At A Glance
CPG shoppers are splitting spending across price points, retailers, and channels, often within the same purchase journey. Experian Audiences help marketers identify value-driven switching, connect behavior across retailers and channels, and reach shoppers based on how they actually buy.In this article…
Why consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketing needs a broader view of shopper behavior
CPG marketing needs a broader view because shoppers no longer follow a single path to purchase. They move across retailers, channels, and price tiers, often within the same buying cycle. For marketers, that makes behavior harder to track and even harder to act on.
The same household may focus on price in one category, spend on quality or convenience in another, and shift between online and in-store environments along the way. These decisions are not tied to a single moment or channel, which makes them difficult to interpret through any one signal.
At the same time, many CPG brands don’t have direct relationships with shoppers, limiting access to first-party data. Understanding how decisions connect often depends on combining signals from multiple sources across the market.
This fragmentation becomes most visible across the purchase journey. A shopper might discover a product on social, compare prices across retailers, add it to a cart in an app, and complete the purchase later in-store. Retail media networks (RMNs) provide strong, retailer-specific insight and measurement, with a detailed view of what shoppers do within that retailer’s environment. But that view stops there. A retailer can see what a shopper buys in its own stores or app, not how that same shopper compares prices, switches brands, or purchases across other retailers.
The opportunity is to build a more complete view of shopper behavior across the market. Without additional signals, marketers are left with multiple high-quality perspectives of the same shopper, each tied to a specific retailer or platform. That makes it difficult to understand how shoppers compare options, switch retailers, and respond to campaigns beyond a single environment.
How Experian Audiences help CPG marketers adapt to changing shopper behavior
Experian Audiences help CPG marketers adapt to changing shopper behavior by identifying shoppers likely to trade between premium and value, aligning audiences to price sensitivity and purchase behavior, and connecting signals across retailers and channels so your campaigns reflect how decisions are made from first interaction through purchase.
Three shifts are shaping how CPG brands reach and understand shoppers:
- Data is distributed across retailers and channels
- Purchase journeys span more touchpoints
- Shoppers are more selective about where they spend
You can find the full taxonomy paths in the appendix.
1. How can CPG brands connect shopper behavior across retailers without direct consumer access?
CPG brands can connect shopper behavior across retailers without direct consumer access by combining signals from RMNs, retailer partnerships, and data providers to build a broader view of shopper activity, since most brands don’t have direct relationships with their customers or access to extensive first-party data. Instead, they often rely on these partners to understand shopper behavior and campaign performance.
Each RMN provides a strong view of what happens within its own environment, but a shopper may purchase across multiple retailers, compare prices across platforms, and shift behavior depending on promotions or availability. Retailer relationships are critical and strategic, but they capture only part of that activity.
This is becoming more complex as retail media expands. Amazon and Walmart still account for 84% of investment, but the rest is spread across a growing number of networks, each with its own data, definitions, and measurement approach. That fragmentation makes it harder to maintain consistent, deduplicated audiences, connect performance across platforms, and understand true incrementality.
How Experian brings shopper signals together in one place
Experian brings shopper signals together in one place as a way to build more effective CPG campaigns. Through Experian’s data marketplace, brands can unify, deduplicate, and activate shopper data across partners and channels.
In one marketplace, advertisers can access CPG signals, including loyalty card, receipt scan, and point of sale (CPU/SKU) data from tier one partners like Attain, Catalina, and Circana, along with Experian data.
This gives advertisers more flexibility to build audiences from complementary purchase-based signals, rather than relying on a single retailer view or rebuilding audiences separately across platforms.
By joining and deduplicating audiences across partners, advertisers can create more comprehensive CPG segments that better reflect how people shop across retailers, brands, and channels. They can also activate those audiences outside closed media network environments, helping maintain more consistency as campaigns move across destinations.
How to build cross-retailer audiences
Here’s what that can look like in practice. Instead of relying on a single retailer signal or broad snack category, advertisers can combine shopper behaviors from multiple data partners to create a more detailed audience built around specific purchase patterns and brand affinities.
