A Glimpse of The Ecommerce Agency Landscape

Retailer and consumer habits changes have reshaped the eCommerce agency landscape in many ways. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the ratio of eCommerce to in-store sales has been rationalized. During the pandemic, more consumers preferred shopping online for their convenience.

The growth in online grocery orders and the increasing investment by retailers in the advertisement platform businesses and online pickups continue to show a more stable rise which exceeds the pre-pandemic forecasts.

The online retail opportunity looked scattered years ago, and the trend was not that obvious some years back. A few years ago, most people would resort to online shopping because of its convenience and affordability – most consumers would emphasize discounts and offers. Today, online stores and brands that choose to sell online face a unique landscape and different partners willing to hold their hands.

The changing eCommerce industry 

While in-store spenders shift to eCommerce, some companies struggle to gain a position in the market media plans. These companies can either turn to indie-performing marketing agencies or work with some of the largest agency holding companies.

Top eCommerce agencies offer marketing services while others promise expertise in online marketplace dynamics and fulfillment. This also includes warehousing and fulfillment. Lastly, other retailed-owned media businesses connect store sales with loyalty programs.

Here is a look at how some companies fill the gaps in the modern retail market and how they plan to get a share of this highly competitive market.

Commerce as a playbook 

A significant number of the new companies in the commerce media come from the brand side. The expert DTC companies and Amazon sellers believe that they can build a winning commerce playbook and put their marketing fulfillment capabilities to action.

You can take Amazon and Anker as perfect examples in this scenario. In 2020, the Chinese manufacturer launched Oceanwing to sell its skills to other brands.

Another popular consumer aggregator for Amazon called Aterian offers marketing solutions packaging commerce media and fulfillment. Heyday and Thrasio take on agency services and marketing if they agree to do business.

Change in holding company 

Most of the holding companies today are into commerce media. This is because they have included some aspects of commerce in their restructuring.

In 2021, Publicis acquired CitrusAd, the closest competitor to Criteo. The company also has Sapient’s customer experience and Episilon’s consumer data. These three have resulted in the emergence of the Publicis Commerce Exchange that was launched this year.

The holding company will usually pitch to some of the largest CPG brands. The big CPG retail marketers will have consultants working on online shopping campaigns and experimental store marketing with CitrusAd, social media, television, and programmatic shops. Each brand is independent and doesn’t require agency service to succeed.

According to the president of Xaxis US, most big brands need a more comprehensive agency to saddle a crazy number of social walled gardens that they face in retail media. Every advertiser knows that big social and tech companies out there like Amazon and Google. However, for shopper marketers, each retailer with a unique product is found right in the mix.

Final Thoughts 

In the coming years, most large CPG brands will increase their budgets in commerce media. They are most likely to test all the options available in the industry like CTV measurement integrations, fulfillment options, ads on in-store freezers, and new performance. Not everything will go as planned, but those brands that are sure to win will be more successful.

There are many brands trying to step foot in the new retail marketing landscape, and this article has only mentioned but few.