Retailers and brands are ramping up their use of third-party (3P) commerce as part of their e-commerce selling strategy. According to “The State of 3P Commerce Report” by Rithum and Wakefield Research, 51% of global retailer and brand executives said they have used a 3P business model for less than a year. There are several underlying factors why retailers and brands are including 3P commerce as part of their multichannel selling strategy. Here, we share three key drivers identified in the report: 

1. Retailers and brands want to reach more consumers online. 

Today’s consumers are shopping online. Retailers and brands need to be present where shoppers already are – they can’t decide for consumers where they should shop. 40% of executives surveyed said reaching a larger consumer base is a top reason why they’re selling using a 3P commerce business model.  

2. Expand your access to more digital marketing opportunities. 

Retail media advertising allows retailers and brands to reach – and target – consumers as they shop online. 36% of surveyed executives said they use 3P commerce to have access to broader digital marketing opportunities, such as retail media advertising. 

3. Increase cross-border e-commerce selling opportunities. 

It can be difficult to manage product inventory, product information and catalog translations at scale when selling internationally. So it’s not surprising that 96% of executives agree that selling cross-border would not be possible without 3P commerce. Retailers and brands must consider how to navigate cross-border payments, currency valuations, global logistics, international legal requirements and other factors when selling cross-border. 36% of surveyed executives said that a primary motivation for using a 3P commerce business model is so they can add or expand their cross-border opportunities.  

How Rithum can help sellers grow profitably on marketplaces 

Today’s consumer is comparison shopping. Through its access to hundreds of channels, Rithum can help retailers and brands with their efforts to maximize growth. Expanding into global marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Zalando and others, requires managing and updating product catalogs. This manual process takes time and costs resources. By automating the process through Rithum, retailers and brands can make updates in real time through one platform. 

Rithum’s platform helps sellers optimize their retail media advertising strategy on marketplaces by adjusting bidding, targeting and budgeting in real-time. By using sponsored product listings, banner ads and video ads, sellers can increase visibility and engagement directly with retail platforms. 

Selling cross-border requires managing multiple languages, legal requirements, logistics and other factors. Rithum partners with a network of the world’s leading fulfillment and logistics companies to facilitate cross-border e-commerce expansion. Features like Rithum’s AI Magic Mapper uses artificial intelligence to help brands reduce time-to-site and can reduce the time it takes sellers to onboard to new global marketplaces. 

Download the full report to learn more about the other reasons retailers and brands are turning to 3P commerce to grow profitably here. 

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Retail media is growing digital marketing opportunity for retailers and brands to drive product discovery and sales with consumers. Globally, 42% of consumers indicated they have clicked on an online advertisement with intention to buy that product, according to the 2023 Online Consumer Behavior Global Report conducted by Rithum and Dynata. Cross-border e-commerce retail media advertising requires an understanding of local market dynamics, how to leverage historical campaign data, and optimizing ad spend. Here are five tips to boost cross-border e-commerce retail media advertising revenue.

1. Understand and leverage retail media networks

• Choose the right global and regional retail media networks with a strong presence in your target markets such as: Amazon, Walmart, Target, and others.
• Use platform-specific tools. For example, sellers can use Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform) for precise programmatic advertising that targets consumers across different regions.

2. Use localized content and creative

• Ensure cultural and language adaptation. Ad content involves more than translation. It must also be localized to resonate with local consumers. You can achieve this by tailoring your messaging, imagery, and promotions to align with consumer behaviors in each market.
• Consider local trends and preferences. Campaigns should adapt to reflect local shopping trends, holidays, product seasonality and preferences. These include popular sales events such as Singles Day in China or Black Friday in the US.

3. Target advertising based on data

• Leverage first-party data. Use your (and the retailer’s) customer data to create highly targeted campaigns. Segment your audience by shopping behavior, location, and preferences to deliver personalized ads that resonate in each retailer market.
• Use retail media analytics. Monitor ad performance and refine your strategy in real –time using insights from Amazon Marketing Cloud, in-platform reporting, and other retailer-specific reporting capabilities. This data-driven approach ensures that your campaigns remain effective and relevant.

4. Focus on high-value placements

• Strategically place ads where they will have the greatest impact depending on your strategy and goals. Position your ads at the top of search results, on product pages, or within relevant categories. Securing high-value placements can boost visibility and drive conversion.
• Bid smart by implementing dynamic bidding strategies to secure premium ad placements during peak shopping times, such as major local holidays or sales events.

5. Optimize for local market compliance and logistics

• Ensure your ads comply with local regulations, consumer protection laws, and privacy regulations.
• Offer localized customer support in local languages to enhance customer trust.

“It’s critical to balance winning strategies from retail media giants such as Amazon and eBay, while also tapping into regional retailers that reach a niche audience for your brand.”

Meghan Barden, Director, Global Retail Media at Rithum

“As more retailers across the globe launch their retail media network offerings, it is critical to ensure you are balancing winning strategies from the retail media giants such as Amazon and eBay, while also dipping into regional retailers that may have a niche audience you would like to target,” said Meghan Barden, Director, Global Retail Media at Rithum.

