifications would be applied. Combing rules such as ‘<a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827945-Rule-round-number" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">round number</a>’ and any <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002818089-Rule-calculate-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘calculate</a>’ rule can help improve your information in your data feed. Unfortunately, it was not guaranteed that numbers in your data feed with irregular decimal separators would be successfully modified.
<h3>Channable’s awesome new rule</h3>
As the Channable team is made up of perfectionists, it was important to make this experience as efficient as possible. Therefore, what you could previously do in 4 clicks now only takes one. This revolutionary reformat number rule allows you to switch your decimal separator to the format you desire. Here’s how it looks in the tool:

<img class="size-full wp-image-16471 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/m9Mx4yqYQXa7HpbjyEAK" alt="Format number rule in Channable" width="1339" height="518" />

<em>Note: It is important that this rule is always the last numerical rule that you apply. For instance, if you’re wanting to modify the process with a discount percentage then it is most convenient to use the reformat number rule later.</em>

Channable’s rules allow you to make powerful modifications to your data. There is a long list of rules that you can apply to help you to easily improve the data in your product data feed. Modifying descriptions, optimizing titles, and filtering out products with low stock levels are just some examples of the options available. Interested? Feel free to <a href="mailto:support@channable.com">contact the technical support team</a>, who will be happy to advise you on which rules can help you to optimize your feed.



Reformat the numbers in your feed

Google is undeniably the current search engine leader. According to <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stat counter</a>, 92% of internet searches were made with Google in 2018 worldwide. With such figures, it’s no surprise that advertising on Google is a favorite for online merchants. The success of this type of advertising is not only due to Google Ads, but also the unstoppable growth of Google Shopping.
<h2>What do product ratings in Google look like?</h2>
Product ratings on Google Shopping appear as a star rating. Written reviews can also appear in the organic search results in Google.
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17038" src="https://media.graphcms.com/X2wrtnSkSUSPlkGxpPBu" alt="" width="1387" height="911" />

The rating is displayed on a scale that ranges from one to five stars. Ratings focus mainly on different aspects such as quality, materials, product features, user satisfaction, etc. Keep in mind, these ratings are for the product specifically not the seller. According to <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6059553?hl=en-GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google</a>, the overall rating is compiled from various sources.

By clicking on product ratings, a potential buyer will be brought to the Google Shopping product page where all reviews are displayed. In addition to the ratings, this product page also displays the list of sellers/online shops that stock the item, prices, special offers, shipping information, and seller ratings.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17022" src="https://media.graphcms.com/MNwMId3SlSzFkgj9eXIw" alt="" width="1333" height="446" />
<h2>How do Google Product Ratings work?</h2>
Unlike the seller’s ratings, product ratings are specific to that individual product. Naturally, delivery experience, returns policy, and customer service all factor into a buying experience, Google product ratings are intended for the products themselves and not the sellers.

These product ratings are supplied by third parties, which can be different sellers, marketplaces, review sites, etc. To associate ratings to each product, Google uses unique product identifiers, such as GTIN or other data such as the SKU, the brand, manufacturer number (MPN), and the product URL.

If a search is very generic, for example “red t-shirt”, an overview of different models will be shown. When you click on one of the models, the ratings of the sellers will appear. Whereas, if a search term is more specific, includes the brand name or the specific seller, then only the ratings for this seller will be displayed.
<h2>Advantages of integrating product ratings into Google Shopping</h2>
<em>**Ratings and reviews can help you distinguish yourself from the competition.**</em>
Online shoppers are strongly influenced by the opinions of other consumers. Products with ratings are more distinguishable than those that do not, which improves conversions and therefore sales. If your listing has many positive reviews, it will be easier for you to sell.

<em>**More informed consumers**</em>
Opinions do not just allow one product to stand out against another, it also helps consumers make a decision. In most cases, product descriptions provided by sellers are often impersonal and partial, which makes customers wary. Therefore, customers value and trust the opinions of fellow customers more. Especially, when reviews provide information that is missing from the product description.

<em>**Improve your conversion rate**</em>
Customers who come to your online shop through Google Shopping are more likely to buy.
<h2>Steps to integrate reviews into Google Shopping with a Google Product Ratings feed</h2>
The first question you need to ask is: Do I have enough product reviews? You need to be able to supply <a href="/blog/infographic-product-feed-for-online-marketing">a feed</a> with a minimum of 50 reviews for all products, but where do you get them from? You can gather them from your own online shop, an external review site that you work with, and Google customer reviews.

Once you have enough reviews, follow the steps below:
<ol>
 	<li>First, you need to have a Google Merchant Center account that is linked to your online shop. If you do not yet have an account, you can find instructions on how to set one up in <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/188924" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google’s support center</a>.</li>
 	<li>Before you upload the feed, you need to complete <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/contact/product_ratings_interest_form?hl=en&amp;visit_id=637000781696320879-1333004373&amp;rd=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google’s Product Ratings Interest form</a>.</li>
 	<li>Create the feed containing all the reviews. Google accepts it in an XML file format. Use Channable’s feed management tool to easily create such a file, notably as the required fields are already built into the tool. Meaning you can compile a Google Product Ratings feed in a few minutes.</li>
 	<li>Import the newly created XML/Product Ratings feed into the Merchant Center.</li>
</ol>
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17027" src="https://media.graphcms.com/Zu2vREKoTDydrlDq1pV2" alt="" width="658" height="518" />

With Channable, you can modify your product data feed to the specifications of many Google products. You can create the perfect feed for Google Shopping, Google Display, Google Product Ratings, and even the Google Manufacturer Center. You can also set up the structure of your Shopping campaigns or create thousands of ads for Google Ads with the dynamic Channable SEA tool that uses information from your product feed. Channable is the most complete tool for managing all your marketing efforts on Google.

