Podcasts about Rewe

The FTC says Amazon put a bidder that does not exist into its ad auction — for seven years — so the CPCs you paid on Amazon Ads were never the price the auction produced.Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmüller break down the FTC's case against Amazon Ads: what Amazon is accused of doing to its own auction, what it cost advertisers, and why Amazon's defense is not a denial. Then the story Amazon would rather talk about — its demand-side platform plugging into ChatGPT ads, and what that does to targeting on a brand-new surface.For in-house PPC and ecommerce teams buying on Amazon, Google and now AI surfaces.Key takeaways:A second-price auction only delivers its benefit if the auctioneer is trusted. The design makes honest bidding safe; a dishonest auctioneer turns that honesty into exposure.The alleged mechanism is blunt: a bidder that does not exist, placed between the real second bid and the winner. The FTC says it ran from 2019 and extracted tens of billions.The damage per click was small by design — calibrated to stay under advertisers' minimum acceptable return, which is why it went unnoticed for seven years.Amazon's defense is not "we didn't." It is "no one was harmed, because targeting gains were pushing CPCs down anyway."Precedent says spend does not move: nobody left Google after the DOJ hearings.Meanwhile, Amazon's DSP brings real first-party targeting to ChatGPT ads — plugging that inventory's biggest gap and giving OpenAI a way to monetise intent it currently leaks to Google.Resources & links: ▶ Subscribe for new episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@smarter-ecommerce ▶ All episodes and show notes: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.com/en/podcast/ ▶ Follow smec on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbh/▶ Mike Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeryanretail/▶ Chris Scharmueller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-scharm%C3%BCller/ ▶ How smec manages Google Ads for retailers: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.com/en/About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Google's August 17 bidding update didn't move CPCs. It moved advertiser behaviour — and most of the market reacted to a change that never touched them.The update removed the conservative buffer that artificially lowered bids on campaigns limited by budget. Those campaigns had been quietly over-delivering efficiency for years by picking up cheap, high-value clicks. Google's position: performance now trends toward the target you actually set, over one to two conversion cycles.Mike Ryan pulled the first data across smec's managed accounts. CPCs have not moved in any notable way — anyone showing you day-after impact is showing you noise. Nobody opened their budgets either; the share of campaigns flagged as limited by budget stayed flat. Instead, advertisers raised their targets: the median tROAS in affected campaigns moved 4% the week before the change and 12% the week of it.Then it gets strange. Campaigns that were never limited by budget — 75 to 85% of the population, and an enormous share of total spend — raised their targets by a median of 9%. No tool prompted them. No exposure. They tightened out of fear. Spend fell roughly 10% that week.Which is where the opportunity sits. If a large share of the auction has gone defensive for no reason, the slack is available to whoever doesn't follow. Full data drops mid-to-late September.Key Takeaways- Google isn't raising your CPCs — it stopped artificially lowering your bids on budget-limited campaigns.- No notable CPC movement yet, and conversion data is still too green to read.- Advertisers chose targets over budget: median tROAS up 12% in affected campaigns, while the limited-by-budget share stayed flat.- Campaigns that were never affected raised targets 9% anyway. A fear reaction, not a strategy.- Market spend fell around 10% that week — the opposite of what the change was designed to achieve.- If your campaigns aren't limited by budget, hold your targets or push harder. Expect the window to close going into Q4.Resources & Links- Mike Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeryanretail/- Chris Scharmueller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-scharm%C3%BCller/- smec Campaign Orchestrator: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/platform/About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Die Top-Meldungen am 3. September 2026: Kartellamt verwehrt Rewe drei Tegut-Standorte, Auch Hornbach und Hagebau nehmen Hellweg-Flächen, Denner beendet Lidl-Experiment

