It’s that time of year again to express the obligatory, “I can’t believe we’re already planning for next year. I feel like this year just started!” Believe it or not, that time has come again and it’s important this year to put E-Commerce at the forefront of your overall annual strategy. How are your E-Commerce tactics going to work together with the rest of your marketing strategy? Where in your digital marketing plan does it make sense to shift to a shoppable approach?

It’s likely that your digital planning has historically been separate from your E-Commerce planning, which has historically been separate from your Shopper Marketing planning. This year, marketers need to think from an omni-channel perspective. More than ever, we need to think in the mind of the consumer, living a multi-dimensional (read: omni-channel) life. Over the past year and a half, consumers have become accustomed to doing their shopping online. As we head into winter and with COVID-19 still prevalent in our lives, online shopping is not a practice that is going away anytime soon.

E-Commerce and Shopper Marketing

Planning across Commerce tactics is the lowest hanging fruit. It’s estimated that about 87% of in-store shoppers look for information online before actually going in-store to shop.. 87%!! Knowing this, we should be giving consumers consistent messaging not only across all retail sites and across the web, but also as they move in-store. If messaging and visuals are consistent, you are more likely to – at least subconsciously – get the attention of your shopper, getting you one-step closer to conversion. Using an E-Commerce creative management platform like RapidAds can make that digital cohesion easy. Here’s how!

Are you planning for E-Commerce brand partnerships? Think out of the box in how these partnerships can extend offline to in-store end caps, sampling and experiential events, and more. As you develop JBPs with retail partners, these investments, as well as anything else that is driving to the retail site should all be taken into consideration. Leverage all commerce-driving tactics to make the most out of your retail partnership.

Commerce and All Other Digital

What might be newer to digital marketers is considering how E-Commerce can play a role in national brand media. Over the past year, media and tech companies have made incredible strides in developing solutions to make your media shoppable in a way that’s effortless for consumers. Utilize this newer technology as a part of tactics that have historically been strictly awareness-based. For example, in your social media posts, swap out the link that clicks to your brand site for a shoppable link. Build a custom shoppable link so it can add item(s) directly to a consumer’s cart from any nearby retailer that has the product in-stock. It’s a one-click solution to avoid click fatigue and product abandonment.

Now is the time to test out these new forms of digital marketing. Get in the game while this new tech is still being tested and while prices are low. This will put you ahead of your competition, getting you in a position come 2023 where you are optimizing on past learnings while they’re testing for the first time.