In the example below, each provider contributes to a different layer of shopper insight, helping advertisers create a more complete tortilla chip audience across retailers, categories, and purchase behaviors.
Additional Experian Audiences you can activate
Advertisers can also start with broader category and retailer audiences to establish a strong base of active CPG shoppers, then use them on their own or layer in additional data to refine more specific behaviors, brands, or purchase patterns.
Core category buyers
- Candy, Snack, and Beverage Buyer Households
- Food, Snack, and Beverage Shoppers
- Grocery Store Frequent Spenders
- Grocery Store High Spenders
Cross-retailer shoppers
- Costco Frequent Spenders
- Discount / Dollar Store Frequent Spenders
- Supercenter Buyers
- Target Frequent Spenders
- Warehouse Club Members
- Walmart Frequent Spenders
2. New paths to conversion: How purchase journeys now span social, e-commerce, and in-store
There are new paths for CPG shoppers to conversion, they are no longer tied to a single channel. Awareness, consideration, and conversion signals now span multiple environments, often within the same buying cycle. A shopper might discover a product on social, compare pricing on Amazon or Walmart, add it through a retailer app, and complete the purchase later in-store, through delivery, or during a stock-up trip.
This shift is becoming more pronounced as online and in-store grocery shopping become increasingly connected. Nearly 94% of grocery shoppers now purchase both online and in-store, with e-commerce driving most recent growth even though stores still account for the majority of purchases. As a result, shoppers move across the purchase funnel fluidly, especially younger audiences, making it harder to map decisions to a single touchpoint.
For marketers, this means your audience strategy needs to follow behavior across the full journey, not just one channel or moment.
Experian Audiences you can activate to align to purchase journeys
Channel engagement
- Digital Display
- Free and Paid Ad Supported Streaming Subscribers
- Highly Active Online Users
- Online Research-Dependent Consumers
- Social Media Heavy Users
Purchase and conversion
- Brick and Mortar High Spenders
- Frequent Online Buyer Households
- Grocery Pick-Up and Delivery Users
- In-Store Buyer Households
- Online Buyer Households
- Online Grocery Delivery High Spenders
- Online-Preferred Shoppers
How to use these audiences
Activate channel engagement audiences like Social Media Heavy Users, Highly Active Online Users, and Online Research-Dependent Consumers alongside purchase audiences such as Online Buyer Households, Grocery Pick-Up and Delivery Users, and In-Store Buyer Households to reach shoppers who discover products through social and digital channels, compare options online, and complete purchases through delivery services, retailer apps, or in-store.
3. How is price pressure splitting shoppers across value tiers?
Price pressure is now splitting shoppers across value tiers. For many households, food prices are now a primary concern, making shoppers more selective about where and how they spend. Some are choosing lower-cost alternatives in everyday categories, while others are still willing to pay more for products tied to health, convenience, or perceived quality. This creates a more fluid market, where the same shopper may cut back in one aisle and spend more in another.
Shopping behavior is also shifting across channels. As more consumers eat at home rather than dining out, CPG brands have more opportunities to capture spend, across grocery and retail environments. Private-label products are gaining traction, often priced 30% lower than branded goods, while smaller independent brands are winning share with shoppers seeking products that better match their preferences and priorities.
For marketers, the focus is understanding these different groups and tailoring messaging to match.
Experian Audiences you can activate to reach shoppers across value tiers
Value-driven shoppers
- Coupon Users
- Deal Seeking Shoppers
- Discount / Dollar Store Frequent Spenders
- Frugal Living and Savings Focused Households
- Value Oriented Discount Deal Shoppers
Premium and benefit-led shoppers
- Healthy Food Meal Kit Service Spenders
- High Spending Specialty Food Shoppers
- High Spending Vitamin and Supplement Buyers
- Organic/Natural Grocery High Spenders
- Premium Spend Index segments
How to use these audiences
Activate value-driven audiences like Coupon Users, Deal Seeking Shoppers, and Discount / Dollar Store Frequent Spenders to run campaigns focused on price, promotions, and bulk purchasing behavior, especially during periods of higher price sensitivity.
