3 Bizarre E-commerce Ad Trends That Actually Work

Creating an infinite void of negative energy actually happens to be one of the marketing trends on this list! Can you guess which one?

Remember the good old days when advertising was simple? Just kidding, advertising has never been simple (life is suffering!). In today's digital hellscape, e-commerce stores are resorting to increasingly bizarre tactics to catch your eye and hopefully your wallet. It's like watching a group of desperate clowns fighting over the last pie at a circus - entertaining, slightly horrifying, but impossible to look away from... especially once they start eating each other instead.

E-commerce ringmasters, step right up - we're about to reveal three trending advertising stunts so bizarre (yet effective), they'll make your customers' wallets open faster than a rib cage at a cannibalistic clown buffet.

1. User-Generated Content (UGC) Campaigns

You won't even need to eat, sleep, or blink anymore. The user generated content on your social media page will sustain you.

 

User-generated content (UGC) is the golden ticket of e-commerce advertising. It's authentic, relatable, and doesn't smell like corporate desperation (what exactly does that smell like? Almond Roca. Sorry, Almond Roca, but it's true). Brands are leveraging UGC to build trust and showcase their products in real-life scenarios.

 

Here's how to implement it:

• Encourage customers to share photos or videos using your products
• Create branded hashtags for easy content discovery
• Feature UGC prominently on your website and social media channels
• Offer incentives like discounts or the chance to be featured for the best submissions

For example, GoPro's entire marketing strategy revolves around UGC. They regularly feature customer-created content on their social media, showing off the capabilities of their cameras in breathtaking scenarios that no staged photoshoot could replicate. How do you know their UGC is working? We're talking about them in this blog post, aren't we?

 

2. Personalized Email Marketing Campaigns

Folks like their emails the way mid-twenties female flight attendants like their nails. Personalized, eye catching, and friggin fabulous.

 

Email marketing isn't dead; it's just gotten smarter. E-commerce brands are using advanced segmentation and personalization to create hyper-targeted email campaigns that feel like they were written just for you (because they kind of were).

 

Here's how to implement it:

• Segment your email list based on purchase history, browsing behavior, and demographics. It sounds hard but most email apps like Omnisend or Mailchimp have simple filters for exactly this
  
• Create automated email sequences triggered by specific customer actions. Like when a customer adds stuff to their cart but don't finish the checkout process, they get an email about it a few hours later
  
• Use AI. Chat GPT is good and all, but AI tools like Perplexity and Claude can be used to fill in content, or personalize email to specific customer demographics

 

Fashion retailer ASOS, for example, sends personalized product recommendations based on your previous purchases and browsing history. The result? An increased likelihood of impulse purchases and a sneaking suspicion that ASOS knows you better than your own mother. Or even a sneaking suspicion that your mother is in fact ASOS. It would explain why she always seemed like a UK-based multi-national online fast-fashion and cosmetic retail company...

 

3. Shoppable Social Media Posts

After countless hours doomscrolling, potential customers aren't looking for self actualization... they're looking for fun products to purchase!

 

Social media platforms are no longer just for brand awareness. They're becoming full-fledged marketplaces. E-commerce brands are turning their social media posts into virtual storefronts, allowing customers to purchase products without ever leaving their favorite app.

 

Here's how to implement it:

• Set up shoppable posts on Instagram and Facebook
• Use Pinterest's buyable pins for product discovery
• Create TikTok shopping ads to reach younger audiences
• Ensure a seamless transition from social post to checkout page

 

For example, clothing brand Lulus is making use of Instagram shopping, allowing you to effortlessly blow your rent money on outfits you'll wear once before they become permanent residents in your closet's witness protection program. By tagging multiple products in each post, they make it ridiculously easy to buy the exact look you see without ever leaving the app.

 

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