PIM
Manage all product content in one central system of record.
Activation
Easily syndicate product content to every consumer touch point.
Enhanced Content
Enrich product pages with below-the-fold content and rich media.
Catalog Sites
Share customized, up-to-date digital product catalogs.
Automation
Enhance collaboration with Salsify’s automated workflow engine.
Activation Insights
Continuously optimize your organization’s product content syndication.
GDSN Data Pool
Synchronize standard supply chain, marketing, and ecommerce attributes globally.
PXM Platform, Integrations, and APIs
Integrate the PXM platform with the rest of your enterprise systems architecture.
Supplier Onboarding
Accelerate supplier onboarding while ensuring your schema requirements are met.
Product Listing
Sell products faster with Product Listing.
Content Enrichment
Increase online conversions with Content Enrichment.
Automation
Save time and increase operational efficiency with retail automation.
SXM Platform, Integrations, and APIs
Integrate the SXM platform with the rest of your enterprise systems architecture.
Activation Network
Automate how you exchange product content data to the digital shelf.
Enhanced Content Network
Turn product pages into product experiences with Enhanced Content.
Ecommerce Platform Integrations
Create winning product experiences on owned sites with powerful ecommerce software.
GDSN Data Pool
Synchronize standard supply chain, marketing, and ecommerce attributes globally.
Open Catalog
Connect to the digital shelf faster with an open, standardized, and free product catalog.
Resources
Resource Library
Explore our ecommerce resources to get everything you need to win on the digital shelf.
Blog
Read our blog to get actionable insights for navigating changing markets and industry demands.
Webinars
Watch our on-demand ecommerce webinars to gain expert advice and tips from our community of industry leaders.
Engineering Blog
Explore our engineering blog to get developer resources, insights, and tips.
Events
Register for our upcoming in-person and virtual events to connect with other industry insiders.
Knowledge Base
Investigate our knowledge base to build your Salsify skills and understanding.
Product Updates
Explore the latest news and updates for Salsify products.
API
Examine our comprehensive API and webhook guides to start working with Salsify quickly.
Learn how to prioritize and deliver what your shoppers want with the latest insights.
The Takeaway: As ad blockers become more common, ecommerce brands ad retailers need to find new ways of engaging with prospects. Rich product content may be the answer.
At the Mobile World Congress, held in Spain in February, one panel became surprisingly heated. The participants in this debate: Benjamin Faes from Google, Nick Hugh from Yahoo and Roi Carthy from Shine Technologies - a company that creates ad-blocking software. As CNBC reported, the search engine executives clashed with Carthy over the role of these types of solutions and the impact they're having on the internet at large.
The arguments put forth by these panelists are fascinating and worthy of examination. However, there's one clear fact that can't be ignored here: Ad blockers, regardless of their merits, are growing in popularity. This affects not just publishers, but also ecommerce companies more broadly. As ads' importance diminishes, brands and retailers will need new strategies for reaching consumers - a need which rich product content may answer.
Ads and nurturing
Perhaps the single most significant implication that ad blocking holds for ecommerce companies is in the realm of lead nurturing. Consider, for example, the growing embrace of remarketing strategies. With remarketing, businesses can ensure that users who visit a company's website, conduct related searches or encounter its ads in some other way will see that firm's ads elsewhere as they explore the Web. Marketers can segment their ads by audience demographics as well as past behavior, making this a tremendously effective way of moving a potential or returning customer through the sales funnel.
"U.S. retailers spent $12.9 billion on digital ads in 2015."
Beyond remarketing, there's no doubt that many ecommerce firms now rely heavily on ads as part of their long-term nurture campaigns. According to eMarketer, U.S. digital ad spending totaled more than $58 billion in 2015. Retailers accounted for 22 percent of that spending, making this easily the most ad-heavy industry.
Blocking complications
The rise of ad blockers undermines this strategy. If consumers install ad blockers, they won't see any of these remarketing or other advertising efforts. Any ecommerce strategy that depends on this long-term exposure is essentially nullified.
Nick Hugh, vice president and general manager of advertising for EMEA at Yahoo, highlighted this notion during the MCW debate.
"You're blocking at a network level, but actually at a publisher or property level some (ads) are very good and if you block everyone you completely destroy the value exchange and the ecosystem," said Hugh, CNBC reported.
This is obviously a more serious issue for publishers, but ad blockers are liable to have a major impact on retailers' consumer engagement capabilities.
Rich product content can help here. When prospects encounter rich product content - which can include multiple high-quality photos, video and detailed, engaging descriptions - they are far more likely to convert right then and there, rather than navigating away from the online store. That makes long-term nurture campaigns far less important for the ecommerce firm's bottom line.
By focusing more on rich product content and less on paid ads, retailers and brands will put themselves in position to stay one step ahead of the game, and their ad-dependent competitors.
Jenni is a part of the marketing team. She works on Salsify's blog, social media, and other word-related activities. Lover of cats and good food.
Standing out on the digital shelf starts with access to the latest industry content. Subscribe to Below the Fold, our monthly content newsletter, and join other commerce leaders.