14 October, 2021

New Research Identifies ‘Commerce Content’ As Key Revenue Driver For Brands And Publishers

White ladders leaning on to content written bull's eye target on blue wall. Horizontal composition with copy space. Content concept.

By Karen Terranova

Two new research reports have revealed key drivers for ‘commerce content’ and the massive revenue opportunity it presents for digital publishers and brands.

Published by independent media organisations, commerce content allows readers to understand the goods and services promoted by an editorial team. It’s now a major part of the partnership ecosystem, and a way for publishers and brands to connect with consumers.

As more consumers seek trusted information, brands have an opportunity to prioritise commerce content and not only build trust, but also grow revenue and audiences.

The reports, by global partnership management platform impact.com, found that brands with at least 20 content publisher partners are twice as likely to see increased revenue, and publishers can expect revenue from commerce content to grow by over 50 per cent.

David Yovanno, CEO of impact.com, said, “Driven by evolving consumer preferences, coupled with the diminishing measurability and trackability of ad success, commerce content is commanding a larger share of marketers’ budget.

“This, in turn, opens up unprecedented revenue growth opportunities for digital publishers.”

Commerce content’s benefit to publishers

impact.com and FORTUNE brand Studio’s report, Commerce content providers and the new digital paradigm, was conducted with 200 publisher executives from Australia, the US, the UK and Germany.

The report found that 57 per cent of respondents expect revenue from commerce content to grow by at least 25 per cent each year, and one-quarter of them expect an annual growth rate of more than 50 per cent.

Ninety per cent of respondents expect online direct-to-consumer sales to grow, and are already seeing solid ROI from their content programs, with 45 per cent citing higher total revenue, 41 per cent seeing improved cash flow and 34 per cent having realised increased profit margins.

In addition to revenue gains, 45 per cent of digital publishers said commerce content makes their own brands more recognisable to the public, 40 per cent said their digital content keeps their audiences more engaged, and 36 per cent believe that it expands their audiences.

More than one-third of respondents said these relationships have improved because they provide links or offer incentives for directing readers to the brands’ websites.

Commerce content’s benefit to brands

Impact.com also conducted a survey of 168 brand users around the world between February and April 2021. The report, The State of Commerce Content in 2021, found that 56 per cent of brands work with 10 or more content publishers.

Product reviews are the most common format of commerce content, with 86 per cent of brands saying they use it. New product announcements and comparison-shopping articles followed closely behind, at 75 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively.

It’s clear the rise in commerce content will continue to become a major part of marketing plans, with 65 per cent of brands saying it will be part of their marketing strategy for the coming year.

The research also found that brands with at least 20 content publishers are twice as likely to see increased revenue than when working with five or fewer.

Furthermore, brands in the retail vertical are more heavily invested in commerce content than brands in other verticals. In fact, 53 per cent of retail brands said commerce content would receive increased budget this year (13 per cent above average).

The impact.com survey found that those brands who use commerce content benefit from increased brand awareness (73 per cent), improved customer acquisition (55 per cent) and revenue growth (49 per cent).

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