How Retail Advertisers Should Plan Ahead for the New Year

The holiday shopping season is upon us and, despite supply chain concerns, Adobe forecasts show that online sales during the season are set to increase by 10% when compared with last year. Not only that, global online retail sales for the entire year are expected to set new records with spend in excess of $4 trillion, according to U.S. News and Report.

All of this is great news for the retail industry, but for advertisers to make the most of the new year, it’s critical to have a verification strategy that ensures they’re getting the most for their media dollars. Our latest industry guide identifies how the right verification strategy can help retailers optimize spend and maximize the effectiveness of their media campaigns. In the guide, we uncover key industry trends to be aware of and compare the state of quality media for retail brands versus other industries.

Which Trends Should Retail Advertisers Be Aware Of?

If you’re a retail marketer competing to win consumer attention, here are five important trends of which to be aware:

1.  Incremental spend increases the competition for quality inventory. As retailers seek to expand scale in the fourth quarter, brand suitability violations can become an even greater concern. Over the past two years, DV has observed a 17% higher block rate for retail clients during Q4. Combining a contextual targeting strategy with a pre-bid verification strategy can help open up scale and reduce spending on blocked, and therefore unseen, impressions.

2. CTV is booming. CTV views increased by 160% in Q2 2020 when compared with Q2 2019, and North America saw a staggering 548% increase in viewership, according to MediaPost. This has led to a massive boom in CTV advertising. However, it is important to be sure that your CTV campaigns are monitored and protected from media quality challenges to maximize your investments and, ultimately, your bottom line.

3. Consumers are continuing to rely on mobile commerce (mCommerce). Mobile may not be the “new kid on the block” anymore, but mobile-driven commerce is still driving sales. Mobile commerce grew 19% globally year-over-year, making it the fastest-growing device consumers use for shopping. To protect your mobile investment, DV offers granular suitability controls on mobile apps including flagging specific app store categories, app star ratings, and app age ratings.

4. Consumer privacy concerns are paramount. Privacy concerns are not new but, over the past year, increased privacy regulations and cookie deprecation have grabbed headlines. As digital shopping continues to grow in popularity, you should make sure they are accessing the highest quality inventory and employing privacy-friendly performance solutions that will help you reach your audiences in the digital marketplace.

5. Consumers are inundated with ads, which makes standing out more important than ever before. Viewability is an important metric, but it has become table stakes. A high viewability score will only confirm that a digital ad had the opportunity to be viewed, but it cannot measure impact. According to Forbes, “Now that viewability is a standard expectation in the industry, it’s time to move beyond measuring whether an ad was merely seen, and measuring who saw the ad, for how long and what, if any actions they took.” DV Authentic Attention™ measures data points on ad exposure and engagement and can help provide you with granular insights into performance without compromising user privacy.

Download Our Guide to Begin Your 2022 Planning

Be sure to download our guide for the latest in-depth information about the state of media quality in the retail industry and learn more about best practices and solutions to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your campaigns.