John Lewis has signed a deal with Publicis-owned data and tech specialist Epsilon to launch a suite of new retail media capabilities that will help brands connect with shoppers on the department store retailer’s website.
The move will allow brands to create and manage their own campaigns, including via banner ads and sponsored product listings. The platform offers a dashboard showing how campaigns are performing, how customers are engaging, and how many sales are being generated.
The retailer noted that brands can maintain always-on campaigns while having the ability to quickly adapt to seasonal trends and sales peaks, such as Back to School and Black Friday.
It is claimed that real-time data and performance metrics will allow brands to measure the impact of their initiatives right down to the individual product level and search terms.
Epsilon recently launched a similar offer for John Lewis’s sister chain Waitrose.
The retailer stated that the investment “underscores its dedication to improving the customer experience by better connecting individuals with the brands they care about, at the right time in their purchase journey”.
Jemma Haleym, head of retail media business and proposition strategy at John Lewis, commented: “While retailers have long been advertising on their own websites, we want to improve the experience, and make it even easier for customers to connect with the brands and products that meet their needs.
“As part of this, we’re providing brands with more targeted and relevant ways to connect with customers. Our shoppers are unique in terms of the ways they research, browse and buy, and we need to be ready to meet them in the moments they are ready to purchase or engage with a brand.”
Epsilon regional CEO Europe Alban Villani added: “John Lewis offers a unique and scaled audience across its online and in-store environments. People visit John Lewis in search of inspiration, to validate their research and to make purchases that often initiate a longer-term brand relationship.”
“It’s a real opportunity for brands to evolve their strategies beyond performance goals to think about how they engage customers in ways that build awareness and loyalty.”
“We look forward to supporting John Lewis further as they continue to test and learn across categories and build an even more impactful omnichannel media proposition for brands.”
NAM Implications:
- Those that can, will…
- Those that cannot need careful evaluation by brand suppliers in the early ‘discovery‘ stages.
- All will be down to the quality of first-party data.
