Publicis Groupe buys Profitero, deepening analytics capabilities as online sales slow

Publicis Groupe has bought e-commerce intelligence platform Profitero for an undisclosed sum, the companies announced today, adding analytics capabilities for the space just as online sales have slowed dramatically. Profitero and its 300 employees will remain “a product-focused company within Publicis,” and its CEO Bryan Wiener, joined by President Sarah Hofstetter, will report to Publicis Chairman-CEO Arthur Sadoun. Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis. “This is the best of both worlds as we retain our entrepreneurial spirit as a product-led organization while benefiting from Publicis Groupe’s diverse capabilities and scale,” Wiener said in a statement. Sadoun said, “By adding Profitero to our existing assets, we are now uniquely positioned across the four key pillars our clients need to connect, to capture an unfair share of the exponential growth in online sales. With us, our clients will seamlessly understand people, how they shop better than anyone else.” Actually, e-commerce growth has turned well below exponential of late as the industry cycles pandemic-fueled sales surges of the past two years. Amazon disappointed investors with a modest 7% net sales increase last quarter, and Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales grew a modest 1% in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 31. Both results followed years of double-digit growth as more people returned to shopping in stores. And both numbers were well below what big marketers such as Procter & Gamble Co., L’Oreal and Kimberly-Clark Corp. delivered last quarter as inflation fueled their top lines. Upcoming Ad Age events Ad Age Next: Multicultural Marketing on May 9 Ad Age In-Depth: TV Pivot on May 24 and 25 But Profitero, whose coverage and customer base are heavily focused on packaged-goods brands, is focused on helping them grow share when sales are soaring or just treading water. Profitero recently signed a deal with IRI to give CPG marketers a better view of how their e-commerce marketing investments and digital shelf presence affect sales.

Publicis Groupe buys Profitero, deepening analytics capabilities as online sales slow

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