How to embed product ratings into Google Shopping?

Google Shopping merchants received an announcement late January that Google will no longer support integrations with BigCommerce, <a href="/integrations/magento">Magento</a> or <a href="/integrations/prestashop">Prestashop </a> vendors from 20th March 2018 onwards. Google Merchants received an email from Sales &amp; Orders stating that the decision was made: “in order to better focus on solutions that will make the Shopping ads onboarding a more seamless experience. We’re continuing to work with e-commerce platforms to explore more frictionless integration opportunities.”

However, this does not mean the end for Google selling for webshop owners. The use of third parties to generate feeds and build API connections for Google Shopping remains supported.
<h2>Channable supports Google feeds and API</h2>
Channable has long supported feed generation and is continuously improving an API connection with Google Shopping. So rest assured, you can continue to sell on Google Shopping, as well as over 1000 more channels, and enjoy many more of Channable’s other features such as <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator">order connections</a> and <a href="/products/ppc-tool">SEA tool</a> for dynamic text ads and shopping campaigns.

With Channable you can optimize your product information to increase your discoverability on Google Shopping with our unique rules. So you can make sure that your titles and image links are optimized, before you appear on Google Shopping.

Channable wants to help everybody that has been affected by Google’s decision. We’ve created a special promo code* to ensure that you remain on Google Shopping as fast as possible. We will set up your Google Shopping feed free of charge when you use the promotional code: <b>GOOGLE_PROMO2018</b>. Hurry, <em>**this code expires 1st April 2018**</em> - and no, this is not an April’s fools joke. After you<a href="/signup"> create an account </a> , enter the code at the set up and one of us will be in contact asap to discuss the finer details. Make sure to take a look at your new feed and experiment with our rules to make your products shine!
<h2>Prestashop and Magento Channable Plug-Ins</h2>
If you have a Prestashop or Magento shop you can directly import your data feed into Channable with a plug-in. The plug-in incurs <i>no additional costs</i> and you can make use of any of our <a href="/pricing">monthly subscriptions</a> starting at 19 euros a month. It’s possible to import products into Channable if you use BigCommerce with an XML import. Once your import is complete, create a Google Shopping connection with just a few clicks. Channable's API connection is continuously being developed to ensure that a more seamless integration is offered.

Feel free to <a href="mailto: support@channable.com">contact us</a> if you have any questions regarding our tool, how our connections work or to have a good old rant about Google’s decision

Channable’s solution to Google’s decision to drop BigCommerce, Magento and Prestashop API connection

GDPR. Those 4 dreaded letters. The<a href="https://edps.europa.eu/data-protection/data-protection/legislation/history-general-data-protection-regulation_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> General Data Protection Regulation</a> has instilled a certain amount of frenzy in the past few months. It is a new EU regulation introduced to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe to protect and empower EU citizens. But it needn’t be as scary or stressful as the media make it out to be (who would’ve guessed?). Admittedly, it was about time to update online data protection regulations, the previous one having been put in place a whopping 23 years ago. A time before Google (just), Facebook and Amazon.

The GDPR is being put into place to regulate the collection, storage, transfer and usage of personal data. For people, this is great news. For companies, this may mean a lot of paperwork but also an opportunity for companies to shine light on how they process personal information. Accordingly, these types of companies are coined **controllers** or **processors**, depending on what they do with the information. The **controller** determines the purpose and means of processing the personal data. **Processors** basically process personal data on behalf of the controller.

Naturally, due to the industry Channable is involved in, Channable is a processor as it processes a certain amount of personal data e.g. names, email addresses, and, if you use the order connection feature, order shipping information. Channable has received many inquiries into the actions that are being taken in preparation for GDPR. So to be more efficient, this post will cover how Channable is affected by GDPR and what you need to do.

Firstly, Channable holds the personal data of its users e.g. names and email addresses. This data is stored and encrypted in Channable’s servers. Therefore, a new privacy policy has been created to better communicate how Channable uses the personal data that you provide. In order to continue using Channable’s tool, you will need to agree to the new privacy policy which can be found in the tool.

The other personal data Channable processes is related to our order connection feature. As a processor, Channable doesn’t interpret or use the personal data that is received from order connections. However, as many of Channable’s clients are sub-processors/controllers and have inquired about documentation, Channable has created its own Data Processing Amendment (DPA) to save you time and effort.

To see whether you will need to read and sign the agreement Channable has made, just follow the flowchart below.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-9035" src="https://media.graphcms.com/8Zv5m2ZzQXiqfLKapxQb" alt="" width="800" height="1028" />

Depending on where you ended in the flowchart you will either have to do:

1) read and accept the new Privacy Policy

2) and read and sign the DPA

The new documents can be found in the tool under Company settings &gt; Legal &amp; compliance.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-9020" src="https://media.graphcms.com/yoHaWbwQTGLkEg1eORRP" alt="screenshot channable GDPR" width="721" height="448" />
<h3>The new and improved Privacy Policy</h3>
Our reviewed Privacy Policy makes it clearer for you to know what data Channable stores about you, how it is protected and how you can amend/delete it.

