Discovery commerce: Reach people who want just what your business offers

This is part 1 of a 2-part series. The first post is about the industry opportunity and principles to drive discovery. The second post is about how to bring this to life to maximize sales during the holiday season.

Today, businesses are transforming across many fronts as they adapt to global supply chain slowdowns, economic conditions, ad ecosystem changes and the shift to meet consumer needs—all while navigating the possibilities of today's technology. While challenges are presented, in many ways, there is more opportunity than ever for business growth.

As a result of technology and innovation, businesses have gained access to larger addressable markets, consumers have benefited from a larger selection of goods, economies have thrived from job and business opportunities and new technologies have led to more innovation and an abundance of modern commerce experiences.

Drive business growth through discovery.

Throughout the history of commerce, the biggest opportunity has always been to help people discover and buy products, which is how the first markets developed leading to today’s department stores and malls. When the internet took hold, search became the gamechanger to satisfy consumer demand. While search and ecommerce continue to be great at fulfilling demand when intent is already there, they are not as effective at generating demand. Put simply, the bigger opportunity is not in capturing the consumer’s wants (or their intent) but rather in creating it.

Today’s most sophisticated marketers recognize that the opportunity to connect with customers starts well before intent—and are embracing powerful technology and modern marketing practices to anticipate it. Meta calls this discovery commerce. A recent Accenture study found that the $492 billion global social commerce industry is expected to grow 3x as fast as traditional ecommerce to $1.2 trillion by 2025.¹

Marketers are using modern tools like AI, machine learning and creativity to connect the dots between customers and their products, revealing an untapped source of growth. For businesses, discovery commerce is reaching new or existing customers that want just what you offer.

For people, these moments of discovery are serendipitous. There is a feeling of “you get me” when a product or service finds a person based on all the things unique to their interests, wants and needs. It has also enabled a more seamless experience of going from discovery to purchase.

Invest in discovery to build for tomorrow.

Brands that enable a more agile way of working have demonstrated that they are well-equipped to adapt strategies and meet the ever-changing needs of customers by experimenting with future-facing technologies.

We’ve observed the following principles and practices from today’s most successful companies as they embrace discovery commerce and drive business growth.

1

Embrace first-party data.

Today’s fastest growing companies make the most out of their customer understanding. They combine first-party data that customers have elected to share across CRM, their website and loyalty and engagement program with marketing automation tools and machine learning to personalize customer experience and optimize marketing performance.

On Meta technologies, businesses are integrating with the Conversions API to help create a direct connection between their first party data and the Meta technologies that can optimize ad performance. As a result, they are seeing improved ad performance and measurement capabilities.

“One opportunity is leveraging first-party data to better understand the consumer journey … really bringing experiences that demonstrate [the brand] know[s] this person, and an understanding of what their needs and interests are, whether it be price or certain features, or timing and frequency of their buying. Definitely, this is a journey that a number of brands and companies are still on, because so much is changing in the world of data and privacy and how we operate with that,” says Tawana Murphy Burnett, Director of Global Clients and Categories, Meta.

2

Creative continues to be key.

Successful brands are embracing a variety of channels, creative formats and concepts to get their messages out. They remain open and excited about developments—collaborating with creators, embracing video, testing emotion-led and product-led creative to learn what works. These brands understand resonant and relevant creative can have an impact on reach, build brand love and when done well can even drive media costs down.

On Meta technologies, creative and media execution are intrinsically linked. Marketers recognize that developing great creative that reaches people it’s relevant to is a combination of art and science. By deeply exploring people’s relationships to their products, brands can discover different motivation-led creative and unearth emotional benefits that unlock a new level of resonance. And they’re combining that with powerful automation tools that help match great creative to the people it’s most relevant to.

“Marrying immersive and personalized consumer experiences with data and insights is a powerful trinity that will drive more relevant inspiration, engagement, and purchase moments,” says Debbie Ellison, Global Chief Digital Officer, VMLY&R Commerce, A WPP Company.

3

Seamlessness is essential.

Brands understand that every touchpoint can lead to a loyal customer. They optimize customer experiences in real time, creating more fluid experiences on web, in app or in store. They remove friction so customers can move from discovery to purchase seamlessly.

On Meta technologies, businesses are leveraging dynamic formats that utilize machine learning to deliver the right ad to the right person at the right time. To deliver the most relevant products to customers, advertisers are using Advantage+ catalog ads which personalize inventory to people based on their interests, location, behaviors or intent.

“You have to keep removing friction. The Metaverse and NFTs will change entire markets, but if it's still taking 15 seconds for a web page to load, don't worry about NFTs,” says Andre Palis, CEO, RaccoonMonks.

4

Measure to iterate and innovate.

Great marketers are curious and hold themselves accountable to continuous improvement. They use data to inform all decisions and recognize that in a constantly changing environment, what worked in the past may not work today. They ask “what if,” challenge their assumptions, and embrace measurement tools to test and learn—and test again.

On Meta technologies, businesses are leaning into testing solutions that enable controlled, randomized testing. They are testing everything from creative to automation with tools like A/B testing and conversion lift testing.

“Discovery commerce relies on 3 things,” says Simon Whitcombe, VP, Global Business Group, Meta. “One is machine learning, so we can serve the right ad to the right person at the right time. You need thumb-stopping creative to inspire that person to take action. And once they click, your customer experience needs to be delightful, seamless and beautiful.”

Tap into a powerful discovery engine.

Discovery is a strength of Meta technologies. It works where people are already spending their time and helps businesses reach new and unexpected audiences through relevant experiences that move consumers from product discovery to purchase with efficiency. That’s why marketers embrace the Meta Discovery Commerce system to drive their marketing today—and tomorrow.

People will continue to seek shopping experiences that inspire, engage and offer connection and access. Meta builds technologies based on how people want to connect and has built one of the most powerful engines for discovery in history. Across Meta technologies, 3.6B people² are connected with a vast ecosystem of their favorite brands, people, groups, creators, businesses, nonprofits and every community in between. At this scale, it’s no surprise that 73% of online shoppers surveyed discover new brands or products on Meta technologies.³ Learn how you can help grow your business with discovery commerce.