Activate premium and benefit-led audiences like Organic/Natural Grocery High Spenders, Healthy Food Meal Kit Service Spenders, and High Spending Specialty Food Shoppers to highlight product attributes such as ingredients, health benefits, or convenience, where shoppers are motivated by perceived value rather than price.
When are CPG audiences most responsive to marketing?
CPG audiences are most receptive to marketing during key consumption and promotional moments that drive stock-up behavior and price comparison, making timing as important as targeting.
Back-to-school and routine-driven consumption
Back-to-school season concentrates demand among households preparing for more structured routines. Grocery, snacks, and household essential purchases often increase as families shift back to packed lunches, after-school meals, and at-home consumption. You can align messaging around convenience, bulk buying, and routine-driven needs to capture this predictable lift in demand.
Prime Day, promotional peaks, and deal-driven behavior
Major promotional events such as Prime Day and Black Friday drive higher engagement among deal seekers, coupon users, and value-focused shoppers. Early results from Prime Day 2025 showed that four of the top five purchased items were household or grocery products, and 57% of shoppers compared Amazon’s prices with other retailers before buying. During these periods, consumers actively compare prices across retailers and plan purchases around promotions, often stocking up on essentials. Aligning campaigns with value-driven audiences helps you focus offers on shoppers most likely to switch brands or retailers based on price.
Holiday periods and stock-up behavior
Holiday periods combine higher consumption with more intentional purchasing. Shoppers prepare for gatherings, travel, and extended time at home, leading to larger basket sizes and more planned trips. Some households prioritize premium or specialty products for specific occasions, while others focus on value and promotions. Seasonal signals help you time campaigns to match these shifts in purchasing behavior and demand.
What sets Experian Audiences apart?
Our syndicated audiences give you an advantage across channels, offering both scale and accuracy:
- Experian’s 3,500+ syndicated audiences are available at over 200 leading activation platforms, including programmatic, social, TV destinations, and can be curated alongside premium inventory through Curated Deals.
- Reach consumers based on who they are, where they live, and their household makeup. Experian ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset for key demographic attributes.
Explore some of our Partner Audiences that complement Experian Audiences across key CPG use cases, with flexible activation through Experian’s data marketplace or leading activation platforms.
Need a custom audience? Reach out to our audience team, and we can help you build and activate an Experian audience on the platform of your choice.
Want to activate an Experian Audience on Meta, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok, or on a platform not listed above? Contact us today.
For a full list, download our syndicated audiences guide.
Reach CPG shoppers based on real-world shopping behavior with Experian Audiences
From price pressure and shifting value preferences to fragmented purchase journeys and cross-retailer behavior, CPG demand is shaped by how shoppers make decisions across the market.
Experian Audiences help you respond to these challenges by identifying shoppers likely to switch between value tiers, aligning campaigns to how and where people buy, and connecting high-intent audiences with the right products across retailers and channels.
Connect with our audience experts
FAQs
Experian Audiences are pre-built, privacy-compliant consumer segments that help marketers target based on verified demographic, financial, and behavioral data.
They’re designed for flexibility across channels and can be activated on 200+ platforms, including major social, CTV, and programmatic partners.
Experian ranks #1 in demographic accuracy according to Truthset, and marketers can choose from 3,500+ syndicated audiences that capture signals such as income, spending behavior, household structure, financial attitudes, and ability to pay. These same audiences are also available through partnerships on platforms like DirecTV, Dish, Magnite, OpenAP, and The Trade Desk.
For a deeper look at our audience catalog, explore our syndicated audience guide.
You can activate Experian Audiences across 200+ digital and connected TV (CTV) platforms, including Meta, Pinterest, The Trade Desk, and Audigent private marketplaces (PMPs).
Yes, you can combine your own first-party data with Experian’s 3,500+ syndicated audiences and additional segments from multiple partner data providers, as a custom audience within a Curated Deal, or self-service via Audience Engine.