Here's a brief summary of the Privacy Policy:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>If you use Channable, Channable may ask or gather personally identifiable information from you (e.g. email address, phone number, address) in order to contact, identify and invoice you</li>
 	<li>Channable may also collect information that your browser sends (e.g. IP address, browser type, browser version, the pages in our tool that you visit, the date of your visit) in order to improve the Channable tool or its website</li>
 	<li>Channable will never sell or trade any personal information to third parties</li>
 	<li>Channable will do everything in its power to protect and secure your personal information</li>
</ul>
Some ways your data may be used:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>To deal with inquiries you send to Channable</li>
 	<li>To create and administer records of how you use Channable</li>
 	<li>To provide you with information and access to resources that you request from Channable</li>
 	<li>To provide you with technical support</li>
 	<li>To improve Channable’s website</li>
 	<li>To improve Channable’s customer service</li>
 	<li>To send you more information about the company and new possibilities within the tool (via newsletters that you opted in to receive)</li>
</ul>
<h3>The Data Processing Amendment</h3>
For customers who benefit from our order connection feature, the DPA will be found in the tool, awaiting your approval. The document explains what Channable does with all the personal data that is retrieved from the order connections.

In short the DPA document states:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Channable uses 2 kinds of different "personal information": 1) information for delivering technical support and 2) information of clients' customers in the form of order information</li>
 	<li>Channable processes the personal data from order connections to provide you with order synchronization and with technical support if you seek it</li>
 	<li>Channable will not accept sensitive data (data that can be used to uniquely identify someone) for processing</li>
 	<li>Channable allows you to delete personal data at any given time on request whilst you’re a paying client of Channable</li>
 	<li>If you decide to stop using Channable and notify us of this termination, Channable will destroy or return any of your customer data that is in its possession if requested. Any deleted data will be properly deleted 30 days after the subscription has ended.</li>
 	<li>The security measures Channable currently has in place to protect your data are: the pseudonymization and/or encryption of personal data, the ability to ensure ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of data processing systems and services, and regularly testing and evaluating whether these measures are effective</li>
 	<li>The staff at Channable that work with personal data comply with Channable’s security measures</li>
 	<li>If a data incident occurs, it will be immediately communicated to you via email</li>
 	<li>If you would like to request an audit to verify our compliance with GDPR you are welcome to but you are responsible for any costs and you can only request it once in 12 months.</li>
 	<li>Within Channable, you are able to access customer data, correct any inaccurate customer data, restrict the processing of it and export or delete it</li>
 	<li>You authorize us to use sub-processors (though they’re only allowed to access and use customer data to the extent that they’re contracted to). A list of our sub-processors can be found in the document as they are subject to change.</li>
</ul>
You will need to agree to the new Privacy Policy, and potentially the DPA, to continue using Channable’s services.

Hopefully now you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that Channable has always prioritized data protection and privacy. Everybody at Channable tries their utmost best to deliver a service that you can trust in. If you’re not yet a customer of ours, feel free to <a href="/signup">create a free trial account </a>or <a href="mailto:support@channable.com">chat to one of our support members</a> to find out more about how Channable can make selling online a piece of (safe) cake.

A small update on what to expect from Channable’s GDPR preparations

Channable’s rules are the (not so) secret behind being able to optimize and modify data to perfection. You may already be familiar with the <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002828085-Rule-group-items" target="_blank" rel="noopener">group items rule</a>, which is used to merge multiple items together under one item if there are variants i.e. of size or color. There is also the deduplicate items rule, which can be used to keep the item with the lowest variable of a group e.g. the item with the lowest price. To further improve what you can do with grouped items, Channable’s special “Calculate item group” rules have been introduced.

This overarching rule includes: COUNT ITEMS, CALCULATE SUM and FIND HIGHEST/LOWEST VALUE.

With the rules it is now easier and faster to:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Get an overview of how many items are in an existing (or newly created custom) group.</li>
 	<li>Find the total sum of a variable for all the items that are in the group. For example, the total sum of stock for all the items in a group.</li>
 	<li>Easily find the lowest value in a group, which makes advertising on the lowest price easier</li>
 	<li>Find the highest value of the group, which can be useful for communicating the highest discount</li>
</ul>
For a full overview of how to implement these rules, and for more examples, <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007539014-Rule-Item-group-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener">consult our help centre article</a>.

Channable’s new group rules

Channable is a tool that can convert your <a href="/integrations/xml-converter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">XML</a> to <a href="/integrations/csv-converter">CSV</a> (or even your Google Spreadsheet or TXT file), but the tool can be used for much more than just converting a file. This data feed management tool is perfect for managing, editing and working on your data. It will give you all the freedom to tweak your data in the easiest way possible and convert from many different types of files to a custom CSV or other. Channable can be THE solution for these issues: you face problems such as modifying data in hundreds of different Excel files, you have to combine data from different files with a different format, or you are facing difficulties editing fields in your file with the Excel formulas, etc.
<h2>On the import level</h2>
You can easily import your XML to convert it into a CSV later on. This is not the only supported format: XML, CSV, TXT or Google Spreadsheet are also accepted. The big advantage of Channable is that you can import more than one file and all of them can be with a totally different format. This is very useful if your data is spread across many files that are in different formats. Simply, import, combine or merge your XML, CSV, TXT or Google Spreadsheet.

