Retail and eCommerce highlights this week include: Omnicom expands eCommerce capabilities – Transact to offer leading eCommerce and eRetail services powered by Omni. Perfect Game and SquadLocker partner on team apparel. Innovid’s inaugural CPG report reveals the power of CTV for brands in reaching and engaging global audiences. Mirakl Names Jean-Gabriel de Mourgues Executive VP of Mirakl Connect and growth solutions to drive global expansion of seller and partner ecosystem.
Omnicom expands eCommerce capabilities
Omnicom Group is expanding Transact, a dedicated practice focused on connected-commerce consulting and eRetail execution services. Transact is expected to drive sales and grow market share on eRetail platforms, capitalizing on Omnicom’s recently announced partnerships with Amazon, Instacart, Kroger and Walmart Connect.
Transact’s eCommerce consulting and eRetail execution services include retail media and analytics, catalogue management, content optimization, as well as account management and operations to meet the growing client demand for commerce services. Transact’s services are powered and connected by OmniCommerce, part of Omnicom’s industry-leading orchestration platform Omni, which provides a single view of the consumer journey and precise data-driven insights about where to invest to drive growth.
Transact is the group’s most recent investment in eCommerce services and is on the heels of Omnicom receiving the highest possible scores for retail and commerce media in “The Forrester Wave: Global Media Management Services, Q3 2022” by Forrester Research, Inc.
Leading Transact is CEO Frank Kochenash, a recognised industry leader and former executive at Amazon, McKinsey and prior President of Wunderman Thompson Commerce who joined Omnicom in March 2022.
68% of UK marketers embracing hybrid working to deliver creativity in customer experiences
More than two thirds (68%) of UK marketers are embracing a hybrid approach to work to support their teams in the creation of new ideas having overcome the challenges of the past two years. That’s according to research from digital experience platform (DXP) provider Optimizely, which concluded that creativity is critical in driving strong customer experiences.
The Marketer Experience study, based on a global survey of in-house marketing professionals, including 200 in the UK, explores attitudes and approaches to creativity. It reveals that 85% of UK marketers say as long as communication is effective, creative ideation will happen no matter where teams are.
The report also shows that physical presence is not the only factor impacting creative behaviours, with UK marketers citing the following as the top five barriers to driving creativity over the past two years:
- A lack of urgency (32%)
- Limited or lack of access to good collaboration tools (31%)
- Engaging remote employees during virtual meetings (31%)
- Leadership team putting pressure on outcomes and results (29%)
- Motivating employees to develop creative ideas (28%)
A hybrid working environment also supports the ways in which UK workers find their creative inspiration, with 43% drawing on interpersonal communications with peers and/or colleagues, 41% from social media such as TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, and 40% through internet research. More than one third (37%) also find inspiration from attending events, either in-person or virtual.
Perfect Game and SquadLocker partner on team apparel
Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service has formed a strategic multiyear partnership with SquadLocker, the leading custom team apparel software and fulfilment service.
Perfect Game players, coaches, and fans will be able to take advantage of SquadLocker’s ground breaking eCommerce software and single-unit fulfilment services allowing for quick turnaround of customised apparel and ship-to-home individual delivery.
Through this partnership with SquadLocker, Perfect Game’s community of baseball and softball organisations will have access to customized digital storefronts that never close. Players, parents, and fans can directly purchase team apparel and spirit wear in one place. The parties anticipate the platform going live in time for the holiday season.
Study says CTV devices half of global video impressions
Innovid an independent advertising platform for delivery, personalization and measurement of converged TV, announced findings from its first-ever deep dive consumer packaged goods (CPG) report, examining critical trends, challenges, and opportunities in the video advertising industry. The report reveals that, amongst CPG advertisers, connected television (CTV) devices account for over half of all video ad impressions (52%) – up from 44% previously – overtaking both mobile (37%) and desktop (11%).
Key takeaways from the report for CPG marketers to consider include:
Seize the CTV Opportunity
- CPG’s video impression share for CTV was 52%, up from 44%.
- Pet supply brands lead CTV impression share with 70%, followed by household cleaning and beauty (both at 62%), food (61%), household goods (60%), beverages (42%), personal care (40%), alcoholic beverages (39%), and over the counter (28%).
Boost Brand Loyalty with Advanced Creative
- Over half (53%) of all CPG CTV advertisers ran some kind of advanced creative video (i.e. dynamic creatives and interactive content).
- CPG brands using advanced dynamic creative optimization (DCO) formats – a form of advertising technology that uses data to guide and optimize creative elements and messages – saw a significantly higher video completion rate (VCR), of 98.6% versus an average 93.9% completion rate for standard video.
Reach More without Repeating More
- CPG brands advertising across more than 6 CTV publishers had a duplication rate of just 18%.
- CPG campaigns reached just 12% (11.6%) of Innovid’s 95 million CTV households on average, indicating there’s plenty of room for growth.
The report analysed over 103 billion CPG video advertising impressions served on Innovid’s platform over a full year. Researchers looked across CTV, mobile, and desktop devices, examining performance across standard and advanced video to compile a complete picture of CTV advertising benchmarks and insights globally.
Mirakl Names Jean-Gabriel de Mourgues Executive VP of Mirakl Connect
Mirakl, the industry’s first and most advanced enterprise marketplace SaaS platform has appointed Jean-Gabriel de Mourgues as executive vice president of Mirakl Connect and growth solutions. As one of the world’s largest ecosystems of marketplace sellers and partners, Mirakl Connect brings together all the parties needed for a thriving marketplace. This ecosystem cements Mirakl’s place at the centre of the marketplace economy and reflects its unique understanding of what it takes for companies to accelerate their success in today’s commerce landscape. De Mourgues joins Mirakl following nearly a decade of leadership at Amazon, most recently serving as director of Amazon Marketplace in Latin America.
Marketplaces have grown twice as fast as eCommerce, and retailers, brands and third-party sellers alike have taken notice – 45% more sellers joined marketplaces in 2021 compared to the previous year. Mirakl Connect empowers marketplaces to quickly find, qualify and onboard vetted, relevant sellers to grow their marketplaces without limits. As executive vice president of Mirakl Connect and growth solutions, de Mourgues will oversee the Mirakl Connect ecosystem’s constantly growing network of sellers and partners.
The Mirakl Connect ecosystem has doubled in size over the past year, adding leading sellers, including Puma and Yves Rocher. In addition, Mirakl has added new partners to accelerate the pace of commerce across multiple categories, including fulfilment company Flowspace and customer service support company eDesk. By bringing together all the parties needed for a thriving marketplace economy, Mirakl Connect enables the organisation to solidify its position in powering the world’s leading online marketplaces.