Car-Parts Retailer: Google Shopping From 1x to 14.9x ROAS

Challenge

The client is a well-known car detailing and car-parts retailer serving enthusiasts in the UK and EU. The brand was strong and the operation was ready to scale. Google Shopping was the problem: it ran at about 1x ROAS, so the channel lost money and blocked growth.

Branded search converted well, so the site was not the issue: the audience was. The store carried about 20,000 products across a large number of categories, which made the account very hard to follow.

What we did

• Fixed the product feed. It had not been populated with proper data, and the campaigns had no structure.
• Planned six months ahead. We used Google Analytics seasonality data to map the next six months, and focused on the queries that were already profitable or looked promising.
• Remarketed to repeat buyers in search. Many customers placed more than one order, so we used post-purchase remarketing in search results. We segmented buyers by behaviour: anyone who bought from more than a set number of categories went into a separate list. That isolated car mechanics, who used the store because the prices were good, so we could target them through other channels and bid more aggressively on them.
• Automated the account. Automated rules kept the large catalogue under control alongside the new campaign structure.

Results

• Google Shopping ROAS rose to 14.9x.
• Almost €1M in monthly revenue on €66k of monthly ad spend.
• Overall revenue for the EU branch grew 16%.