According to the Criteo report, these trends will shape commerce marketing in 2018

Comprehensive and integrated online and offline data has become a key element for retailers and brand manufacturers. This data is intended to help them understand and reach the omnichannel shopper, who moves through the customer journey across all channels (offline, online, and mobile) and devices.

«Retailers and brands must offer increasingly discerning shoppers a tailored shopping experience in order to remain competitive with industry giants in the long term,» says Alexander Gösswein, Managing Director for Central Europe at Criteo. «The market is constantly undergoing extreme change: New gadgets and technologies are constantly emerging and influencing the customer journey. Data is becoming the central, all-connecting factor. Only those who are willing to thoroughly understand and analyze trends, collaborate with others, pool data, and drive innovation will remain successful in commerce in the long run.»

Criteo identifies these eight trends as key to commerce marketing in 2018:

New Competition in Video Ads

Consumers are spending more and more time watching online videos. This trend is forcing advertisers, publishers, and media companies to reorient their strategies and place a greater emphasis on video. Social networks such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat prioritize videos and look for high-quality content. As video consumption rises, so does the number of ads in the video environment, leading to new competition between programmatic advertisers and their partners.

The Rise of Voice Shopping

Context-aware voice ads personalize recommendations and content. In 2018, customers will shop more using voice commands on devices such as Google Home or Amazon Echo. Voice-controlled devices and personal assistants will therefore become the most widely used technology over the next two years. Based on data about customer interests and preferences, smart speakers can offer additional products and services in addition to existing ones.

The Close Relationship Between Social Media and E-commerce

The fine line between social media and e-commerce is disappearing. The Facebook Marketplace service is already operating successfully in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia, and is currently being expanded to numerous countries, including 17 European markets. Amazon is set to launch Amazon Spark. Just like on Instagram or Pinterest, users can view product images and purchase those products immediately. Since the major social networks are walled gardens, brands and retailers must find additional ways to deepen customer relationships and collect related data. Otherwise, a great deal of important information about consumers will be lost within these silos, and the corresponding customer relationships will become increasingly precarious in the medium term.

The Convergence of Offline and Online: The Customer Journey

The most prominent example here is Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods. Through this acquisition, the tech giant can gain an even better understanding of shoppers' (omnichannel) shopping habits, provide additional services, and generate upselling opportunities.

Other online retailers will also increasingly form new partnerships that allow them to make better use of in-store CRM data. The goal: to identify offline customers online in order to re-engage them with personalized campaigns and generate more sales.

Conversely, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers will offer even better options for customers to pick up products purchased online. Examples include dedicated customer parking spaces or special lockers in the store.

Data Collaboration vs. Walled Gardens

Retailers and brand manufacturers are concerned about the scope and depth of the data held within the “walled gardens” created by tech giants such as Amazon and Facebook. To remain innovative and competitive, create alternatives, and retain data sovereignty, retailers and brands will consolidate their data assets even more closely in 2018. This will enable them to personalize content and build stronger customer relationships. 72 percent of marketing leaders believe that data collaboration leads to higher revenue, increased profits (65 percent), and greater customer satisfaction (56 percent).[3]

Product Feed Optimization

In 2018, advertisers will continue to look for ways to optimize the management of product feed assets. This includes product descriptions and images. Contextual product photos, high-resolution close-ups, 360-degree images, and other product details will become even more important for providing shoppers with the best possible online experience.

More Acquisitions and Partnerships

Over the past six months, there have been major acquisitions in the retail sector, but numerous partnerships have also been formed: Amazon and Whole Foods, Amazon and Kohl’s, Walmart and Google Express Service, etc. In the coming year, more retailers and brands will seek strategic acquisitions and partnerships as they aim to remain competitive and expand their businesses. Pure players will look for opportunities for strategic acquisitions or partnerships to bridge the offline and online worlds and create significant added value.