DAN ANZ homes in on ecommerce with launch of dedicated division

Dentsu Aegis Network is launching a dedicated ecommerce division in Australia and New Zealand, called Dentsu Commerce, to capture growing demand for ecommerce expertise.

Brands looking for commerce solutions can now draw upon the capabilities of all of Dentsu via one integrated team. The team has been formed to help brands create connected experiences to reach customers on every channel and at every touchpoint, according ot the agency. 

Dentsu Commerce will offer a number of products and capabilities that are designed to support businesses at every stage of their commerce journey, including:

• Support for small to enterprise commerce platforms.
• Social commerce.
• Marketplace optimisation, leveraging products across marketplaces such as Amazon and Ebay. 
• Location planning.
• Physical retail activations.
• Offline integrations hub, optimising platforms such as Analytics 360 and Google Ads.
• Experimentation strategy, driving results from data-driven optimisation of touchpoints.

The rise in demand for ecommerce expertise comes as online shopping has exploded during COVID-19. In Australia, Ebay and Amazon are the dominant ecommerce platforms, followed by the online offerings of supermarkets Kmart, Woolworths, Big W and Coles, according to SimilarWeb.

"Commerce today has no boundaries," Angela Tangas, Dentsu Aegis Network ANZ’s chief executive officer, said in a release. "Customers no longer ‘go shopping’ but are instead ‘always shopping’, and to stand out in today’s competitive landscape, businesses need to think beyond having a static website."

The COVID-19 pandemic further increased the need for ecommerce. “2020 has undeniably accelerated the rate of change," Tangas added. "Many businesses have needed to play catchup and rapidly build an ecommerce solution in response to COVID-19."

GroupM has also been investing in ecommerce expertise. The media network recently entered into partnerships with Southeast Asian ecommerce sites Tokopedia and Lazada to offer clients preferential access and pricing.