<img class="size-full wp-image-12545 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/yKRP7GKTSIOGU2T1lvDa" alt="With Channable convert any file to create a new custom CSV" width="945" height="170" />
<em>Have a look at a short instruction here:</em>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kb6YMUa7XtI" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h2>Edit and adapt all your data</h2>
One of the best features in Channable is the rule section. In that section, you can easily manage your data. This can be done with our IF-THEN statements, which are extremely powerful and yet so easy to use.
<h3>A non exhaustive list of what you can do with these rules:</h3>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Set up actions which allow you to filter on data</li>
 	<li>Exclude data you don’t want to include in the CSV</li>
 	<li>Enrich your data by appending values such as an optimized description or brand name in any field</li>
 	<li>Limit a field to a certain amount of characters</li>
 	<li>Enrich your data by adding columns (fields) and filling them as desired</li>
</ul>
<img class="size-full wp-image-12550 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/ebgLsKPKQImaASL1REwx" alt="Combine values with Channable rules" width="1327" height="496" />

This is one idea on how to use the rules within Channable but the possibilities are endless and it is way more user-friendly than Excel. If you want more ideas on what can be done, check out <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/categories/115000535005-Rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our guides</a>.
<h2>Export your custom CSV</h2>
Once you’ve modified the data within the rules section, you can either export all the fields or select which ones you want to export to your new CSV. This way, you’ll avoid having too many useless fields in your newly made custom CSV file. Furthermore, decide in which order you want your data or what will be the names of the columns.

There are more conversion options in Channable than just XML to CSV; you can also create a TXT file, another XML file (also a unescaped XML file), a JSON file or even a RSS feed.

<img class="size-full wp-image-12548 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/2qUJDIKzQAK81VzzNL4Y" alt="Convert XML to csv with Channable" width="1174" height="136" />

Want to use Channable to manage your data? Then <a href="/pricing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check which plan would suit you best</a> and <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">get started now</a>!

Convert any file to create a new custom CSV

Google’s expanded ad template was introduced mid-2018. An <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7056544?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expanded Google ad</a> allows advertisers to write three headlines, as opposed to two, and an additional description of 90 characters. The ability to expand ads was <a href="https://www.iprospect.com/en/us/our-blog/googles-expanded-text-ads-are-now-bigger-and-better/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">warmly welcomed</a> by the marketing commuting and Channable saw to implement the expanded text ads structure immediately. The additional headline and description are optional but give marketers an extra 120 characters to communicate more information.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-12963 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/M8kWlwFnS82xHKXtv5k0" alt="" width="1500" height="561" />

This option to share more information is great news. Especially if your ad headlines currently only contain vital information and you feel limited for creativity. For example, you currently advertise on the brand name and your own USP but have little room for much else. This third headline gives you the option to add a second USP such as free shipping, a call to action, or temporary information such as seasonal promotional messages. With Channable’s dynamic template, automating expanded text ads and modifying a third headline is simplified. Notably as you can communicate dynamic information such as price or availability without pausing ads.
<h1>Sitelinks are also here!</h1>
To further improve your ad and click through rate, use sitelinks. They are also available in Channable’s ad templates. Sitelinks appear as additional URLs in a search ad and can provide users with immediate access to e.g. your phone number, your opening hours, special offers. You can have up to six sitelinks, and a minimum of two.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-12964 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/ZMjfY0vUQ36qbjJFE9OQ" alt="" width="1500" height="997" />

Sitelinks are great as you can edit them without creating new ads or losing performance data of your ads. Sitelinks also help you get a better understanding of your clicks and what information your potential customers want the most.

Improve and automate your Google ads with Channable’s dynamic expanded ad template. Then, watch your ad performance and click through rate boom. For a demo of the SEA tool, just <a href="/demo">fill out our demo form</a> and a Channable expert will be in contact asap.

Channable’s new and improved ad template: Google expanded ads and sitelinks

<h2>What’s new?</h2>
If you’ve activated <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Channable’s Order Connections</a>, you’ll already be benefiting from the synchronisation i.e. of order information, stock levels, track and trace status, from a marketplace such as Amazon or Bol.com straight into the backend of your online store.

The order information that Channable processes can now be downloaded as a CSV file.
<h2>Why would I want orders in a CSV?</h2>
Whilst an overview within Channable is very nice, many of you requested whether you could easily extract the information for your own information processing.

Having the CSV can be useful for your own documentation, reportage and record keeping.
<h2>How do I do it?</h2>
There’s a handy “Download as CSV” button in the bottom right corner of the order overview page within Channable. You can set a specific date range for the download, as otherwise the default is the previous month.

<img class="size-full wp-image-12541 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/vqzlfGPQSWEP1BQ8KLNh" alt=" Download Orders as CSV within Channable" width="1320" height="705" />
<h2>More Information?</h2>
For a screenshot and some more information about finding the order connection in Channable you can take a look at <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013185094-Download-orders-and-order-returns-as-CSV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the help centre article</a>.

New Feature: Download Orders as a CSV

In the Netherlands alone, approximately 124 million kilos of textiles per year end up in rubbish tips and are incinerated, which makes reusing clothes deemed fundamental in today’s mass produced society. The trend is not a new one but it’s one that deserves promotion. Year on year unsustainable, fast fashion is having lasting effects. A clothes swap is an event that can stimulate reusing clothes and improve the CO2 footprint of individuals. Afterall, as the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
<h2>But how?</h2>
Channable’s marketing team took responsibility to schedule the event, hunt for resources - everything from sourcing hangers and mirrors to what refreshments to serve - and manage correspondence with the charities.

The charity chosen to raise money for was Make-A-Wish. A charity that Channable has long supported and is particularly important to certain employees. Make-A-Wish is an organization that goes about fulfilling the wishes of terminally ill children.