Appendix
Value-driven shoppers
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Purchase Behavior > Coupon Users
- TrueTouch: Communication Preferences > Purchase Behavior > Deal Seeking Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Discount / Dollar Stores: Frequent Spenders
- Publisher Derived > IAB Budgeting > Frugal Living and Savings Focused Households
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Lifestyle and Interests > Value Oriented Discount Deal Shoppers
Premium and benefit-led shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Health and Fitness > Healthy Food Meal Kit Service Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > High Spending Specialty Food Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Health and Fitness > High Spending Vitamin and Supplement Buyers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Grocery > Organic/Natural Grocery Stores: High Spenders
- Financial > Discretionary Spend > Premium Spend Index (Elite / Upper Middle)
Channel engagement
- TrueTouch: Communication Preferences > Engagement Channel Preference > Digital Display
- Television (TV) > Ad Avoiders/Ad Acceptors > Free and Paid Ad Supported Streaming Subscribers
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Technology > Highly Active Online Users
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Technology > Online Research-Dependent Consumers
- Social Network Behaviors > Social IQ > Social Media Heavy User
Purchase and conversion behavior
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Brick and Mortar High Spenders
- Purchase Transactions > Shopping > Frequent Online Buyer Households
- Consumer Behaviors > Grocery Pick-Up and Delivery
- Purchase Transactions > Shopping > In Store Buyer Households
- Purchase Transactions > Shopping > Online Buyer Households
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Grocery > Online Grocery Delivery Services: High Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Online-Preferred Shoppers
Tortilla chip sample audience
- Circana > ProScores > Retailer > Mass > Walmart
- Circana > ProScores > Retailer > Food > Wegmans
- Circana > ProScores > Retailer > Convenience > 7-Eleven
- Circana > ProScores > Retailer > Food > Albertsons
- Experian > Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > CPG Engagement > Tortilla Tostada and Chip Shoppers
- Attain > CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) > Snacks > Product > Chips > Santitas > Medium Propensity
- Catalina > Category Purchasing > Center Store Snacks > Snacks > Snacks – Tortilla Chip Regular Buyer
Core category buyers
- Purchase Transactions > Food and Beverage > Candy Snack and Beverage Buyer Households
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Food, Snack, and Beverage Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Grocery > Grocery Stores: Frequent Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Grocery > Grocery Stores: High Spenders
Cross-retailer shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Big Box and Club Stores: Costco Frequent Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Discount / Dollar Stores: Frequent Spenders
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Purchase Behavior > Supercenter Buyers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Target Frequent Spender
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Purchase Behavior > Warehouse Club Members
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Walmart Frequent Spenders
Seasonal and demand moments
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Black Friday/Cyber Monday Big Box Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Coupons/Sale Shoppers: In Store
- Mobile Location Models > Visits > Holiday Deal Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > New Year’s Food/Healthy Food Shoppers
Latest posts
Tapad, part of Experian, and AdsWizz partner to enable digital identity resolution across audio ad campaigns
FeaturedWith Tapad, part of Experian, technology, AdsWizz AudioMatic is the first Audio buying platform to offer cross-device identity resolution across the U.S. and EMEA NEW YORK and LONDON, July 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, part of Experian and a global leader in digital identity resolution, today announced a new joint capability with AdsWizz , the leading technology provider for digital audio advertising solutions. The partnership combines Tapad’s digital cross-device technology with AdsWizz’s AudioMatic buying platform, enabling the ability to connect audio ad experiences across screens. AudioMatic, AdsWizz’s audio-centric buying platform, supports programmatic audio buying and entirely new audio ad experiences for listeners. The integration of The Tapad Graph onto its platform enables new opportunities for marketers to reach, engage and measure each interaction with their desired consumers on digital radio and podcasts channels, and across devices. This partnership makes AdsWizz the first audio buying platform to offer this enhanced cross-device identity capability in the US and EMEA markets. “Marketers need privacy-safe digital identity resolution to reach their consumers,” says Tom Rolph, VP of EMEA at Tapad. “With audio becoming an increasingly powerful medium for engagement, it’s important that our technology extends to this channel, which is why we are excited to announce our integration with AdsWizz’s AudioMatic platform.” Digital audio is experiencing high growth, with 84% of advertisers and agencies saying it will play a bigger role in their media plans in the future. Today, 60% of digital audio is consumed via a mobile device.