Cross-border e-commerce retail media planning for the holiday season

Brands and retailers should plan early ahead of the peak holiday shopping season. 68% of global consumers said they intended to wait for annual promotional shopping events such as Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and other annual sales before making expected purchases, according to the Dynata survey.

Rithum offers robust reporting which brands and retailers can use to analyze past holiday sales data trends in your target markets. Understand what products are in demand, local shipping behaviors, and key dates. Connect with your key retailers to understand their promotion plans, upcoming discounts and overall messaging during the peak season. There can be an opportunity to draft from the traffic they are driving and tap into unrealized opportunities with incremental shoppers.

Ensure you have a sufficient stock of best-selling products. Plan to secure high-visibility ad placements on key retail media platforms. Implement retargeting strategies to reach customers who have shown interest in your products but haven’t made a purchase. Offer incentives such as limited-time discounts to drive sales.

Rithum allows brands and retailers to monitor and adjust your retail media ad strategy in real-time. Keep a close eye on your campaign performance, sales data, and inventory levels throughout the holiday season. Be prepared to adjust your cross-border e-commerce strategy quickly based on what’s working and what’s not.

Use AI-driven insights to optimize retail ad campaigns in real time

Rithum provides direct insights into product attributes and data, like inventory, sales data, and labeling. Brands and retailers can use granular product data to support your strategy. Using AI-driven insights, Rithum’s retail media solution can help you allocate budget, optimize bids, spend strategically throughout the day, and adjust product placements in real-time.

After the peak holiday season, continue to advertise while measuring successes and learnings throughout the seasons. Gather feedback from your holiday campaigns to learn what worked and what didn’t. Use these insights to improve your cross-border e-commerce retail media ad strategy for next year.

Learn how to expose your products to more consumers by creating, monitoring, and managing all your marketplace and retail site advertising through Rithum. Schedule a demo here.

The post Boost Cross-Border Sales with Five Retail Media Advertising Tips appeared first on Rithum.

Growth opportunities abound for brands and retailers expanding their e-commerce businesses internationally. However, there are challenges to navigate such as managing inventory across multiple countries. Cross-border e-commerce entails managing complex logistical and regulatory requirements that differ from country to country.

Here are five ways brands, retailers, and suppliers can optimize selling to consumers globally.

1. Use automation to manage inventory, product information and catalog translations at scale.
   It can be challenging to manage inventory across diverse markets. Ensuring your product information such as product sizes, weight, and category are accurate can significantly impact shipping costs and compliance with local regulations. Translating product catalogs to suit local languages may also be necessary.
2. Optimize cross-border payments: Understand currency valuations and pricing in local currencies.
   As part of a seller’s pricing strategy, you should understand how currency valuations compare from country to country. Setting product prices in the target country’s currency ensures competitiveness and market relevance.
3. Track global logistics and shipping paths through one platform.
   It is necessary to accurately track inventory once the customer makes a purchase until they receive it.
4. Understand international legal entity, taxation and logistics requirements.
   Each country has its own tax and entity requirements that must be met to avoid legal complications.
5. Use technology to compete in cross-border e-commerce.
   Sellers must assess and analyze competitors in each market they are selling in. Consumer preferences can differ greatly from country to country. There is no blanket strategy to stand out against competitors.

“Selling cross-border is a strong growth opportunity for retailers and brands but it’s not without challenges. One of the biggest obstacles for businesses is converting local currencies. Each country has unique taxation and entity requirements. Businesses need a unified solution to help streamline their operations across geographies. Rithum can help sellers convert cross-border payments in real-time,” said Christian Gees, director, sales, EMEA at Rithum.

How to prepare for the global peak shopping season

The holiday season kicks off as early as October worldwide. By preparing early, brands, retailers, and suppliers can optimize their online retail and digital marketing strategies. The demand is there – 44% of global shoppers are willing to purchase an item from a retail site or online marketplace in a different country from where they reside, according to the 2023 Online Consumer Behavior Global Report by Rithum and Dynata.

Rithum partners with a network of the world’s leading fulfillment and logistics companies to facilitate seamless cross-border e-commerce expansion. The majority of Rithum’s brands in EMEA sell cross border e-commerce. These partnerships ensure that sellers’ products are efficiently tracked from purchase to fulfillment and delivery. Rithum’s network gives sellers the ability to leverage localized expertise to manage the complexities of selling internationally.

Localize product content

Selling cross border involves localizing content. Rithum’s features like Business Rules and Look Up List, can help brands ensure they are using the most searchable keywords for product titles and descriptions. For example, when an EU brand is selling into a US market or vice versa, Rithum must account for different keywords for items such as trousers vs. pants, or sneakers vs. trainers, etc. Rithum’s Replace Word List function also adapts translations to be more search friendly.

Using artificial intelligence, Rithum’s AI Magic Mapper feature helps brands reduce time-to-site by automating categorization. This helps reduce the time for sellers to onboard onto new global marketplaces.

