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The Future of E-Merchandising: AI and Personalization

| Sam Parnell

The world of e-merchandising, i.e., the art of presenting products and services in an enticing and captivating way online, has evolved significantly over time. Now, the profound impact of significant AI advancements on the future of e-merchandising is becoming increasingly evident. However, data inputs need to be sufficient to realize meaningful insights and harness the power of AI.

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Retail Media Networks Buyer’s Guide Released by IAB

| Mike O'Brien

Given the explosion in retail media networks, and the vast potential of their rich first-party data insights, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has released a buyer’s guide that explains the market and the players, helping brand advertisers more intelligently build media planning and buying strategies. Kroger and Walmart talk about the power of data science in their media networks.

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Walmart Q1 Beats on Several Scores

| Mike O'Brien

Walmart saw 25% growth in Q1 ecommerce, as the beast of Bentonville outpaced expectations on the top and bottom line and raised its full-year guidance, three months after warning that the 2023 outlook was not a particularly good one based on consumer sentiment and macroeconomic signals. The company also addressed theft concerns while reporting strength in advertising and fulfillment services.

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7 Steps to Meeting Ecommerce Marketing Objectives

| Darwin Liu

Can ecommerce marketing campaigns really fail by something as mundane as failing to set the right objectives? Yes, they can, and sadly, they often do. Just as professional athletes cannot achieve a desired level of performance by simply starting to run and seeing how fast they can improve, ecommerce marketers need to unpack what drives success and apply their own build-backwards methodology.

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Retail Media and the Optimization Opportunity

| Skye Frontier

Retail media has grown under a confluence of factors which make measurement very difficult. This is mainly because both the ad nd sale take place within walled gardens. But if poor performing campaigns can be identified quickly, and dollars reallocated, brands can generate significant incremental sales with the same working budget. 

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Gap Inc. Exits Retail Media to Focus on Other B2B Areas

| Mike O'Brien

A year after its launch, Gap Inc. has decided to exit its retail media and advertising business, in order to focus more time and investment on its B2B logistics services and custom apparel, as it faced competition from major retailers whose media networks held more appeal for brands.

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Consumer Data Privacy on the March

| Mike O'Brien

The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), an amendment to the 2018 CCPA, went into effect Jan. 1, requiring publishers/advertisers to comply with new consumer data privacy guidelines. Other states including Connecticut, Colorado and Virginia are getting onboard. We break down the initiatives and their implications in this podcast.

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TikTok Search Ads: The Monetization Unlock

| Emily Smith

The stratospheric growth in TikTok’s user base has arguably been the biggest cultural shift in media consumption for the last decade. It’s no surprise then that brands have jumped at the advertising opportunity to drive traffic and sales. TikTok search ads, now in beta, represent a significant opportunity but require some strategic thinking.

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Criteo Buys Brandcrush, In-Store Media Capability

| Mike O'Brien

Adtech provider Criteo has acquired Australian firm Brandcrush, expanding its media offerings to in-store ad inventory by providing a platform for automating various aspects of buying, selling, booking, placing, measuring and reporting on multimedia ad placements in physical locations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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Walmart Cautious in 2023 Outlook

| Mike O'Brien

Walmart reported ecommerce growth of 17% in Q4 to $80 billion, representing 13% of total sales, and beat expectations overall, but warned of a challenging climate for the rest of the year based on consumer sentiment and macro signals, sending uneasiness through the industry and the markets.