Adtech platform, PubMatic, has published new research examining the influence of digital media on shopper behaviour, revealing that retail websites are approximately 50% more effective at driving a response from shoppers than social media.

The study, commissioned by Inside Retail and conducted by PubMatic, surveyed 500 Australian shoppers in March 2024. It found that 64% of shoppers are responsive to retail website ads, compared to 43% for social media. Non-retail websites, such as news and lifestyle sites, also outperform social media in driving responses to advertising.

According to the study, retail websites drive the most advertising engagement across young families (with children under 10) and middle families (with children aged 10–18). Retail websites maintain strong performance with families, with response rates consistent across both young and middle families at 72% and 73% respectively.

Interestingly, social media sees a dramatic fall in response from consumers over 40, while retail websites maintain strong response rates up to 60.

“Retail websites provide an exciting opportunity for advertisers to target high-value audiences across the full sales funnel in a privacy-compliant manner, without relying on third-party cookies”, said PubMatic VP of Addressability and Commerce Media, APAC, Peter Barry. “By utilising a combination of retail-site advertising and non-retail sites on the open web, advertisers have the ability to successfully scale campaigns, extend audience reach in the evolving digital advertising landscape, and boost customer engagement in the APAC region.”