According to statistics from eMarketer, e-commerce is taking over global commerce. It took hold even faster because of the impossible circumstances the business world faced in 2020. By 2023, eMarketer predicts that e-commerce will make up more than 22% of retail sales worldwide.
In-person shopping was difficult due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Small businesses were adversely affected, as larger companies with greater square footage were allowed to stay open, while many smaller companies were forced to shut their doors, as they didn’t have the infrastructure or funding to reach their customers virtually.
In order for mom-and-pop businesses to stay afloat in 2021, they need to continue to adapt. The learning curve can be steep, especially when moving from a traditional business model to an e-commerce model. Businesses need to learn virtual shopping, online marketing, and so on, in order to succeed — and each area is a separate set of expertise.
AdRoll helps bridge the gap between the traditional business model and the e-commerce approach required to succeed in today’s world. During the course of the pandemic, mom-and-pop stores used AdRoll’s ECommerce marketing platform to quickly convert their strategy to one that works in an e-commerce world.
Helping Small Businesses Get Online Fast
Even with statewide closures of non-essential businesses, mom-and-pop shops only had so much time to rehab their existing business models before having to face the music of a new e-commerce centric world. AdRoll helped one small business, a child’s clothing resale shop, get online quickly when the pandemic started to threaten businesses.
Second Child faced a particularly daunting challenge when switching to e-commerce strategy, particularly that they rarely had more than one of an item in the store at any time. This meant they needed to craft an informed marketing strategy that worked online just as well as it worked to have people shop in store.
Through AdRoll’s system, the company was able to get online quickly and integrate their Shopify storefront with the platform’s marketing strategies. In doing so, they were able to easily build a web presence and immediately start gathering insights based upon sales data. While many customers were returning customers, AdRoll helped the business owners gather necessary information about those customers and then implement a marketing strategy that would significantly increase retention.
The shop owner said the process immediately helped them optimize their e-commerce strategy, even though there was a steep learning curve. While it takes time to adjust to a new system and work it into the business strategy, they know that continued investment will yield results.
Preventing Wasted Advertising Efforts
Small businesses can’t afford to waste their advertising dollars, but finding the right niche or market can be challenging especially with the increase of brands online. For businesses that were forced to pivot during the pandemic, it became a sort of Catch 22 — they simultaneously needed targeted ads to reach customers under unique circumstances, but those ads needed to be extremely effective in order to keep them afloat.
Another one of AdRolls customers witnessed increased success with the platform because they were able to both generate targeted leads and also make sure that each of those leads had a follow-up. Instead of sending advertisements out into the online world, without informed data, DOGTV utilized AdRoll to determine the efficacy of their ads when they had to pivot their marketing plan during the pandemic.
Prior to COVID-19, DOGTV’s primary messaging was selling a television subscription designed specifically for keeping dogs entertained while their owners were out of the house. When everyone moved back home to work remotely during the pandemic, DOGTV had to change their messaging. AdRoll helped them track their ads, determine which were working and which weren’t, and ultimately form a marketing message that worked during the pandemic. Since then, their marketing model has shifted to a focus on providing dog owners with a way to keep their pups occupied when they’re working from home.
This small business was able to keep their advertising and marketing efforts focused through the use of AdRoll’s technology, and minimize waste in a time when companies were already strapped for cash.
AdRoll helped companies stay afloat during the pandemic when they had to shift their entire strategies to an e-commerce model. The reward of such a quick change of pace is that, with the structures AdRoll helped these brands implement, these companies are now set up for the growth needed to sustain their businesses over the next years. As e-commerce grows, AdRoll filled the gap and made it possible for traditional mom-and-pop shops to reach their customers online.
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