There's great enthusiasm around the 2022 shopping season. Anchored by Black Friday, 11.11 Singles Days, and End of Year sales, trends point to a record-breaking sales year for MENA retailers. A survey by IPSOS reveals that 77 percent of shoppers will buy from the sales section on Black Friday exclusively. The report shows that deals offered during calendar moments like these are highly popular, highlighting that prospective shoppers look for new brands and products during the sales season.

In image above: Hala Zgheib – Head of Retail, MENA, Snap Inc.

For many, top of mind is how can regional online retailers take advantage of these macro trends to attract customers and drive conversion. First, through mobile commerce strategies that are streamlined and integrated. A recent survey by research firm Alter Agents, commissioned by Snap, reveals that Saudi shopping behaviors have pivoted sharply towards online and mobile shopping.

Second, is understanding how friends and family influence purchasing decisions, especially in the GCC. Data shows that 87 percent of those who use Snapchat for shopping research agree that the app helps them decide what to purchase.

Here are some recommendations for brands to leverage Snapchat's entire ecosystem and drive better results:

Secure the right foundations with data

Level Shoes collaborated with Snap to set up stronger optimization, robust targeting, and improved measurements. The luxury multi-brand retailer implemented Conversions API (CAPI) for their web and app channels on top of a previously-established offline setup. Conversions API is a privacy-safe, server-to-server integration between a retailer and Snapchat. With Conversions API, Level Shoes witnessed a 41 percent improvement in return on ad spend (ROAS) for both their website and app platform.

Protect your share of voice and drive immersive and incremental reach with AR & commercials

adidas collaborated with Snapchat to activate their Black Friday campaign and meet sales targets. In the UAE, the sportswear giant adopted high-impact ad formats across the in-app camera and content features to tap into a new consumer base. Within the camera, Adidas launched a National Gamified Lens, complemented by an Auction Lens. At the same time and within content, Adidas activated a month-long Commercials and Dynamic Product Ads strategy. AR and commercials formats delivered 59 percent incremental reach and achieved a 9x ROAS in its eCommerce campaigns.

Max Fashion wanted to reach new and younger users. A few days before Black Friday, Max Fashion ran bursts of First Commercials and Commercials as part of their top-of-the-funnel strategy. Then, they retargeted these audiences during peak sale days leveraging video formats such as Snap Ads and Story Ads, including app installs and app purchases. First Commercials and Commercials delivered 45 percent incremental reach on top of their existing video campaigns. The campaign delivered an overall 8x ROAS.

Set up for measurement to understand the effectiveness of your campaign

Sun & Sand Sports, the leading omnichannel sports retailer in the Middle East, collaborated with Snapchat to launch their new brand identity campaign in the UAE and KSA, their top two markets. Adopting high-impact ad formats across both camera and content, Sun and Sand Sports activated a gamified lens throughout the period of the campaign and ran the first commercials in KSA, Story ads, and Snap ads. Overall, the Campaign delivered a remarkable lift for Brand Favorability (+5pts above MENA norm) and Action Intent (+4pts above MENA norm). AR drove uplifts across brand metrics with a +9pts lift in Brand Awareness, +7pts lift in Ad Awareness and +8 pts lift in action intent.

These results demonstrate the increased interest of Snapchatters in shopping as their spending power continues to surge. Over 250 million Snapchatters use AR every day and play with AR lenses more than 6 billion times daily. According to a study commissioned by Snap and conducted by Deloitte Digital in markets including the UAE and KSA, interacting with products with AR experiences leads to a 94 percent higher conversion rate.