In addition, any left over clothes were donated to the ReShare movement by Leger des Heils (The Salvation Army). Leger des Heils is the largest clothing collector in the Netherlands and recycles around 26 million kilos of clothing a year, either to new owners or breaks materials down to be repurposed.

&nbsp;

<img class="wp-image-14152 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/fE1nTRxBQAW5DzdaanjJ" alt="clothes swap channable" width="461" height="346" />

&nbsp;
<h2>The day</h2>
The evening itself was a lot of fun for everyone involved. It consisted of prosecco, sushi, laughs but most importantly clothes swapping. Everyone at the office contributed to the mountain of clothes that was up for grabs. In return, everyone walked away with many new items and yet over seven bags of clothing were salvaged and donated. In addition, over 130 euros was collected and donated to Make-A-Wish.

It is Channable’s honour to be able to participate in more sustainable initiatives and support the projects that are important to its colleagues. To read more about what other sustainable contributions Channable has made to society, check the CSR page.

<img class=" wp-image-14149 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/4NwlF4GjQuaSTsIBfCbv" alt="Channable clothes swap " width="500" height="375" />

Channable clothes swap: Spring cleaning never felt so good

<h2>Move around</h2>
From the beginning of Channable, there has been standing desks. For those who are not familiar with this concept, it’s a desk that can be altered in height. It means you do not have to be bound to sitting at (or, in some not so exceptional cases, lying on) your desk; providing you with the choice to sit or stand whilst working. When Channable moved offices in August 2017, it recognized people’s enthusiasm for these height adjusting desks and ditched all other types of desks, to make sure everybody would always have the possibility to switch up positions throughout the day.
<h2>Move even more</h2>
There are many kinds of people; one kind loves to stretch and flex their muscles more than the others. For that reason, as of May 2018, yoga sessions are hosted at the beautiful Channable office once a week. A qualified yoga instructor leads an hour of Vinyasa Yoga, to ensure that the Channable yogis move every muscle, providing relief to all the aches and pains that come with desk jobs.

<img class="wp-image-14160 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/lpZo6sCUSuGooqPaxGJe" alt="Channable yoga" width="491" height="368" />
<h2>Relax to the max</h2>
To start 2018 in the best way, Channable’s employees had the pleasure of welcoming Esther. Ever since, Esther has become everyone's favorite person to see around the office. You may be wondering, who Esther is? Well, Esther is a masseuse! Everyone at Channable gets to enjoy twenty whole minutes of pure relaxation during their workday.

Esther mentions on her <a href="https://de-stoelmasseur.nl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> “I love to give people some time to themselves in which they can relax and reenergize”. Isn’t that all that a company could wish for? A team of relaxed and energized people, able to give their best.
<h2>The Channable soccer team</h2>
Next to weekly yoga classes, Channable also has a footy team that plays every week. The team, ‘Rentable’, consists of men and women from both Channable and Rentman and plays every Wednesday evening against another local company or team of friends. Whereas ‘normal’ soccer seasons tend to have a break during winter and summer, these die-hards play a match every week, three seasons a year, come rain or shine. If you’re ever in the neighborhood and recognize our orange/blue kits; come see some winners in action.

<img class="wp-image-14161 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/z1htz57lR6qbzgdhhXtF" alt="" width="495" height="329" />

If none of the above suit you, there are many other hobbies or after-work activities to be found at Channable. Many Channable employees regularly play Ping Pong, and really test their skills at the biannual tournament. Next to that, there are groups that meet to batter opponents in squash, battle on the padel court, and climb to new heights in bouldering halls.

For some, sports are just not their thing. These Channable employees can often be found hanging out at the in-house bar or playing a heated game of FIFA. Even better still? Channable’s doors are open to their friends, family, clients, prospects and more, so feel free to join if you want to see how Channable play!

Channable loves its people

<h2>Recognize, encourage and appreciate</h2>
It can be difficult for young artists to start a career and gain visibility. That’s why Channable wants to offer a platform with this initiative. Channable has opted for a collaboration with the Fine Art course at the HKU. Hanging the works from this creative resource in Utrecht makes Channable proud.
<h2>New in old</h2>
At the HKU, the students of the Fine Art program learn to develop ideas, translate them into visual work and display their own style. In January 2018, Channable started a project to alternately hang the artwork of Fine Art students in its offices. This gives the third-year students an opportunity to display their art on the walls of a beautiful old building in the center of Utrecht. Consequently, the employees and visitors of Channable can enjoy the creations from the latest art generation from Utrecht. The art pieces are on loan to Channable, which means the student is financially compensated for their decorative contribution to the Channable office.
<h2>Introducing the latest artist</h2>
First up is Robin Speijer. She caught our eye with the special details she incorporates into her paintings.

[caption id="attachment_14244" align="aligncenter" width="267"]<img class="wp-image-14244" src="https://media.graphcms.com/LaCvvtizQA2YR62b5WSN" alt="laces robin speijer" width="267" height="345" /> Robin Speijer. Laces, 2017.[/caption]
<blockquote>"I am fascinated by details and I paint different textures enlarged on canvas or panel. Soft materials, such as hair and textiles, are often the subject of my paintings. During my process, I collect many photographs from which I make a selection and frame a detail. I search for certain combinations of colors, light, contrast, and levels of sharpness. I then make a series of paintings in which I depict the material in various ways."</blockquote>
<em>You can view more of Robin's work here: <a href="https://robinspeijer.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://robinspeijer.com</a></em>

The second young talent is Bas Heinen. Bas has been drawing since childhood and was 21 when his art was chosen for the Channable office. In order to be able to work more with contrasts and colors, he started painting and in 2015, he started the Fine Arts course at the HKU.