Other ways Rithum can help include:

• Use Rithum’s team of experts. Experts with more than 20 years of experience in global e-commerce provide invaluable insights and guidance. For example, Rithum can help EMEA sellers and suppliers navigate complexities with VAT, local entity requirements, and picking the right channels to sell through. These also are hurdles for sellers selling from the UK into EMEA as well as US and APAC sellers.
• Receive extensive support by country. Rithum supports sales in numerous countries with platform support in local languages and currencies. Rithum’s conversion function is accurate, which is helpful for seller and supplier finance teams in reconciliation.
• Take advantage of strategic partnerships. Extensive collaborations with major global shipping carriers and third-party logistics companies enhance the efficiency and reliability of your international distribution.
• Receive marketplace guidance. Determine the potential and fit of various marketplace channels for your products.
• Use automated system logic. Thousands of automated rules ensure that products are listed appropriately based on compliance and profitability.

By automating inventory management, using global logistics networks, and providing expert guidance, Rithum helps you overcome challenges while unlocking new growth opportunities in the international marketplace. Learn how Rithum can empower your business to manage the intricacies of cross-border e-commerce here.

The post Five Tips to Grow Your Cross-Border E-Commerce appeared first on Rithum.

Walmart is the world’s largest company by revenue. Since the late 20th century, it’s been a household name that’s synonymous with value and extensive inventory. Today, it’s also leading the online retailer pack with marketplaces for countries around the world.

We recently co-hosted a two-part webinar with Walmart on its Canadian and Mexican marketplaces. Ready to expand to new regions? Here’s what you need to know.

All three of Walmart’s North American marketplaces offer zero monthly fees and no setup costs to get started. Unlike Amazon’s subscription, Walmart only requires referral fees based on the product’s category.

Walmart Canada Marketplace

Walmart Canada Marketplace is open to many countries and is experienced with cross-border selling. According to Walmart, it is the second most visited retail website in Canada with more than 17 million unique monthly visitors. Most Canadians live within a few miles of a Walmart Supercenter, but the online marketplace offers more product and brand selection than brick and mortar stores with 35 million additional products online. 

Walmart Canada’s top customer segments include Millennials (41%), families with kids (55%) and the affluent, which includes those with medium-high income (54%) and higher education (83%). In 2021, Canadian consumers spent 60% of their disposable income on US goods and services, particularly in the home office, tools, health and exercise, personal care, special needs, entertainment, toys, and electronics categories.

Walmart.ca is home to featured brands like Lenovo, Dyson, Sealy and Bissell, among others. As part of the marketplace, sellers like these receive benefits such as:

• Store pick-ups and returns. Marketplace customers have a wider array of delivery options and benefit from faster returns at their local Walmart.
• Discounted shipping rates and services. Walmart provides discounted shipping rates and access to partners for domestic as well as cross-border shipping. The Ship with Walmart program offers both U.S. to Canada and China to Canada shipping.  

To sell on Walmart.ca, vendors must meet certain requirements, including:

1. E-commerce experience — Sellers must have a history of marketplace or e-commerce success, as well as a Canada Business Number (CBN) or Non-Resident Importer (NRI), though a Canada warehouse is not mandatory.
2. Compelling product catalog — Walmart.ca favors unique, exciting products with well-defined attributes and competitive prices.
3. Exceptional customer experience — Sellers must be able to provide fast and reliable fulfillment delivered with duties prepaid (DDP).

Ready to get started? Learn more about Ship with Walmart (SWW), referral fees, how to sell on Walmart.ca and more in the on-demand webinar. 

Walmart Marketplace México

Walmart México is the country’s largest retailer with more stores per capita than the U.S. and nearly 27 million monthly unique visitors to its Walmart.com.mx marketplace. Approximately 45% of digital buyers in Mexico make purchases cross-border. The Marketplace is open to U.S. and China sellers who have demonstrated selling excellence on Walmart’s U.S. Marketplace. 

Walmart México sellers enjoy several unique benefits, including:

• Additional physical channels. The México Marketplace is also home to more than 1,100 in-store kiosks to promote findability in multiple channels. 
• Diversified payment options. Because 17% of Mexican consumers prefer to pay in cash, Walmart México offers pay in store options. 
• Spanish language customer service. Walmart México handles customer support in Spanish on the seller’s behalf via email, chat or phone.  
• Cross-platform listings. List once, sell on two sites, including Walmart.com.mx and bodegaaurrera.com.mx, Walmart’s discount store chain.

 To sell on Walmart.com.mx, you must have a(n):

1. Existing Walmart U.S. Marketplace account in good standing
2. Payoneer account for conversion from pesos to their preferred currency
3. Compelling product catalog in Spanish
4. Competitive pricing
5. Ability to ship delivery duty paid (DDP)
6. Mexican returns center or willingness to adopt Walmart’s Estafeta Return Solution

Ready to get started? Learn more about Walmart México selling events, how to write content for a Spanish-speaking audience and more in the on-demand webinar.

If you’re not yet selling on Walmart U.S. Marketplace, apply today to start the process. You’ll hear from one of our Rithum Walmart experts who will help you complete the application and explain the next steps.

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