* The Tapad Graph is the largest digital identity resolution graph with differentiated global scale. The partnership enables audio advertisers to leverage The Tapad Graph for enhanced attribution, analytics, and targeting. Alexis van der Wyer, CEO at AdsWizz, added, “Digital audio is increasingly becoming ubiquitous in our media consumption and in our daily digital interactions, and because of that, audio advertising offers tremendous opportunity to personally interact with consumers in every moment of their daily lives. By integrating with Tapad, we enable our advertising partners to increase the effectiveness and the relevance of their marketing messages across audio channels.” To learn more about Tapad and our digital identity resolution products, visit our identity solutions page. *Digital Audio Exchange, “The Rise of Digital Audio Advertising,” https://thisisdax.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DAX-Whitepaper.pdf About Tapad Tapad, Inc. is a global leader in digital identity resolution. The Tapad Graph, and its related solutions, provide a transparent, privacy-safe approach connecting brands to consumers through their devices globally. Our one-of-a-kind Graph Select offering enables marketers the flexibility and freedom of choice to correlate devices to varied objectives, driving campaign effectiveness and business results. Tapad is recognized across the industry for its product innovation, workplace culture and talent, and has earned numerous awards including One World Identity’s 2019 Top 100 Influencers in Identity Award. Headquartered in New York, Tapad also has offices in Chicago, London, Oslo, Singapore and Tokyo. About AdsWizz: AdsWizz has created the end-to-end technology platform that is powering the digital audio advertising ecosystem. AdsWizz powers well-known music platforms, podcasts and broadcasting groups worldwide with a comprehensive digital audio software suite of solutions that connect audio publishers to the advertising community. From dynamic ad insertion to advanced programmatic platforms to innovative new audio formats, AdsWizz efficiently connects buyers and sellers in digital audio. AdsWizz is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with an IT Development hub in Bucharest, Romania, and presence in 39 markets around the world. About AudioMatic: AdsWizz Demand Side, audio-centric DSP and audio buying platform, AudioMatic, enables programmatic audio buying and entirely new audio ad experiences that are proven to be more engaging and more effective, and have delivered measurable results for agencies and their brands all over the world. All the biggest ad agencies have used our programmatic trading platform, including Omnicom, GroupM, Havas, Publicis, Mobext, and more. Contact us today
Tapad, a part of Experian, experiences record growth following increased investment in identity resolution
FeaturedSixty-Nine Percent Organic Sales Growth Spurred by Expanded Business and Continued Investment in The Tapad Graph™ NEW YORK, May 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, a part of Experian, a global leader in digital identity resolution, today announced a record start to the year, following its highest earning year in the company’s history. Since January, Tapad has experienced a 69 percent organic increase in global revenue; with strategic investments in talent, continued high retention rates, and an expanded range of clients across global markets. Globally, Tapad increased its client base across multiple categories and verticals, catering to agencies, brands, telecoms, and data providers. The Tapad Graph™’s varied use cases and differentiated global scale have been instrumental to the company’s overall success to-date. With an ongoing investment in product, and expected feature releases slated for 2019, the company anticipates these accomplishments to continue. “Since the inception of our business, Tapad has heavily focused on enabling marketers to boost the performance of their campaigns with the help of our advanced digital identity resolution technologies,” said Sigvart Voss Eriksen, CEO at Tapad. “While we continue to grow, creating privacy-safe solutions that solve marketers evolving needs remains integral to our evolution. As pioneers in cross-device, we’re constantly innovating and pushing ourselves to be at the forefront of industry change. Our leadership in the space is recognized across the industry, as is evident by our current success.” In addition to partner expansions, Tapad also invested in new talent. In February, Tapad announced Ajit Thupil as the company’s first Senior Vice President of Identity, deepening the company’s commitment to creating ground-breaking