[caption id="attachment_14249" align="aligncenter" width="313"]<img class=" wp-image-14249" src="https://media.graphcms.com/BSeQrN2eQpqP6ZhZJYFu" alt="Blue morning Bas Heinen" width="313" height="290" /> Bas Heinen. Blue, Morning, 2018[/caption]
<blockquote>"I am interested in depicting the environment with an emphasis on nature. In my paintings, the focus is on creating a serene representation of my impressions on canvas. The works exhibited at Channable offer a moment of peace in the hectic lives of the Channable team. During the painting process, I examine various ways in which nature can be depicted. In each series, I try to work with light, contrast, and depth in different ways, to convey the atmosphere as accurately as possible."</blockquote>
&nbsp;

Young company supports young artists

It's getting colder outside and we are slowly approaching Christmas. Millions of people are looking for the perfect gift for their loved ones. As many people don't want to leave their house to participate in the Christmas shopping marathon, they order their presents from home - online. So the question is: Is your online store ready for the Christmas business? With these tips, we are sure you will succeed and sell more.
<h3>1. Your homepage</h3>
**Responsive design**
Ever tried to scroll from one side of a homepage to the other on a mobile device? Then you know - it's not fun. Nowadays, responsive design is a must for every homepage and online store. Make sure to offer your potential customers the best homepage experience and invest in a responsively designed website.

**Optimize website speed**
3 seconds is all you have - this is the maximum amount of time it takes a website user to leave when a page is not responding. Increase the speed of your website and improve your user experience to encourage browsing and purchasing.

**Christmas design and festive layout**
Get potential customers into the Christmas spirit. Change teasers and slideshows into a winter wonderland, feature seasonal products and display high-quality pictures, graphics and/or videos. These will grab the customer’s attention and result in a longer stay on your homepage, which could lead to higher conversion rates.
<h3>2. Products</h3>
**Promote best-sellers**
Do you have any best-sellers that continually perform well throughout the year? Make a special promotion presenting them as an "often bought by others" or apply a discount on those products. If they sell well during the year, they will probably also perform well over Christmas.

**Modify product descriptions**
Add value to your products with holiday-specific pictures or modified product descriptions. Add for example "Perfect for Christmas" or "the perfect Christmas present" etc. so your products appear on the search terms "Christmas" or "present".

**Stock**
Prepare for potential stock shortages! Get an alert before your stock falls to zero. By increasing your minimum stock level, you will be able to process your orders without stress or stock shortages. Exclude products which are out of stock to make sure that only available items are shown. You can update your data several times a day on those marketplaces to ensure that your products are shown with up-to-date information on price comparison sites, display ads or others. Another way to encourage customers to finalize their purchases is to post how much stock you have left.
<h3>3. Increase traffic</h3>
**Rethink your advertising strategy**
lure more visitors to your e-commerce platform with the help of Google AdWords or remarketing to reach a higher conversion rate. With Channable you are able to optimize your product feeds and even feed based text within minutes.

**Place your products on price comparison sites**
Consumers will compare your prices on the internet. So make sure to be found on any price-comparison site that is relevant for your business.

**Consider selling on marketplaces**
Have you just started a web store and people don't know about you yet? Then consider selling your products on online marketplaces. Each month, there are millions of unique visitors on Amazon, Cdiscount or eBay <a href="/integrations?channel=marketplace" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">(you can find more marketplaces here)</a>. Take advantage of their name, amount of visitors and customers to sell more!
<h3>4. Deliveries</h3>
**Communicate delivery times**
Have you ever been desperate for your package to arrive on time? Then you know how crucial it is to communicate the exact delivery time. Check the delivery deadlines with your couriers prior to guaranteeing delivery before Christmas to your customers. Communicate all the delivery times, even if they are after Christmas day.

**Free delivery and packaging service**
Free delivery is one of the top reasons to buy online and spend more money (as shoppers are saving on delivery costs). Also, make your customers happy by offering free gift wrapping, for example for Amazon you can easily share this information in Channable’s attribute builder. Regular shoppers will appreciate the service. Don't forget to buy enough wrapping paper and scotch tape!

**Return policy**
Offer free returns and a longer return period than usual. No need to stress people out during their Christmas break to return unwanted presents. Give them at least 30 days to return their unwanted gifts.

So, are you ready for this year's holiday shopping? If you need help on optimizing your product feeds, setting up your marketplaces or feed based text ads, let us know. We will support you by setting up your first product feed in our feed management tool. Test it now for free and ask for a demo from one of our experts. Happy Christmas selling everybody!

How to sell more: Get ready for the online holiday shoppers

Today, boxing day is more well known as the day after Christmas when the infamous end of year sales begin and the masses flock to the high street to subtly exchange those unwanted Christmas gifts. Luckily, shoppers can now enjoy the Boxing Day sales from the comfort of their sofa. But are you ready, as online retailers, for the final surge of sales for Britain and other commonwealth countries this year?

