admin Digital Marketing and Commerce in India has continued on its strong trajectory in 2018, even though there have been many dramatic changes in the data marketplace worldwide. With these changes, the environment in which marketers and brands work is also evolving. This will bring in new opportunities for digital and overall commerce marketing in 2020. Some of these opportunities have already started surfacing in the first couple of months of this year.
The industry has grown stronger because of the changes we’ve witnessed in the recent times, and the innovations fostered by these changes. Not only this, we now have amazing new technological opportunities available with us. Also, the digital tools for the success that we’ve long waited for are now here. Let’s take a look at the key trends that will have a big impact on Commerce and Digital Marketing in 2020.
Establishing Best Practice on Data Usage
GDPR has gained good global support since its introduction in Europe in May 2018. In 2019, the use of standard data management practices will re-installed confidence and trust in digital marketing. This, in turn, will benefit businesses and offer greater transparency and choice to consumers.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) updates and stringent filters have broken the potency of email marketing. Additionally, the newer audience favors other methods of communication and favors to deal with less touchpoints when engaging brands.
As part of the bid to engage users on multiple channels, browser push notifications are something you will see more and more brands adopting in 2020 – and they are getting more sophisticated and personalized.
Ad Spend on Video Content to Soar
Consumer demand for video has increased substantially. Because of this, Private Marketplaces (PMPs) will drive more ad spend through programmatic advertising channels. OTT video inventory is also seeing increasing demand, and the trend is likely to become super popular in 2019. According to the study by Assocham-PwC, India’s video OTT market expected to become one of the world’s top-10 markets by 2022. All these signs point to the rise in video ad spending this year.
Brands and Retailers to Team up and Capitalize on Omnichannel Data
Brands and retailers are looking for opportunities outside of marketplaces to maintain their relationships with the consumers. For this, many will start doing so by developing their omnichannel capabilities through collaboration and data sharing. For instance, retailers sharing real time POS and inventory data with brands, and both being able to plan for promotion and operational efficiency. The result is a true win-win-win as brands, retailers and consumers get the best products in the right time and at the best prices.
AI will Gain Wider Adoption
AI and machine learning are already giving marketers the ability to succeed. It will enable marketers to better understand their audiences and deliver highly relevant and personalized messaging directly to consumers. In 2020 we will see companies with large data sets and strong computational advertising capabilities start to take lead. So, it’s time to make sure your own AI efforts are as powerful and beneficial as they can be.
Voice and Visual Tech
There was a time when text search was considered a state of the art technology. Today, we are getting empowered with visual and voice search. Gartner highlights that those who redesign their websites to support visual and voice search and provide more interactive and engaging experiences will see up to a 30 percent increase in digital commerce revenues by 2021. The use of visual and voice in digital marketing will become more apparent in 2020.
While tech search is important when consumers are searching for products, voice search ensures that engagement becomes more meaningful for both marketers and consumers across the shopping journey. Brands and retailers that take the lead in optimizing their websites for voice and visual search will win shoppers.
Digital marketing will see some important technological and operational changes in 2020, with a special focus on getting the right data strategy and strengthening partnerships with customers. Marketers need to streamline user experience across devices and channels, find the right blend of data and advertising technology to make their campaigns more effective.
About Siddharth Dabhade
Siddharth Dabhade. Managing Director, India, Criteo
Siddharth Dabhade, Managing Director, India joined Criteo in May 2017, and is heading the overall country operations, business and leadership in India. He comes with an experience of over 17 years in sales and general management technology, people management, client relationships, marketing and corporate strategy experience in Digital marketing.
Prior to joining Criteo, he was working with Google, as Head of Industry, where he was managing the nurture and growth of travel industry business at Google. He led industry initiatives like “Great Indian Travel Festival”, hotels industry research, mobile research to shape the industry trends.
During his stint at Microsoft, Siddharth was responsible for driving revenue and customer satisfaction growth in the upper mid-market space through marketing initiatives managing the top accounts in the Karnataka region. Siddharth started his career with IBM where he held several managerial positions and was responsible for driving Software Group business in Tamil Nadu and Kerala region.
Siddharth has won many awards in his professional career like Best 10x deal award 2014 and APAC digitization award 2013 at Google, Circle of Excellence: 2009 – 2010 most prestigious award at Microsoft and Best of IBM awards 2006.
He is an avid reader especially books on business and personal development. He likes to coach MBA students for career guidance and is a frequent speaker in MBA institutes to help students get exposed to industry trends and helping them get more prepared for getting into the industry.
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