The eCommerce industry saw huge growth during the pandemic, which only accelerated the need for all advertisers to have a digital storefront. But what is a digital storefront, and why is it beneficial for both brands and advertisers alike?
What is the digital storefront?
The digital storefront is the online representation of your business. It’s where your customers can find your services or browse your products online. Whether on an eCommerce site like Etsy, or via social media, it’s a great way of expanding your business to reach new customers.
However, brands should be cautious as they will be judged by the quality of their digital storefront. If users land on a high quality website that’s easy to use, then they will trust your brand and may even buy a product. Alternatively, if your website or app looks low-quality then users may bounce before they’ve even had a chance to browse.
There are a number of sites, tools and services that can help you create a strong digital storefront. From utilising already established sites such as Amazon or Shopify to quickly upscale and launch your eCommerce business, to boosting your presence in the search results to drive people to your physical store locations.
The digital storefront increases real estate for advertisers to buy
The digital storefront benefits everyone in the digital marketing industry because it increases the amount of real estate for advertisers to buy, which generates more revenue for publishers. This allows advertisers to play with new ad formats that can help to reach more people in a visually engaging way.
There are many places that brands can advertise to directly put their product in front of shoppers. Amazon’s offering continues to grow, with ‘sponsored products’ targeting users who are searching keywords relevant to your products. Users can then click your ad, and be taken to your product listing, before carrying on through to the checkout. This bottom of the funnel advertising can help to drive sales because you are putting your product in front of a user who is actively looking for it, rather than convincing a generic user to convert.
Criteo, Citrus Ads and Nectar 360 all offer advertising space to drive online sales direct at retailers. This is a great opportunity for the likes of FMCG brands who can advertise in the space where their target audience are shopping. For example, if your brand is stocked at Asda, then advertising here could be the nudge a user needs to add your product to their basket. It is also a great way of reaching an audience who are already in a shopping mindset. If a user is currently browsing a retail site then they may be more likely to continue through to purchase.
Brick-and-mortar stores can leverage an omni-channel footprint
Digital marketing is not only beneficial for brands who already have an eCommerce offering, but for brick-and-mortar stores too.
Formats such as Google Performance Max allows advertisers to leverage one format to drive key business outcomes. For example, ads across Google search can drive action, whereas YouTube (another Google owned product) can be leveraged to increase reach and Google Maps can drive online shoppers into physical stores.
Being visible on all of these platforms, and utilising their services to achieve different marketing goals, can help those with brick-and-mortar stores create a real omnichannel footprint.
The importance of brand building to protect against supply chain issues
With businesses still feeling the effects of the pandemic, it is those that are willing to invest in long-term brand building that will have success when supply chain issues take effect.
Supply chain issues can prevent consumers from accessing their usual brands, forcing them to look for alternatives. If you were successful in building your brand then you will be front of mind when shoppers begin their search for other options. This can help you to capture more customers, and even drive sales, because they recognise your brand name, and therefore, trust you’re a safe alternative to their usual purchase.
Discoverability is also key. You need to ensure that consumers can find your brand when they go searching for it. That’s why a digital storefront is so important. A strong online presence means you can capture these user searches, or even direct them to your physical locations, so that you never miss out on a sale just because you were undiscoverable.
Summary: The value of a digital storefront
A digital storefront benefits brands, advertisers and even the consumer. For brands, it helps to expand reach, find new customers and drive sales in a time where supply chain issues are causing uncertainty. For advertisers, it creates an opportunity to display ads in the spaces where consumers are doing their shopping, which can increase conversion. Lastly, it makes the consumer journey easier by directing users to the brand or product that they are looking for. Therefore, it’s imperative that your business creates a digital storefront so that you don’t get left behind.
For more information contact our expert team today.
Author: Oli Williams - Biddable Strategy Lead
