Read breakthroughs in online industry in 2014 by Vesna Gordon, International Sales and Marketing Director at Gemius

Event of the year

It was the year when business started to look for ways how to understand the customer paths of decision-making and purchase across all offline and online channels. For a long time, there was no connection between the traditional, non-digital world and the digital one. The mobile revolution has significantly changed customer behaviour patterns and forces the industry to start forming forces to build their omnichannel perspective. The good news is that research companies respond to the new needs and there is more and more cases showing an integrated approach to customer intelligence. It is important to state that omnichannel measurement is not driven only by brand owners. Media business, traditionally interested in managing individual silos, are also coming closer together. We can observe combined efforts of TV and the internet or print and the internet, striving to understand full customer journey and measure reach across channels. All in line to support the great vision of customer-centric approach.

Success of the year

In e-commerce, every year brings to the spotlight stories of successful start-ups or SMEs who managed to leverage their success. One of the latest companies that managed to leave an important mark on the European e-business is Zalando, the continent’s largest online-only fashion retailer worth $6.8 billion, just officially announces IPO, becoming one of the most important tech companies in Germany.

Disappointment of the year

What it might be the failure of the year remains a subject for further discussion. As initially announced by the Hungarian Prime Minister Orban, Hungary planned to impose new taxes on internet data transfers. Tens of thousands of internet users united in a big street and social media demonstration, managed to stop any actions from the country’s authorities, for the time being at least.

Personality of the year

Although results of the work of the new president of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker and his team are still to be seen, the agenda he presented involving radical reforms in digital policy sparks a light at the end of the tunnel for many European companies. Juncker had this to say during one of his speeches: “Where our single market remains incomplete is when it comes to digital products and services. This is what I want to work for as Commission President: Making sure that Europe creates a truly integrated digital single market in the next 5 years. This could generate additional growth in Europe worth EUR 500 billion – just by intelligent European policy measures, and without spending money we do not have…

If we ask companies to offer their networks and services not only nationally any longer but now on a continental scale, we should, in my view, also apply EU competition law with a continental spirit. A truly integrated market will need pan-European operators.”

For all of us, it remains to observe what will happen with this vision. One of the first milestones addressing determination of EU to support European business on the way to integrated digital future is to address the use of data within the EU for non-EU giants such as Google and FB.

Trend of the year

The multi-screen environment. Across the world people are connecting to the internet using more and more devices. Smartphone use is increasing everywhere, which is dramatically changing the online landscape - to the point that we can expect more than 50 per cent out of all page views in the emerging markets to be generated via mobile in two to three years’ time. Western markets already experienced this stage or are just about to: for instance, Denmark reached this point of market development in August 2014. As a consequence, all businesses – from online publishers to ecommerce – will be challenged to build or revise their current mobile strategies. Mobile is today’s reality and our future.

Prediction for 2015

Due to the success of programmatic approach in the USA and Western Europe, many marketers in emerging markets will start exploring this solution, striving to catch the potential of Big Data and real time bidding to grow in online retargeting and prospecting effectiveness. As 2014 may be considered a testing year, there is a change that programmatic marketing will become more mainstream for emerging markets in 2015.