Jump To
Every business collects valuable data, whether it’s customer interactions, purchase history, or online behaviour. But most of the time, this data just sits there, like an expensive gym membership you swear you’ll start using next week.
That’s where commerce media comes in. You can take that data and turn it into a revenue-driving avenue by providing access to your audience for advertisers, brands, or marketers, essentially monetizing the value of your reach.
Few people understand the power of commerce media better than Gil Sperling, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Flow.
Flow is the commerce media platform that helps companies turn data into revenue and brands turn data into conversions.
Gil has spent almost two decades in AdTech and MarTech, building technology that enables brands to activate first-party data at scale. Together with Daniel Levy, our other Co-founder and Co-CEO, they’ve developed, data driven tech platform that allows advertisers and businesses to put more money in their pockets.
So, What is Commerce Media and Why Does it Matter?
Commerce media is a strategy that allows businesses to monetise their first-party data by selling it to advertisers and marketers. For the advertisers, this means reaching hyper-targeted, high-intent audiences at the right time with ads that actually convert.
Instead of letting your user data sit idle, you can turn it into a high-performing advertising channel. Brands are willing to pay for access to high-intent audiences, people who have shown interest in their category, whether they’ve made a purchase or not.
For example, let’s say someone visits your e-commerce or retail site and browses beauty products. Beauty brands can use this data to retarget them, while adjacent industries, like fashion or wellness brands, can tap into the same high-intent audience for their own marketing campaigns.
💡 These brands can use off-site ads (ads that target users outside of your website) on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to engage potential customers. Additionally, off-site ads bring audiences back to your website, and increase traffic to your platform.
Now this is where it gets really juicy…this customer is valuable not only to the beauty brand for retargeting but also to brands in adjacent industries, like a fashion brand who knows this customer will be more likely to invest in their appearance. So this creates a second way to make your data available to advertisers.
And it gets even better…. commerce media isn’t just restricted to retailers and e-commerce players. Anyone with first-party data can monetise it.
How to Start Monetising Your First-Party Data
According to Gil, the easiest (and fastest) way to make money from your data is by simply making your audience data available. This is the first step and can be done by:
- Sharing your Google and Meta pixels to create audience segments
- Partnering with a data marketplace like Flow where advertisers can securely access your audience
Scaling Up: How to Build a Full Commerce Media Strategy
The next step is building a more robust commerce media strategy and it doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right tech partner, scaling can happen in three structured stages:
- Instead of costly internal development, use a commerce media platform to build your off-site advertising capabilities and monetise your audience.
- Define your audience and ad packages. Decide how you want to segment your data and what advertising options you’ll offer brands.
- Brands get access to your data through ad packages that include your audience, or they can rent access to the audience on a limited and controlled basis. This helps boost their ROI by connecting with your high-intent audience. Consumers then get a more personalised, meaningful experience and your business gets a new revenue channel. It’s a win-win-win.
If you choose Flow, we take care of the heavy lifting, streamlining audience segmentation, ad package sales, and everything in between, so you can focus on growing your commerce media business.
What Kind of Businesses Benefit Most from Commerce Media?
While commerce media is often associated with retail and e-commerce, its potential extends far beyond.
|
Industry
|
How They Benefit
|
|---|---|
|
Retail & e-commerce
|
Monetise customer data, enable brands to retarget high-intent audiences, increase traffic back to the site and create more sales within the platform through off-site ads, as well as create new ad revenue streams.
|
|
Marketplaces
|
Help sellers promote listings, enable brands to reach high-intent buyers, drive traffic and sales back to the site, and offer insights to adjacent industries.
|
|
Travel & Hospitality
|
Retarget past travelers, enable partnerships with adjacent industries, and reach high-value audiences.
|
|
Review Platforms
|
Offer advertisers access to engaged, decision-ready consumers and monetise high-intent traffic.
|
|
Event Ticketing Platforms
|
Allow brands to reach highly engaged audiences based on event interests, location, and purchase behaviour.
|
At Flow, we have multiple audience partners in our marketplace. South African businesses are seeing the benefits and want to cash in.
What Results Can Businesses Expect?
Hellopeter, a prominent South African review platform shifted gears by partnering with Flow, and here’s what they’ve achieved:
- An increase in revenue: They turned their audience data into a steady passive income source by renting it out to advertisers, all without disrupting the user experience.
- Better brand perception: What was once known mainly for handling customer complaints is now viewed as a valuable marketing partner, helping brands engage with high-intent consumers who are ready to buy.
- Proven success: Now, at least 28 different brands are using their audience data for highly targeted ad campaigns. These brands are seeing improvements in metrics like click-through rates, ROAS, and conversion rates.
By unlocking the full potential of their data, Hellopeter has shifted to a profitable, scalable business model that continues to grow.
The Future of Commerce Media
By taking a phased approach, starting with audience monetisation, expanding into off-site ads, and building a full-scale commerce media network, you can unlock a powerful new revenue stream for your business.
Are you ready to turn your data into revenue?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is commerce media?
Commerce media is a way for businesses to turn their first-party data into revenue by enabling highly targeted digital ads.
How is commerce media different from retail media?
Retail media focuses on ads within a retailer’s own site, while commerce media extends beyond to off-site ads across platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram.
Is commerce media only for big businesses/enterprises?
No, most medium to large businesses with customer data, such as retailers, marketplaces, or e-commerce sites, can use it to generate revenue.
Why use a commerce media platform like Flow?
Flow offers a true turnkey solution, helping you quickly activate your first-party data and effortlessly turn on your off-site advertising offering making it easy to monetise your data without significant investment. The Flow Platform is industry agnostic, helping businesses of all sizes across industries turn on their commerce media offerings.
