Black Friday, the international shopping frenzy that first hit South Africa in 2014, has become a staple in the retail and e-commerce landscape. As we reflect on the recent Black Friday extravaganza, we sat down with Paid Media Managers Helga Ndawula and Cassidy Lassen to dissect key insights that defined this year’s shopping spree and extract actionable takeaways for brands aiming to optimize performance in the coming seasons.

Organizations will soon have to rely on their own first-party data for targeting and ad buying. The most common advice for marketers that depend on third-party cookies is to work on a first-party data strategy. This is necessary not only to reach target audiences, but it’s also a prerequisite for running marketing solutions powered by AI and machine learning (after all, if you can’t walk, you can’t run). However, for many organizations, it’s practically impossible to build a large enough first-party data stack. Such parties require two concrete solutions.

Google’s recent introduction of AI-powered features for Performance Max (PMax) presents a host of  exciting opportunities for advertisers. PMax represents the ultimate game-changer for advertisers to gain improved ROI and seamlessly integrate AI into their Google Ads strategy.

With 2023 showing us how quickly digital priorities can shift throughout the year there’s no doubt that 2024 is going to be another rollercoaster of a year for brands. While fluctuations in market volatility can make it difficult to anticipate what’s coming next, we sat down with our team of digital specialists and leaders to gauge their thoughts on future trends for the coming year.

Earlier this month the European Commission announced that Google has been ‘designated as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (DMA)’ – a comprehensive regulatory framework to protect consumers and ensure fair competition amongst key digital players (Meta, Amazon, Google etc.). This update will impact all users and Google advertisers in the European Economic Area (EEA), and UK Google advertisers looking to advertise in the EAA.

In 2024, Amazon will make a significant move by entering the South African market. The expansion surely marks notable implications in South Africa, but what could it also mean for the global ecommerce market?