As marketers prepare for the challenges and opportunities that the new year will bring, certain priorities stand out for ecommerce CMOs in 2025. Drawing insights from over 300 ecommerce clients and data from 5,500+ webinar registrants in Q3 and Q4 of 2024, we’ve pinpointed the top five resolutions shaping the strategies of forward-thinking CMOs in the upcoming year:
Whether you’re looking to refine your approach or explore fresh ideas, these resolutions can help steer your ecommerce success in the coming year. Read on to explore each resolution’s key goals, considerations, and strategic insights to drive success for ecommerce CMOs in 2025.
Acquiring a new customer is five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one, according to Harvard Business Review. Studies have also shown that a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 25-95% increase in profits, and repeat customers spend 67% more on average. Thus, retention and loyalty are key focuses for ecommerce CMOs in 2025.
Here are actionable steps to strengthen loyalty:
During events like Black Friday, the emphasis often falls on one-time purchases. However, strategies such as post-purchase engagement emails, tailored recommendations, and exclusive discounts can help convert first-time buyers into repeat customers. Providing a seamless shopping experience and staying in touch with relevant follow-ups can make all the difference.
Fun Facts:
69% of users unsubscribe due to too many emails or irrelevant content, as Constant Contact reports and HubSpot data supports. The timing, subject line, and sender’s name on your emails also influence the success of your campaigns.
Conduct A/B tests to determine what resonates most with your audience and ensure your messaging adds value to recipients’ inboxes. Incorporate feedback and refine email frequency as you get more performance data to further improve list retention.
Consider implementing tiered loyalty programs that reward customers for repeat purchases or referrals. Highlight limited-time offers and personalized recommendations to nudge first-time buyers into becoming loyal patrons. (Here are four email hacks for boosting repeat sales.)
Email marketing continues to deliver exceptional ROI, but maximizing its potential requires precision. In 2025, CMOs should aim to:
Personalized messaging drives better engagement. Tools like Klaviyo enable targeting across platforms, including TikTok and Meta. By analyzing customer behavior, preferences, and purchase history, you can create highly specific segments that ensure every email resonates with its intended audience.
Avoid last-minute email blasts by creating a detailed, long-term content calendar. This ensures alignment with broader marketing goals and provides enough time to develop compelling content. Mapping out key dates and events ahead of time also allows for more strategic experimentation and iteration.
High-performing campaigns tend to strike the right combination of relevance and creativity by using dynamic content, personalized subject lines, and clear calls to action. Ensure your emails are mobile-optimized and test for deliverability issues to maximize your engagement rates.
In 2023, Statista reported that 81% of emails are opened on mobile devices, highlighting the need for mobile-friendly designs.
With AI reshaping SEO and search engine result pages (SERPs) evolving, your brand’s visibility depends on how well you adapt to the new realities of search:
Google’s AI updates just keep coming. Optimizing for Google AI Overviews can improve your discoverability. Start by identifying common questions your target audience asks, and then ensure your content provides concise, authoritative answers to increase your chances of being featured in AI-driven summaries.
From site speed issues to indexing problems, avoiding SEO mistakes and addressing technical weaknesses will help ensure your site’s performance supports your goals. Regular audits can uncover issues such as broken links, duplicate content, or poorly optimized metadata, all of which impact your rankings.
Use analytics to identify high-impact SEO opportunities that deliver results without excessive spending. Prioritize keyword targets that align with user intent and your business objectives to achieve a balance between efficiency and effectiveness.
Reaching the right customers at the right time to convert means investing in smarter segmentation and channel strategies. To give a recent example, Agital worked with EZ Bombs to reach new users on TikTok Shop. We focused on direct interest targeting and optimizing top-performing creatives for each segment of EZ Bombs’ audience. The results?
30x ROAS for the first 90 days, $5M+ in Q2 2024, and $3.5M in affiliate GMV in one quarter! We’ve helped ecommerce brands like Blue Waters achieve similar success, with a 125% increase in attributed gross revenue for TikTok Shop month-over-month and a 30-40% increase in overall annual revenue within the first two quarters.
Here’s how to succeed:
McKinsey says that 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions—and Adobe reports that closer to eight out of 10 consumers prefer personalization. By refining customer personas and data insights, CMOs can create campaigns that resonate deeply with your target audience.
Use platforms like TikTok Shop and Google Ads to find high-fit audiences where they spend their time. Test different formats, such as video ads or shoppable posts, to see what engages your target audience best. Integrate insights from multiple channels to refine your strategy continually.
Learn how to enhance your cross-channel targeting and personalization, starting with an email platform like Klaviyo.
Invest in predictive analytics to anticipate customer needs and deliver relevant, personalized messaging at the right time. This level of precision fosters stronger connections and improved ROI.
AI’s influence in marketing is undeniable. Staying ahead means:
Understand how AI will continue to reshape ecommerce marketing, from AI’s impact on SEO to increased efficiency in media buying and personalized product recommendations for consumers. Test and adopt innovative approaches that align with your goals and offer you an edge over competitors. The trick is to find the right balance for your business to fuel growth while maintaining cost efficiency and authenticity.
Predictive analytics, dynamic content, and creative automation will dominate marketing in 2025. Staying agile and open to experimentation with these tools can position your brand as a leader in the space.
Get insights into 2025’s top trends.
Tools like chatbots, predictive analytics platforms, and automated email marketing solutions can all help you scale your efforts while supporting personalization. The trick is to find the right balance for your business to fuel growth while maintaining authenticity and cost efficiency. Invest in ongoing training and development for your team to ensure they can leverage advanced tools effectively.
Ecommerce CMOs in 2025 will have ample opportunities to drive growth and build stronger connections with customers. By focusing on one or more of these five resolutions, you can ensure your strategies remain relevant and impactful in the fast-evolving ecommerce landscape.
As a high-impact ecommerce marketing agency, Agital has unique insights into the competitive landscape and the primary concerns of leading CMOs. Our team features experts in customer retention and loyalty, email marketing, SEO, audience targeting, segmentation, and personalization, the most current tools and AI applications shaping the ecommerce landscape, and more.
We are prepped and ready to help you tackle your resolutions and drive success in 2025, and we hope to hear from you soon.
