Since the arrival of Google Shopping in 2012, the landscape of Product Shopping Ads has continued to evolve, as more retailers enjoy the benefits and online channels consequently adapt to the need for rich advertising formats. Facebook is the latest channel to do so.

As consumers become increasingly savvy and the competition between retailers grows, retailers must ensure their products are placed everywhere shoppers are looking for them online. The key to a successful Shopping Ad strategy is in ensuring that campaigns are optimised at the lowest level – the product level – to maximise overall profitability. The quality of the product data feed, which controls how individual product listings appear online, is crucial and forms the foundation to retailers success; as is use of the right ‘language’ to ensure consumers are shown products relevant to them. A couple of quick wins would be to ensure brand, make and other specifics such as gender are all included in product descriptions.

With the use of Shopping Ads increasing across online channels, the ability to more intelligently and granularly target consumers based on their Facebook ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ can only lead to more relevant products being presented to consumers, this increased relevancy will then no doubt result in increased conversions for retailers.

Consumers are sophisticated and retailers can achieve greater consideration by using actionable data insight to share their content in a way that users find appropriate and engaging.