UK supermarket chain Waitrose has overhauled its online advertising, introducing targeted ads across Waitrose.com.
Through a partnership with CitrusAd – a retail media technology firm owned by Publicis Groupe – Waitrose’s suppliers can harness sponsored search and category product ads, as well as sponsored offers and checkout ad campaigns.
The move means that customers will no longer on the site will no longer all be served the same ad. Instead, shoppers will be served ads relevant to their product searches or the areas they browse.
“Advertising on retailers’ websites is nothing new, but it traditionally took a blanket approach, meaning customers saw promotions that just weren’t of interest,” said Phil Eacott, Retail Media Sales Lead at Waitrose.
“Now, we’re able to target ads much more effectively so customers get much more relevant offers, and brands get even better engagement.”
Brands will also benefit from access to performance-based metrics and reporting, enabling them to measure the impact of their ads and the return on ad spend (ROAS) by individual product level or search term.
“We’ve experienced remarkable and immediate results, as we were able to reach customers who had a genuine interest in our products,” said Maartje Sonnenberg, Marketing & Communications Manager at Lazy Vegan, a brand which was an early adopter of Waitrose’s targeted ads.
“Not only have we grown sales, we’ve gained valuable insights that help us to further fine-tune our keyword targeting.”
