• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, October 7, 2020

Havas Media Group has launched a new ecommerce consultancy it has dubbed Havas Market.

The reason? They didn’t say this, but the reason is every media agency that wants to remain competitive in this day and age has to up its game in the ecommerce department. It’s no secret that ecommerce sales are soaring during the pandemic, so it’s a no-brainer for brands and agencies to spruce up their capabilities in that space.

Jess Richards, executive vice president/managing director, commerce, will lead the new offering in North America. Previously, she served as the agency’s head of social and is credited with growing that practice in NA by leaps and bounds over the past five years.

Havas Media Group Global CEO Peter Mears said the new offering is designed, in part, “to solve for the barriers consumers face when interacting with retailers’ digital platforms, creating a more seamless customer journey.”

That’s right, that’s what people want in their lives these days. Seamlessness. Click, done. Easy-peasy. We have enough problems already.

Said Richards: "We’ve identified human-based shopping pain points, such as trying to sell a product to someone who just bought it, excessively retargeting a person who looked at one product, or serving poor information around what remains in stock. We’re committed to finding actionable solutions to these problems across the whole experience.”

Ah yes, retargeting. One of the more unseemly experiences in the consumer journey. Thanks for trying to fix that Jess.

Havas Market went live today. The practice has already corralled some existing Havas Media clients in the sportswear, technology and spirits categories.