Snapchat partners with Adidas, Topshop, Farfetch on new e-commerce feature

Adidas, Topshop and Farfetch are among the big-name fashion brands to have become advertising partners of Snapchat in the UK for its new e-commerce offering designed to “simplify the consumer purchase journey and drive measurable ROI”.

To be more precise, the multimedia messaging app has launched a new free-to-use Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs) feature, allowing brands to create globally-served Snapchat ads in real-time to help them reach an increasingly online, younger audience.

After testing the beta version of the DPAs for just a few weeks, Arcadia-owned Topshop achieved over four times the return on advertising spend (ROAS) benchmark usual for the UK market, the brand said. Adidas in turn saw a 52 percent growth in ROAS.

“In the wake of the Covid-19 epidemic, Adidas has further accelerated its digital business. With e-commerce a key focus for us in 2020 and beyond, we're excited to Beta test Snapchat's Dynamic Product Ads in the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands,” Adidas’ senior director of media activation Europe, Rob Seidu, said in a statement. “The launch of DPAs allows us a route to reach our target Gen Z and Millennial audiences with relevant product creative throughout the consumer journey.”

Snapchat launches new e-commerce tool

But it's not just big brands that can access the feature. Snapchat said the new tool “allows brands of all sizes to showcase their products and services in a professional layout, through customized ad formats that can be easily set up.”

The company said this will save advertisers time both on the creative process and on the admin side of things, allowing them to run ‘always-on’, measurable, campaigns.

Snapchat is looking to capitalise on the heightened focus in recent months on companies’ online operations after the Covid-19 pandemic caused international lockdowns and wreaked havoc on physical retail.

In fact, online sales in the UK grew to a 10-year high in April, up 23.8 percent year-on-year, according to the IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index.

Last month, social media giant Facebook announced the launch of its new shopping feature allowing businesses affected by the pandemic to set up a free online store on Facebook and Instagram.

“In the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown we have shifts in how consumers are interacting with e-commerce with people increasingly shopping on their mobiles - a trend we expect to continue,” said FarFetch chief marketing officer Gareth Jones.

“As a result, we have re-engineered our e-commerce marketing activity to support the many fashion boutiques we work with, and the consumers we serve. Farfetch’s relationship with Snapchat has transformed our activity across the entire funnel and gives us a unique and an unduplicated audience across multiple markets.

“We leaned heavily into DPAs during the testing period and we have seen significant success that has translated into high-quality customers and ultimately transactions. We plan to continue to build on our relationship with Snapchat and we see them as an always-on partner.”

Photo credit: Snapchat