The future of eCommerce and Online Marketing over the next five years is embracing diversity across digital platforms and the agility to activate or deactivate eCommerce channels as needed.

Your brand’s success in today’s world of eCommerce is measured by its market penetration and its ability to be available to consumers wherever and whenever they are shopping.

This means that brand managers must be prepared to support a multitude of digital shopping platforms, both existing and emerging.

The Future of Online Shopping: Embracing Diversity

If you had a crystal ball to predict what digital shopping platform you will need to support in the future, it would say “all of them, but not at the same time.” Over time, some platforms will fade away, while new ones will emerge.

For brands, the challenge is not choosing the most suitable platform, as the majority of them will expand their online reach and generate sales. The key to marketing and sales success in the future is having the agility in order to activate or deactivate digital sales channels as needed, with ease.

Managing Brand Content

Having tools like Content Management Systems (PIM / MDM) is crucial. These systems have the ability to store and manage data and syndicate this information to shopping platforms in the required format.

Specialised systems from providers such as Salsify, BizCaps, and Stibo offer out-of-the-box and customisable PIM solutions that publish information in the format required by various digital sales channels.

The result?

Clean, accurate, and controlled product content that can easily and quickly be published to new sales channels on demand.

Stop trying to manage multiple images, product descriptions, and unpack information across multiple spreadsheets or homegrown databases. This will impede your ability to support new digital sales channels (and kill your productivity).

PIM and Content Syndication Services >>>

The Future of Online Retail

At rev™ Branding, we work with leading brand marketers to build digital sales channel growth strategies and implement systems and processes.

With over 20 years of experience, our team has transformed the marketing and sales strategies for 70 of the top 100 Global FMCG / CPG companies, redefining how these brands engage with consumers.

Over this time, we have revolutionised the way brands market and sell products across traditional brick-and-mortar retail spaces and ever-evolving digital sales channels, including platforms like eBay, Amazon, Catch, WooliesX, and Coles 360, among others.

As dominant digital platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn become less effective due to spam and robot activity, brand marketers are exploring new avenues.

While these platforms still serve their purpose for branding, communication, and consumer engagement, their ability to provide focused and targeted sales campaigns is quickly diminishing.

So? What should your Online Marketing investment plan look like over the next five years? 

Online Search

In today’s digital landscape, online search remains one of the most critical factors in driving traffic and sales to your brand. Google continues to dominate this space, and if your content isn’t SEO-optimised across Google or using tools like Google Shop, you simply won’t appear first when customers are searching for products like yours.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is not just about ranking high on search engine results pages; it’s about understanding your audience’s search intent and delivering the right content at the right time. By investing in SEO, you ensure that your brand is visible to potential customers when they are actively searching for products or services like yours.

Engagement

While platforms like TikTok offer a high level of engagement and the ability to generate an online audience, their effectiveness for deep sales penetration is limited. While these platforms are excellent for building brand awareness and engaging with your audience, they may not always translate into direct sales.

However, incorporating engaging content into your marketing strategy is still essential. Video content, ‘reels,’ and other interactive formats can help you connect with your audience on a deeper level, driving brand loyalty and advocacy over time.

Online Marketplaces

Marketplaces like Catch and Amazon (lesser eBay) continue to provide consistent and robust channels for online sales. These platforms have become go-to destinations for online shoppers, offering a wide range of products and a seamless shopping experience.

As online shopping trends shift towards mobile apps, many of these platforms have also deployed apps to retain shoppers and smartphone users. By optimising your presence on these platforms and providing a seamless mobile shopping experience, you can capitalise on the growing trend of mobile commerce and reach a larger audience of mobile shoppers.

Digital Apps

The future of digital retail lies within mobile shopping apps. Platforms like Temu and Etsy are quickly dominating the market, swallowing up market share from traditional shopping marketplaces.

Mobile shopping apps offer a convenient and personalised shopping experience, allowing users to browse and purchase products with just a few taps on their smartphone. By optimising your presence on these platforms and providing a seamless mobile shopping experience, you can capitalise on the growing trend of mobile commerce and reach a larger audience of mobile shoppers.

Retailer Marketing Tools

For specific channels like food, liquor, and pharmacy, retailer marketing tools rely on industry platforms like CitrusAd and Cartology. While these tools may be expensive, when campaigns are run correctly, they can deliver significant results.

These platforms offer targeted advertising and promotional opportunities within specific retail categories, allowing brands to reach their target audience more effectively. By leveraging these tools, brands can increase their visibility and drive sales within their target market.

Cartology & CitrusAd Campaign Managment >>>

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

AI is a significant trend in digital marketing, making the creation of content more efficient. While it’s not the solution to all problems, it is a valuable tool that can help brands streamline their content creation process and improve the overall customer experience.

By leveraging AI-powered tools and technologies, brands can analyse data more effectively, identify trends and patterns, and make more informed decisions about their marketing strategies. Whether it’s creating personalised product recommendations, optimising ad campaigns, or automating customer service, AI has the potential to revolutionise the way brands engage with their customers and drive sales.

Creating a Five-Year Plan

So, what’s the summary of this that you can take away to your executives and begin your planning process?

Here are a few steps that will not only empower you but will also allow you to make significant headway…

1. Build out your digital sales channel strategy with the help of agencies like rev™ Branding to plan and budget for the next 5 years of digital.

2. Shift your marketing focus and budget away from social media platforms and more towards digital sales channels and platforms like Temu, Etsy, eBay, Catch, and Amazon.

3. Utilise Google and search agencies like rev™ Branding to improve your online visibility.

4. Invest in your back-end infrastructure like PIM and Content Management Systems, Content Creation, and Content Syndication.

5. Increase your agility to activate and deactivate more digital marketplaces and mobile shopping apps that suit your specific target audience.

The outcome?

You’ll grow…
Sales will increase…
You’ll access new shoppers across a range of new sales channels…

Where to Start…

If your company is facing the challenge of growing your digital sales channels and needs help planning your investment, why not speak to our expert team at rev™ Branding?

With over 20 years’ experience helping global brands to change the way they launch and market brands across online and instore channels, we are perfectly positioned to help you design and implement a 5-year digital plan.

We can provide expert guidance on:

• Digital Sales Channel Strategy and Planning
• Internal Systems and Processes
• Budgets and Resource Plans
• Product Content Creation and Management
• Data Syndication
• Brand Launch and Engagement
• eCommerce Campaign Activation.

Speak to our rev™ Branding eCommerce team, who are experts in category development, brand launch, and eCommerce marketing services within the FMCG and CPG sectors.

Phone: 03 9863 7444
Email: [email protected]

Learn how companies are identifying new growth and revenue opportunities using eCommerce digital sales channels and digital shopping apps.

Learn More

eCommerce Digital Sales Channel Whitepaper

Use this free eCommerce Digital Sales Channel Whitepaper to identify new growth and revenue opportunities from eCommerce digital sales channels.

Download >>>

Related information…

Digital Media Marketing
Learn More >>>

Create a Digital Strategy
Learn How >>>

Building a Robust Consumer Brand
Learn More >>>

Product Launch in Just 30-Days
View Package >>>

Fighting off Private Labels
Learn More >>>

eCommerce Marketing
Learn More >>>

Google Ads Marketing
Learn More >>>

#eCommerceinvestmentstrategies, #Onlinemarketingpredictions, #leadingbrandsdigitalgrowth, #FutureofeCommerce, #Digitalmarketingtrends, #Brandinginthedigitalage, #Strategiconlinebranding, #eCommercegrowthtactics, #Digitalmarketinginvestments, #Brandinginthedigitalera #DigitalMarketingPredictions #eCommercePredictions