Shopify recently added another tool to solve one of every merchant's biggest problems: finding new customers.
Launched in May 2022, Shopify Audiences was intended as a marketing tool to help merchants simplify customer acquisition and reduce ad costs by finding customers who are already interested in a product.
During its launch, Shopify partnered with platforms like Meta, Google, and Pinterest. Recently, it added other social media platforms like Snapchat, Criteo, and TikTok.
What Integrations Did Shopify Add to Their Shopify Audiences Tool?
While only available to US- or Canada-based merchants with a Shopify Plus store and use Shopify Payments.
Shopify Audiences promotes new integrations with TikTok, Snap, and Criteo in its latest version. With a goal of improving its algorithm, Shopify aims to integrate with other major social media platforms. This allows them to segment audiences on different stages of their buyer’s journey by having access to more customer data.
Aside from integrating with other major social media platforms, Shopify also introduced a new benchmarking feature that allows merchants to compare the performance of their ads to similar sellers.
How Will Sellers Benefit From Shopify Audiences Integrating With More Social Media Platforms?
Shopify reports that merchants using Shopify Audiences have seen a 50% improvement in their customer acquisition cost.
A big reason Shopify Audiences has found success is through their targeting. For example, Shopify will recommend swimsuits to people who recently purchased sunscreen, goggles, or shades instead of limiting it to customers who actually searched for swimsuits. Shopify reports that some brands even saw a 140% increase in ROAS when Shopify Audiences was introduced while some found 89% of their new customers using the tool.
By partnering with more ad channels, merchants can streamline ads across different platforms to discover which ones give them the most ROAS. Take TikTok for example, having a platform where 55% of users make a purchase after they see the brand while scrolling on the app is something your business can’t afford to pass up.
Snapchat is a worthwhile marketing tool as well. As per Social Pilot, 60% of Snapchat users make impulse purchases and seeing one of their friends or family post about a brand on Snap will influence their purchase decisions compared to celebrities or influencers.
Does Amazon Offer Features Similar to Shopify Audiences?
Amazon has gone a different route than Shopify Audiences in helping sellers reach their ads to more customers.
Early in 2023, they introduced Buy With Prime, and last August 24, they made sponsored product ads available on platforms such as Buzzfeed and Pinterest with no added cost.
You can expect Amazon to ramp up its advertising efforts to further entice sellers. In the second quarter of 2023 alone, Amazon recorded $10 billion in revenue from ads alone.
