outlook-thumbAlthough we covered “trends & predictions” last month, we present you Criteo’s recent findings since it includes a lot of data analysis related to our Island republic Singapore.

In the final quarter of 2014, PayPal projected Singapore’s mCommerce and eCommerce markets to be worth US$1.18 billion and US$2.99 billion respectively by end-2014. With an internationally established offline shopping environment, and the rise in mobile and cross device usage, Singapore has become one of the most developed online and offline retail markets both regionally and globally.

With growth set to continue in 2015, what does rising eCommerce spending mean for brick-and-mortar stores, as well as for online businesses and advertisers?

“2015 will be a dynamic year for the eCommerce industry as consumer online shopping behavior continues to evolve at a rapid pace. The growth in time spent across multiple screens means marketers need to manage more complexity when targeting consumers,” said Eric Eichmann, President and COO, Criteo. “Advertisers who stay ahead of the curve by making sound investments in solutions like cross-device targeting and mobile-optimized websites and apps will be best positioned to meet consumer demand and generate sales.”

Criteo, the performance marketing technology company, revealed its 2015 eCommerce Industry Outlook report, authored by Eric Eichmann, President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Criteo, which highlights key trends that will have a significant impact on the global industry over the course of the year. The report helps advertisers stay ahead of the curve and adjust their marketing strategies and investments to align with consumers’ evolving online shopping behaviors.

Based on data insights from billions of online transactions globally, key predictions include:

  • Mobile share of online sales grew steadily in 2014. This year Criteo expect mobile devices to account for 40% of eCommerce transactions globally and more than 50% in the developed markets.
  • In 2015, the complexities around cross-device advertising will disappear with the availability of more precise exact-match methods. Enhancing cross-device capabilities will be a major focus as 58% of retail executives and ad agencies rank the technology as the most important of their 2015 mobile marketing efforts. With cross-device advertising, retailers will be able to differentiate between existing users and new prospects and understand their shopping behaviour across desktops, tablets, and smartphones better.
  • Programmatic buying will drive rapid growth in native advertising. With programmatic buying, native ads implementation will become a lot easier than it used to be. Also, publishers will be able to charge higher CPMs as native ads perform better than IAB standard ad units, especially on mobile.
  • eCommerce will become ‘do or die’ for brick-and-mortar retailers in 2015, as they experience the increasing impact of shopper “webrooming” and “showrooming” behaviour.
  • Retailers will put a heavy emphasis on app re-engagement, as 42% of retail executives and ad agencies rank consumer engagement as the primary goal of mobile app strategies.
  • Automated ad formats will offer even greater flexibility. This technological shift will allow advertisers to effortlessly access a significantly greater part of the inventory available around the world and make it a lot easier to scale campaigns internationally. For publishers, this change is synonymous with more freedom to innovate and offer new ad formats.
  • Acquisitions and consolidation will continue to intensify in the ad-tech industry. This consolidation will make it simpler for ecommerce marketers to identify marketing solutions that meet their objectives.

To download Criteo’s complete 2015 eCommerce Industry Outlook report, please visit http://www.criteo.com/resources/criteo-ecommerce-industry-outlook-2015/.