Waitrose has partnered with CitrusAd, a leading retail media technology company, to roll out relevant, targeted advertising across Waitrose.com.
Our suppliers can now maximise their online presence through sponsored search and category product ads, as well as sponsored offers and checkout ad campaigns.
The move replaces static advertising – where all customers were served the same adverts – with a targeted model, in which shoppers are given updates from brands based on the product searches or areas they browse on Waitrose.com.
It also gives suppliers the flexibility to change or boost their campaigns, rather than being tied into long-term fixed tenancy slots, allowing them to take advantage of events and seasonal changes.
With access to performance-based metrics and reporting, brands can measure the impact of their adverts, and return on ad spend (ROAS) down to the individual product level and by search term.
Phil Eacott, retail media sales lead for Waitrose, explained: “Advertising on retailers’ websites is nothing new, but it traditionally took a blanket approach, meaning customers saw promotions that just weren’t of interest.
“Now, we’re able to target ads much more effectively so customers get much more relevant offers, and brands get even better engagement.”
Lazy Vegan signed up to the new targeted adverts on Waitrose.com in June 2023. Maartje Sonnenberg, Marketing & Communications Manager, for the brand said: “We’ve experienced remarkable and immediate results, as we were able to reach customers who had a genuine interest in our products.
“Not only have we grown sales, we’ve gained valuable insights that help us to further fine-tune our keyword targeting.”
Alban Villani, regional CEO – Europe, Middle East and Africa for CitrusAd, added: “Relevancy is key when it comes to customer experience. Since working with Waitrose to offer targeted adverts to customers, ads on their website have begun well outperforming industry benchmarks.
“What’s more, the brands they work with get real-time data on their campaigns, and can easily update their campaigns to help stay relevant.”
Waitrose and CitrusAd continue to collaborate to improve this capability and are looking to make ads even more personalised to further improve customers’ shopping experience online.
The move to more relevant advertising is the most recent result of our investment in data & loyalty, another key part of which has been our recent partnership with dunnhumby – which has been working with the John Lewis Partnership since April 2023.
Elsewhere, we overhauled of myWaitrose in 2022. Under the new scheme, static benefits were replaced by vouchers based on customers’ individual shopping habits.