Channable’s data feed optimization tool means that you also won’t need to lift too many fingers because as, you’ll all know, rules to filter, optimize, and complete your product information are made in just a few seconds! So you can instead spend the day with loved ones, catching up on the new Doctor Who special or simply digesting. Here are some of our top rules for Boxing Day:

**Sales means sale prices**
If you’re going to participate in the Boxing Day Sales you will need to advertise on your sale price. <em>Note:</em> Make sure not to just change your price in Channable if you use feeds because the comparison website or other platform might reject your product if your ad price differs from your webshop. To add a sale price field in your import feed/own webshop and use this figure. You can either: use rules to copy the sale price into the price field…

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7443" src="https://media.graphcms.com/0DUlWbZ5TQORT2qKmMHf" alt="" width="952" height="416" />

...or, in the finalize step, map the sale price to either the sale price field or the price field if there isn’t the sales price channel field (just make sure all your products include a sale price).

<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-7448" src="https://media.graphcms.com/AOjrvqVRwGKRsSIml8AI" alt="" width="900" height="365" />

You could go one step further if you could choose to advertise products with a certain discount percentage. For example, you want to only push advertisement’s whose sale prices are 20% less than the retail price. You can do this by using the calculate rule. See our example below:

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7451" src="https://media.graphcms.com/gIJOxBGBT2eI74VSzUA3" alt="" width="700" height="708" />

Above we calculated what the percentage is by creating a new mapping field (price_discount_percent), first subtracting the price from the sale price (to calculate the difference) then dividing the difference by the initial price and multiplying this value by 100. This was the end result:

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7452" src="https://media.graphcms.com/aNFudli2T9OREtjc0JMO" alt="" width="286" height="238" />

This percentage field can now also be appended to the title. You can then decide what you would like to do with products that have an exceptionally high/low discount, perhaps a rule to exclude products which have a discount percentage which is too high or too low, or sell them at their normal price without the sales discount, or even sell high discount products on different channels. The possibilities are endless!

**Boxing Day AdWords Campaigns**
Modify your AdWords advertisements to include boxing day keywords, limited stock keywords and sale prices. Channable allows you to include dynamic ad customizer fields so you don’t need to constantly monitor all of your campaigns; then you can push them all with a few simple clicks!

<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-7453" src="https://media.graphcms.com/AjgzuCF6QZWtY7J0dNXc" alt="" width="900" height="246" />

**Add size to the title when the stock level is low**
This is a great rule to include if you want to avoid wasting money on CPC when certain sizes are out of stock. Check out our simple Channable method to do this below:

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7454" src="https://media.graphcms.com/Ub11x113Rmmv8NOvaNXZ" alt="" width="969" height="496" />

**Prepare in advance!**
In Channable you can create rules now that can be paused until Boxing Day. This way you can fine-tune them and activate them at the right time, so you can have even more precious time to yourself on the 26th.

<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-7455" src="https://media.graphcms.com/gu7MKSgCQKU1E9JMej1E" alt="" width="900" height="338" />

We even have rules that are based on a date if you have the promotional period in your data feed, so you don’t even need to unpause them yourself. Just create a rule that uses “if” the date is in the promotional range i.e. 26th December, “then” push the specific products with promotional values. You can even append certain expressions to the title for this specific period, like in the example below.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7456" src="https://media.graphcms.com/3AGosghzS06p49H5UxA3" alt="" width="827" height="490" />
<br><br/>
**Ensure you don’t run out of stock! **
Best case scenario, you sell everything! However, be sure to allow yourself a safety net to ensure that you can fulfill all those orders. Channable can offer to run your feeds multiple times a day at an extra price (contact us to find out more!). However, check with the channel first to see if running your feed multiple times is feasible, as it depends on the update time of your own data and the time the platform updates the information.

If you’re selling on a marketplace that uses an API connection and you have order processing active, you can include rules to exclude all products if your stock level falls below a certain amount.

Channable's top Boxing Day rules (aside from relaxing)