digital identity resolution products for brands, agencies and platforms. Tapad’s investment in talent has been recognized by One World Identity’s 2019 Top 100 Influencers in Identity Award and by ClickZ’s 2019 Marketing Technology Awards. To learn more about Tapad and our digital identity resolution products, visit Experian.com Open job opportunities across the globe can be found on Tapad’s career page here: https://www.experian.com/careers/ About Tapad Tapad, Inc. is a global leader in digital identity resolution. The Tapad Graph™, and related solutions, provide a privacy-safe approach to connecting device identifiers to brand and marketer data, thereby allowing marketers around the world to maximize campaign effectiveness. Tapad is recognized across the industry for its innovation, growth and workplace culture, and has earned numerous awards, including the TMCnet Tech Culture Award. Based in New York, Tapad also has offices in Chicago, London, Oslo, Singapore and Tokyo, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telenor Group. Contact us today
The UK digital advertising market is worth £13.44bn, an increase year-on-year of 15%, reveals the 2018 IAB UK & PwC Digital Adspend Study. Report highlights The majority of all growth is coming from smartphone advertising, which has increased by £1.65bn (35%) from 2017. Smartphone advertising now represents 51% of all UK digital ad spend, up from 45% in 2017. Video is now the largest display format (£2307m), overtaking standard display banners (£1486m). Outstream/social in-feed has increased its majority in total video spend, now occupying a share of 57%, up from 52% in 2017. Social revenue now represents 23% of all digital ad spend. Growth is predicted to slow during 2019, with 5% estimated growth (+9% digital, +11% display, +9% search) compared to 15% in 2018. 2018 marks the tipping point towards a mobile-first ecosystem “For the past few years, industry commentators have been hailing the year of mobile. Each January the predictions come and the waiting commences for evidence to mark a tipping point, a shift to a mobile-first digital ad ecosystem. Well, drumroll… it was 2018! The latest Adspend report from IAB UK and PwC reveals that spend on smartphones outstripped spend on desktop for the first time last year. Brands spent 51% of total spend (which stands at £13.44 billion) on smartphones in 2018, up from 45% in 2017 – a significant milestone in the evolution of digital advertising. “This evidence shows that advertisers are increasingly thinking mobile-first. Growth in investment has historically lagged behind the amount of time spent on the device and we expect to see growth continue at a rapid pace to keep up with audience behaviour – two thirds of time spent online is now on mobile, according to UKOM. Other areas of growth highlighted by the report include video, which accounts for 44% of the total display market, while mobile video now makes up 51% of smartphone display. This is no doubt down to bigger mobile screens, better 4G and more readily available WiFi making video ads an increasingly attractive option. “Across the board, advertisers are investing in digital for longer-term brand building as well as short-term activation, with the direct-to-consumer market helping to drive this trend. What’s more, digital continues to be an accessible and popular route to market for businesses of all sizes, from leading advertisers to SMEs.” Tim Elkington, Chief Digital Officer, IAB UK Content & context crucial for attracting audiences “As people spend more and more of their time on mobile, it’s comes as no surprise that advertisers will follow where audiences are with their marketing spend. “Video has been the driving force in this growth, indicating that engaging visual content is still key in helping brands to achieve great results and to capture consumer attention in a vast sea of digital noise. “Video still has a way to go if it is to reach the level of effectiveness of traditional formats like cinema, but it will be interesting to see how the format develops over the next year or so. Ultimately, brilliant content and properly considered context are crucial for advertisers hoping to attract relevant audiences and build strong brands long term.” Kathryn Jacob OBE, CEO, Pearl & Dean Mobile-first approach driving investment in user experience “As a mobile-first approach has become the norm for many businesses, we’ve seen significant innovation and investment in the user experience that has fuelled the rise in mobile commerce. “Yet, for some years, limitations in the technology and formats available have meant that mobile advertising couldn’t always keep pace with changing consumer behaviours – delivering weaker performance when compared to desktop. “Fortunately, mobile has made huge strides in recent years. Mobile advertising affords great targeting opportunities for brands and a more interactive and immersive experience for consumers. “There is no reason to doubt this trend will continue as advertisers design their media, creative, and targeting strategy with mobile at the heart – optimising performance, enhancing the customer experience, and delivering