New digital storefronts shake up online retail—and advertising

Last month, Walmart and Netflix launched a hub on Walmart.com offering an assortment of themed merchandise from Netflix hit shows available exclusively through the retail giant. It’s Netflix’s first “digital storefront” with a national retailer and an example of how e-commerce is shaking up the $650 billion global advertising industry.

Marketers in business-to-consumer and business-to-business markets alike have been buffeted recently by regulations intended to safeguard customer privacy and end intrusive tactics like stalking customers online through the use of third-party cookies. In true Silicon Valley style, those restrictions are now unleashing a wave of marketing innovation that Boston Consulting Group recently called “a once-in-a-generation sea change, not unlike the move from traditional to digital media.”

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