<h3><b>An insight into today’s job industry</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The job industry is a dynamic and fast paced market with vast numbers of job vacancies opening and closing daily. Job agencies are also faced with the huge task of managing job ads for multiple markets, cities and even countries. The magnitude of online job vacancy data feeds has led to an increase of issues. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Issues such as: displaying and paying for job ads that have already been fulfilled, not reaching the correct candidates, not meeting the specifications of a selected job board or other platform and finding that individually uploading, modifying and pausing ads is (inevitably) time consuming and expensive.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Display advertisements, text ads and job boards, are just a few channels and methods of how jobs vacancies can be spread. However, they in turn are coupled with their own issues. If you want to reach the maximum number of people in your market, you’ll want your ads to be visible on as many outlets as possible. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Creating new job ads every time a vacancy is opened is an ordeal in itself. But the moment those vacancies are filled, it is necessary to go through and pause or update every single ad on every single platform. Luckily, some of these platforms allow you to upload your feed, happy days! Unfortunately, the necessary information is different for every job board, so lots of time is spent filling it in manually. Furthermore, remember those text ads you wanted to create on job level...good news, there is a way to simplify the process. </span>
<h3><b>Introducing: Feed management possibilities for advertising jobs</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Data feed management tools like Channable can provide both employers and job agencies with the means to ease the process of:</span>
<ul markdown>
 	<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ensuring that job vacancies are posted at the appropriate time to the right audience</span></li>
 	<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Automatically pause job adverts that have already been fulfilled</span></li>
 	<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Save time, money and resources by using only one dashboard to advertise job openings everywhere online</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">By using Channable as a middle man between your data feed and the places for displaying job openings, stakeholders of the job industry can relax. The information can be smoothly managed during the day, minimizing the need to manipulate it manually out of office hours.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">But don’t take it from a blog post, Blue Mango Interactive is a marketing agency for Randstad, one of the world’s leading HR service providers, and also a happy Channable client:</span>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"With more than 4,000 vacancies in 26 different industries in 2,402 cities continuously throughout The Netherlands, Randstad is one of the biggest job boards in The Netherlands. Thanks to Channable's ad generators, we can create, activate and pause all these Randstad vacancies automatically and in real time with very specific and dynamic keywords, ad copy and landing pages."</span></i></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gemma van Dorst - Search Specialist at Blue Mango Interactive</span></i></p>
</blockquote>
<h3><b>Using Channable to help post your job ads</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">So how can Channable help you? First and foremost, it provides you with the means to optimize and fulfill your data feeds according to the specifications of over a thousand channels, including Google and Facebook. These platforms attract many applicants and offer versatile recruitment opportunities. Many agencies also turn to third parties like job boards to list their vacancies. But displaying on multiple channels is also beneficial for re-marketing strategies, as you can control what information gets shared on which platform. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Custom CSV files can be created in Channable too. This is a true time saver if you want to organize and segregate your data feeds into i.e. market specifications. Extracting all jobs of a certain criteria from your master feed and placing them into one custom CSV enables you to create specific rules for only that criteria without having to import a second master feed. Perhaps you want to separate student jobs from executive jobs, and place them on different channels to reach the right target audience - this can all be easily arranged with a Channable custom CSV! </span>
<h3><b>How to advertise job vacancies with dynamic text ads in Channable</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Creating text ads at the individual job level can be a real nuisance. Merely setting up the ad is time consuming but the process is further extended when monitoring the ads to ensure they’re up-to-date and relevant. Their continuous adjustments make it further time consuming and costly, which is why our tool can be a blessing. By partnering Channable and your data feed, you can automatically generate dynamically templated campaigns, AdGroups, text ads and keywords that will then be automatically paused when fulfilled. This is because the information will already be in your data feed.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">You’re in control and can decide which fields from your feed you’d like to use. Do you want a campaign on city level and ad groups on vacancy level? Or do you want campaigns on industry level and ad groups on city level? Make your life easier and <a href="/signup">give it a try</a>. Use one template for hundreds of ads! See our example below of how you can create potentially hundreds of unique ads depending on the industry, region and number of vacancies; your data feed will fill in the blanks.</span>

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-7585 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/pPxqhcRWSIyR4n7EqevW" alt="" width="1067" height="466" />

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Ads are automatically paused within our tool based on the smart rules you set up. Set up the right templates for the right campaigns and let the Channable text ads feature do the work. You specify when to pause ads; for example, if a vacancy is fulfilled or when there are less than 5 vacancies in a city or branch, because you can even create branch specific ads. Channable has the potential to specify your AdWords ads to your taste.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Channable offers this feature for <a href="/products/ppc-tool">Google Ads</a> and will also soon launch this feature for Bing Ads, which is perfect if you serve markets and target audiences where Bing is favoured. Channable’s got your back. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Channable works hard to streamline everyone's online experience, not just the obvious contenders. Data feed management can help the job industry with its core business. We invite you to try it for yourself with our</span><a href=""><span style="font-weight: 400;"> free trial</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and discover how else Channable can improve your online job vacancies.</span>



Advertise Job Vacancies Online with a Feed Management Tool

Have you tried using Google Analytics in Channable’s rule functions? Users who have coupled with their Google Analytics account can use this information as creatively as you like. You can either specify the selection you make (“if”) with Analytics variables such as sessions, conversion rate, bounce rate, revenue or transactions, or create actions (“then”).

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7649 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/YUenyT4SqKjIT5Qe2W6N" alt="" width="872" height="378" />

Skip straight to rules and go ahead and experiment with using Analytics in the “if” or “then” section. Adding Google Analytics information to your feed with a custom label can help you differentiate certain products i.e. bestsellers or lower-converters. Create new custom labels in setup&gt;edit mapping to use in the “If” or “Then” part of your Google Analytics rule to differentiate certain products.

In the example below we create a new field called <b>bestseller</b>. So any product with a conversion rate greater than 3 will now have the value yes in the bestseller field. This is the information we can then transfer to i.e. the Shopping or Facebook feeds by adding the bestseller field in the finalize step. Why? Because you can then easily push certain products based on the performance within your AdWords or Facebook Business Manager account.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7650 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/JNAzXUiJSnGyYWodbe9Q" alt="" width="1244" height="347" />

As of the end of 2017, you can now use the Google Analytics variables in the “Then” section to execute actions. Create statements such as calculating actual return on ad spend (ROAS) to measure the efficiency of your digital advertising campaign by using our mathematics rules.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7651 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/uvCfhhKQ42pqaObpVfJg" alt="" width="872" height="378" />

&nbsp;

Finally, analytics can be added to your feed in the finalize step so you can send this information to your platform of choice.

&nbsp;

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7652 size-large" src="https://media.graphcms.com/OAe9gwjhR3KrhpH6dtTg" alt="" width="900" height="674" />

If you find a creative way to include Google Analytics in your rules, <a href="mailto:support@channable.com">let us know</a>! We love hearing how you use Channable.

Quick tips to using Google Analytics in Rules

This is how it looked before:

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7658 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/YZjIbmChTI26b6hHf5Ze" alt="" width="364" height="365" />

And this is where you can find the Shopping campaigns tab now:

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7747" src="https://media.graphcms.com/WdpKUM7NSJ6hpP8meaGy" alt="" width="1444" height="780" />

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