When it comes to e-commerce, every tactic can help. Ecommerce Retargeting has been shown to boost revenue by 150%. What is it exactly? How can you use it to grow your own business? Which strategies should you put in place? Keep reading to learn more!

What are the Types of Retargeting in E-Commerce

There are several types of retargeting in e-commerce, including:

Product retargeting: This type of retargeting focuses on specific products that a customer has shown interest in, by either viewing or adding to their shopping cart.

Category retargeting: This type of retargeting focuses on a specific category of products, such as clothing or electronics, that a customer has shown interest in.

Retargeting for cross-selling: Cross-selling is a technique used to get customers to encourage existing customers to purchase additional products, typically related to a product that they’re already buying. For instance, if a customer is buying a mobile phone, cross-selling would be to offer them a phone case or a pair of headphones.

Retargeting for up-selling: Up-selling is another approach where sellers encourage customers to buy a more expensive version of the item they are interested in, or add-ons and upgrades to enhance the product and increase the sale value. As an example, ecommerce retargeting ads can be tailored to showcase complementary products or to remind customers of items they viewed but did not purchase.

Cart abandonment retargeting: This type of retargeting is targeted towards customers who have added items to their shopping cart but did not complete the purchase. Another successful marketing strategy when it comes to cart abandonment is Abandoned Cart Emails. 

Search retargeting: This type of retargeting focuses on customers who have searched for specific products or services on a website.

💡 AI chatbots can provide customers with a fast and efficient response to their queries. This can help to reduce customer frustration and increase customer satisfaction, which can ultimately lead to less cart abandonment. Find out more about how AI chatbots can help your marketing strategy here → 

How to Set Up Ecommerce Retargeting: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ecommerce retargeting can be implemented through various advertising channels such as display ads, social media ads, and email marketing.

Using Google Ads?

👀 Check out our guide to Google Ads Retargeting →

Keep in mind that it is always important to test and optimize retargeting campaigns to ensure that they are reaching the right audience and delivering results.

Step 1: Identify your target audience

The first step in implementing retargeting in e-commerce is to identify your target audience. This involves determining the type of customers who are most likely to be interested in your products or services. This information can be gathered through website analytics, customer surveys, and demographic data.

Customer Segmentation

Segmentation (the process of dividing the customer base into distinct groups) can be based on things such as:

• demographics (age, location) 👉 Example: based on geographical location, a clothing brand can send customers based in California some swimwear options vs. some hiking options for Colorado-based customers;
• interests and behaviors 👉 Example: based on buying patterns such as past purchase history, a customer who usually buys products from a certain brand on a platform would receive emails about new products offering from this specific brand.

Ultimately, the goal of customer segmentation is to create even more tailored and effective ecommerce retargeting campaigns. It allows you to understand the different customer segments better, and therefore create ads that speak directly to the needs and wants of each group, increasing the chances of conversion.

💡 Bonus for you, proper segmentation will help with using your advertising budget in a more efficient way.

Behavioral Segmentation of Audience

Behavioral segmentation involves categorizing the audience based on their behavior, interactions, and engagements with the online platform. This may include browsing history, purchase history, clicks, page views, and more.

By segmenting users based on their online behavior, marketers can:

• create highly targeted ad or email campaigns that resonate with specific user groups, improving conversion rates and reducing ad spend waste;
• target individuals with ads that reflect their previous interactions, which can significantly increase the likelihood of converting browsing into sales;
• optimize retargeting campaigns and ensure that retargeting communications are relevant, compelling, and tailored to individual user needs.

💡 In short, you can use segmentation techniques in order to make personalized ads.

Step 2: Set up tracking technology

To implement retargeting in e-commerce, you need to set up tracking technology such as cookies, pixels, and scripts. These technologies allow you to track customer behavior on your website, including the products they view, the categories they browse, and the items they add to their shopping cart.

👉 Are you using or thinking of setting up tracking technologies? Make sure you comply with the law. If the GDPR applies to you, be sure to get opt-in consent, here how to do it. If US laws apply to you, you’ll need to disclose and allow users to opt out. See how to do that here. 

At the very least, you must: 

• Obtain consent or provide a way to opt out depending on the law that applies to you
• Provide a clear privacy policy
• Keep accurate consent records (legally required under laws like the GDPR)

Step 3: Choose a retargeting platform

There are several retargeting platforms available, including : Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, and AdRoll.

Note: 🚀 Click on your platform of preference above to see how best to comply. Make sure you choose a platform that best suits your business needs and has the features and capabilities required for your retargeting campaigns.

Step 4: Create ecommerce retargeting campaigns

Once you have set up your retargeting platform, you can create retargeting campaigns to reach your target audience. This involves defining the type of retargeting you want to implement and creating ads that are relevant and appealing to your target audience.

How to Write Ad Copy

Ad copy should be concise, engaging, and tailored to the audience being targeted. It needs to address the audience’s needs, wants, and pain points, highlighting the unique selling points of the product or service. Your copy should reflect your brand’s voice and be consistent across different platforms and channels.

Some levers you can use in order to drive users to click on the ad are:

• a strong call-to-action;
• creating a sense of urgency; or
• leveraging psychological triggers such as scarcity.

By creating an effective ad copy in retargeting campaigns, you get to remind users of their previous interactions with the brand, bring them back to the website, and eventually to complete a purchase.

💡 Find out how to write an engaging ad here.

Step 5: Test and optimize your ecommerce retargeting campaigns

To ensure the success of your ecommerce retargeting campaigns, it is important to test and optimize them regularly. This involves monitoring the performance of your ads, analyzing the data to identify areas for improvement, and making changes to your campaigns to improve their effectiveness.

Step six: Monitor results

Regularly monitor the results of your ecommerce retargeting campaigns to measure their success. This will help you determine the impact of your retargeting efforts, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions about your retargeting strategy.

🎯 E-commerce retargeting is a powerful marketing strategy that can increase conversion rates and drive brand awareness. By targeting customers who have already shown an interest in the products or services offered by a business, e-commerce retargeting can help establish long-term relationships and drive repeat purchases.

How to use Retargeting in E-Commerce while being compliant with privacy laws

Ecommerce retargeting is an incredible tool for e-commerce businesses, allowing you to maintain top-of-mind awareness with customers who have previously interacted with your website or products. Here’s how you can use retargeting in e-commerce while being compliant with the law: 

Step 1: Ensure that you know which data privacy laws apply to you. Different laws have different requirements. Typically, the laws of the region you’re based in and the laws of the regions you target are the ones you’ll need to comply with.

Not sure which laws apply to you? Take this FREE 1-minute quiz 🚀 

Step 2: Be transparent about how you use customer data for retargeting. This involves ensuring that your legal documents (like privacy and cookie policies) disclose the use of cookies, pixels, or other tracking technologies, and explain how customer data is collected and used for retargeting purposes.

Step 3: Provide customers with the means to either opt-in or opt-out of retargeting campaigns. Which method you us is determined by the law that applies. Typically, a privacy banner is used to facilitate this kind of consent!