Being present on marketplaces is no longer enough—you need to capture attention and convert quickly. Competition is intensifying, advertising costs are rising, and without an optimized strategy, your ad budget can quickly disappear with little impact. Discover how to boost your sales and maximize your return on investment (ROI) with Retail Media, an essential driver of e-commerce success.
Advertising vs. Retail Media: What’s the Difference?
Advertising (digital advertising) includes all paid strategies aimed at increasing online visibility and sales through sponsored ads, bidding, or display campaigns.
Retail Media, on the other hand, is a specific branch of advertising that focuses solely on ads displayed on retailers’ and marketplaces’ websites and apps. It enables brands, retailers, and sellers to reach consumers at a crucial moment in their buying journey—when their purchase intent is at its highest.
Why is Retail Media Essential?
Marketplaces prioritize sellers who invest in advertising, offering them better visibility and strategic positioning. A well-placed product attracts significantly more clicks:
- The first position on a results page generates 8 times more clicks than the tenth.
- The fifth position generates 36 times more clicks than the fifteenth.
With 39.4 million French consumers shopping online in 2023 (+500,000 in one year, Fevad), the stakes are high. The more visible a product is, the more qualified visitors it attracts, increasing conversion rates and sales. Not investing in Retail Media means risking invisibility against the competition.
How to optimize your Retail Media campaigns?
To maximize the impact of your Retail Media campaigns and optimize your investment, several advertising levers can be activated:
1. Leverage sponsored products
Sponsored products operate on a cost-per-click (CPC) model, increasing your products’ visibility. On Cdiscount, for example, these ads appear in strategic locations: search results, product pages, the “Cart” page, and the homepage.
This approach is crucial, as more than one in two purchases is made through the platform’s search engine. Sponsoring your products ensures they are well-positioned and visible to active buyers.
2. Bid on strategic keywords
To reach a qualified audience, you can purchase exclusive rights to the most searched keywords in your product category, ensuring placement in the top 5 search results. This strategy guarantees top visibility, maximizing conversion potential.
By targeting relevant, high-search-volume keywords, you increase the likelihood that your products will be seen and purchased while limiting direct competition on these queries.
For example, on Cdiscount, keyword-targeted sponsored campaigns achieve an average click-through rate (CTR) of 2.1%, compared to 0.78% for products ranked below the 5th position.
3. Attract buyers with customizable promotions
Promotions are a powerful driver of purchases. 78% of consumers prioritize discounted offers when shopping online (Toluna, Harris Interactive & Fevad, 2023).
Customizable promotions help attract this audience by featuring special visibility elements—such as a promotional label in search results and product pages or a pop-up on the product page to maximize impact.
On Cdiscount, “Promo Boost” offers significantly improve ad performance:
- +18% in click-through rate (CTR)
- +9% in conversion rate (CVR)
4. Leverage the power of customer reviews
Customer reviews play a crucial role in the purchasing journey. Indeed, 88% of consumers check reviews before buying online (Ifop – Réputation VIP).
They reassure future buyers and directly influence their decisions, making them an essential tool for increasing conversions. On Cdiscount, there is a +66% conversion increase between a product with at least 10 reviews and one without any.
However, collecting reviews isn’t always easy. That’s where sponsored reviews come in, encouraging customers to leave reviews in exchange for a voucher. This system is highlighted throughout the customer journey. On Cdiscount, the average review submission rate increases by 200% with the “Sponsored Reviews” solution.
Conclusion
Retail Media continues to grow, reaching €1.22 billion in 2024, with +14% growth (LSA Conso). This trend underscores its strategic importance for brands and sellers looking to optimize visibility and, more importantly, increase sales and conversions.
In a highly competitive environment, just being present is not enough—you must invest wisely in Retail Media by leveraging the best advertising tools. By combining sponsored products, strategic keywords, discount coupons, and sponsored reviews, you can strategically position yourself against the competition, attract buyers, and drive traffic and sales.
Want to learn more about Retail Media solutions available on Cdiscount’s marketplace? Click here!
