At Incubeta, I have the pleasure of working with forward-thinking clients who are always seeking a competitive advantage, which also means that I’m frequently exposed to the latest product demos. I find myself constantly immersed in the captivating realm of MarTech, attending exhilarating product demos that showcase the next big tech breakthroughs you never even knew you needed. In this thriving community, yesterday’s startups are fueled by eye watering investments, while last year’s contenders are devoured and reborn with new identities.

Despite first being coined in 1956, we’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to Artificial Intelligence (AI) – it is, for the most part, a largely untapped space. While the mainstream traction of ChatGPT and DALL.E certainly thrust intelligent solutions into the limelight, few actually know how to ‘harness’ their power outside of content generation.

In this month’s round-up of ecommerce insights (covering March and April) across Europe and the UK, learn more about a new pan-European payment system, Amazon’s B2B expansion plans, how to advertise with first-party data using Amazon’s ad platform, DoorDash’s retail media proposition, European consumer spending across borders, the fastest growing companies in the region, and the top 10 most searched keywords in Europe for January, February, March, and April. 

Video ads continue to dominate the digital landscape as trends such as #tiktokmademebuyit and YouTube Shorts have become increasingly popular. Social platforms have gained prominence as key places for brand discovery especially among Millennials and Gen Z’s- with users engaging more and more with video content. This has made it important for brands to understand how to harness the power of video ads to drive engagement and connect with their consumers using authentic storytelling.

Businesses that hope to grow and stay relevant as we enter a cookie-less world should be implementing advertising strategies that leverage first-party data, comply with complex privacy regulations, and exceed customer expectations. Whether you’re an endemic business (selling products on Amazon) or a non-endemic business (e.g., banks, insurance companies, etc.), Amazon DSP is one of the most powerful platforms available that can help you future-proof your online strategy.

We live in a world of consistent change which can mean a whole host of things; new legislation, behavioral shifts, a global virus, war, climate change, looming recession and so on. And as marketers, we tend not to like change. Why? Because change equals uncertainty, which equals chaos.