the best results.” James Cragg, UK Managing Director, Tug New technologies to improve investment efficiency “The UK digital ad market has continued to grow despite the various challenges that the market has faced, including the current socioeconomic climate and general changes in the industry. As spend increases, it’s important to look at how media buying can be made as efficient as possible, minimising waste and maximising the return on investment. “Marketers will start to look to new technologies, like AI, to offer an impartial and more efficient approach to media buying, allowing marketers to measure effectiveness of campaigns and allocate spend accordingly.” Carl Erik Kjaersgaard, Chief Executive, Blackwood Seven Industry going from strength to strength “This significant growth in ad spend is great to see and shows that our industry is going from strength to strength. It’s especially good to see that as advertisers invest more and more in digital advertising, they’re becoming more considered in where they’re spending their money – with a large portion of the growth coming from companies that are part of IAB’s Gold Standard. “At The Trade Desk, we’ve long been ambassadors for the importance of transparency. These findings show that it isn’t just the right thing to do, but makes good business sense as advertisers increasingly choose partners who are demonstrating a commitment to best practice.” Anna Forbes, UK General Manager, The Trade Desk Advertisers embracing mobile “As consumers spend more of their time online, it’s no surprise that digital ad spend has continued its rise, up 15% to £13.4bn. With digital, in every sense, becoming further embedded in our daily lives, it is inevitable that this number is set to rise further next year. “Given the vast majority of people using their smartphone as their primary digital device, evident from site traffic stats we see across the board, the IAB report shows that advertisers have started to fully embrace this shift by following with ad spend. Over the last few years, a combination of faster wireless connectivity along with more capable devices has made it the go-to device for consumers to get online. This is set to continue over the next few years with 5G and even faster, more capable smartphones arriving (i.e. foldables) that will further cement ‘mobile’ as the main digital device to reach consumers.” Wajid Ali, Head of Paid Search, ForwardPMX Budgets must go to professionally produced content “In the IAB’s latest ‘Digital Adspend Study’ it is positive to see that outstream continues to dominate video spend, showing close to a 10% year-on-year increase. “Unsurprisingly, the study highlights that mobile is the most important distribution device (76% of all video spend is on the smartphone), and it’s great to see the format we invented dominating that space. “However, it’s now more pertinent than ever that clients and agencies invest their outstream budgets into professionally produced content and not social infeeds. Budgets must go where content is being produced, rather than aggregators and distributors, where the content is read rather than where a click happened. “We must remember how important local, national, and vertical press are to the global digital ecosystem. By unifying the best publishers at scale, delivering mobile-optimised creativity and outcome-orientated distribution, we are fighting to ensure publishers are getting their fair share of revenue in comparison to the social platforms.” Justin Taylor, UK MD, Teads UK market in robust health “The latest IAB digital ad spend report shows encouraging signs that the UK digital advertising market is in robust health, with mobile advertising continuing its upward trend. “The rise of up-and-coming ad formats like Shopping Ads, Google’s Responsive Search Ads, and Facebook Messenger Ads show that advertisers are looking for ways to capture consumer attention in the evolving digital landscape. As a result, the lines across search, social, and e-commerce are more blurred than ever with the introduction of features like Checkout for Instagram and Shopping ads on Google Images. Furthermore, with the rapid growth of Amazon’s ads business, e-commerce has quickly emerged as a third pillar of digital advertising, making it vital for marketers to have a complete view of the customer journey across channels and devices, if they hope to more accurately understand campaign performance and attribution.” Wesley MacLaggan, SVP of Marketing, Marin Software Digital identity resolution essential in understanding customer journey “Last year’s figures show that UK ad spend is starting to mirror the behaviour of consumers who, according to UKOM data, spend two-thirds of their time online on a smartphone. The fact that mobile ad spend now surpasses that of ad spend on desktop highlights marketers’ understanding that digital identity resolution is essential, not a nice-to-have. “Appreciating the cross-device behaviours of consumers allows brands to gain a better understanding of the customer journey and build stronger relationships with their audiences long term.” Tom Rolph, VP EMEA, Tapad, a part of Experian. Contact us today