ChatGPT Ads are live in 31 European markets — but your account can't use tROAS, remarketing, demographics or an API yet. Here's what to actually expect.OpenAI announced on 18 August that ChatGPT Ads are rolling out across Europe, and advertiser demand is already enormous. Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller go through what advertisers really get on day one — and where the expectation gap is going to hurt.The headline: this is not a self-serve platform in Europe yet. Right now you need a certified agency or ad tech partner to run ChatGPT Ads, with self-serve promised "later this summer" (at the time of recording, that window is closing fast). Advertisers already live on self-serve in markets like the US can target Europe today, which makes international teams the unintentional early winners.Then we go feature by feature against Google Ads, using our own comparison table:Keyword targeting: doesn't exist. You get contextual hints, roughly equivalent to Google's search themes — and there's a real question whether OpenAI ever adds keywords, because keyword targeting would make ChatGPT look like Google Search.Demographics: not available. No age, gender or income targeting, at a time when Google is giving that control back even in PMax.Geography: country level only. No region, postcode or radius targeting — workable for national brands, a problem for anyone local.Customer Match: hashed emails and phone numbers, but with a ~25,000-match minimum that rules out most SMB lists. Google has no minimum.Remarketing and lookalikes: not available.Bidding: CPM, CPC and a conversion objective (oCPC) — but no tROAS and no value-based bidding of any kind. Nothing that connects your bids to your actual margin.Measurement: pixel plus a conversions API, Meta-style, with up to a two-day lag — against Google Tag's near real-time data and enhanced conversions.Product feed: genuinely good. OpenAI's ACP feed specs are strong enough that Google has borrowed from them. This is where they're closest to parity.Campaign management: no public API yet.The one structural advantage ChatGPT Ads have in Europe: Google hasn't launched ads in AI Mode here. For now, ChatGPT is the only way to buy placement next to an AI answer — and that window will close.Which leads to the real argument of the episode: if every platform claims your revenue, you need a measurement layer above the platforms. Marketing mix modelling stops being a nice-to-have and becomes priority number one — including a live client example where MMM showed Meta contributing far more than platform reporting suggested.Our take: arrive at the party early, but don't judge it by quarter-one performance, and don't spend a euro you can't attribute independently.Key Takeaways:Europe gets the stripped-down version. No keyword targeting, no demographics, country-level geo only, no remarketing or lookalikes, no tROAS or value-based bidding, and no public API. Add a 25,000-match minimum on Customer Match and most SMB lists are out. Plan your test around what the platform can actually do, not around what you assume it does.The one real advantage is temporary. Google has not launched ads in AI Mode in Europe, so ChatGPT Ads are currently the only way to buy a placement next to an AI answer. Expect Google to close that gap in Q3/Q4 — so if that is your reason to test, test now.Measurement is the decision, not the channel. Every platform will claim your revenue, and ChatGPT will be no different — on a pixel plus conversions API with up to a two-day lag. Marketing mix modelling stops being a nice-to-have: without an objective layer above the platforms, you cannot prove whether ChatGPT Ads are incremental or just re-attributing clicks Google would have won anyway.Three months is not a verdict. Demand right now is FOMO-driven and expectations are running ahead of the product. Go in framed as a test, give it longer than the usual quarter, and do not shift performance budget until incrementality is proven.—Resources & Links:Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec's Google Ads Benchmarks: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/Earlier episode on OpenAI's CPC model and the $60 effective CPM: Don't Buy ChatGPT Ads Until You Watch This (Plus: The Google Cloud vs AWS Cage-Match)About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

16 Millionen Gäste, über zehn Milliarden Euro Umsatz und 70 Marken im Portfolio: Dertour ist die heimliche Großmacht im europäischen Reisemarkt. CEO Christoph Debus skaliert den Giganten im harten Wettkampf gegen TUI, Booking und Airbnb – und baut dabei Synergien mit dem Mutterkonzern Rewe aus. Nach Krisen-Erfahrungen bei Condor und Air Berlin peilt er bei Dertour jetzt neue Umsatzrekorde an. Im OMR Podcast spricht der Top-Manager über glänzende Geschäftszahlen trotz US-Flaute, das unterschätzte Comeback der Pauschalreise – und die dramatische Rettungsmission für 11.000 Gäste in Nahost.

Die Top-Meldungen am 28.08.2026: Alnatura und Rewe einigen sich auf Listung. Dr. Oetker besetzt die Vertriebsspitze neu. Obi sichert sich Standorte von Hellweg und Baywa.

Send us Fan MailIn this WTR Small-Cap Spotlight showcase, host James Kisner joins virtually with WTR's Mike McCormack on the ground in Munich with Elena Coles, Head of Investor Relations at Circus SE (XETRA: CA1), the German AI robotics company building autonomous kitchen systems for commercial and defense customers. Coles walks through the portfolio: the flagship CA-1, which cooks up to six dishes in parallel on seven square meters and is deployed with Mercedes-Benz, REWE, Meta, and the Bundeswehr; the compact CA-A cup-based system from the Alberts acquisition; and the defense-focused CA-M, which replaces a field kitchen at roughly 5% of the staff. The conversation covers the Kitchen Robotics acquisition (30+ patents and NSF certification for US entry), a new proprietary ingredients program targeting up to 45% margins on a Nespresso-style razor-and-blade model, the Secura channel partnership into German industrial canteens, and the deliberate revenue shift from 2026 into a 2027 production ramp as CircusOS subscriptions and ingredient revenue scale with every deployed system.For additional content, visit: https://www.watertowerresearch.com

Und? Haste gesehen? "The Odyssey“? Ja? Dann erinnerst du dich an das schmerzverzerrte Gesicht von Odysseus, an einen Pfahl gebunden, um dem Gesang der Sirenen zu widerstehen. Genau diese Verzweiflung, dieses Leid, wie ein Juckreiz unter der Haut, an den man nicht rankommt, genau so müssen sich die Hörerinnen und Hörer von Baywatch Berlin fühlen, wenn sie sich den verführerischen Stimmen von Lundt, Schmitt & Helfer-Umlauf aussetzen. Real talk: Was ist das Gesinge der Sirenen gegen Jakobs Engelsstimme, wenn er in der vielleicht unnötigsten Rubrik der Podcastgeschichte minutenlang über sein Lieblings-Urlaubs-Desert schwadroniert. Dass der Baywatch Berlin-Kahn längst vom Kurs abgekommen ist war ja jedem klar - aber dass die Herren nichtmal mehr in der Nähe des Hafens der Vernunft segeln, erstaunt dann doch. Statt hörenswerter Gedanken gibt es bei Baywatch Berlin wieder Blödsinn im IMAX-Format: Ab welchem Wohlfühlgrad zieht unser Ferien-Zyklop Schmitt am Urlaubsstrand die Straßenschuhe aus? Was findet Klaas an einer Rezension zu einem Hundekuscheltier „bestimt auch witzig“? Warum schmuggeln sich Olli Schulz und Heuer-Umlauf in die mallorquinische Bums-und Saufmetropole Magaluf - und mussten sie sich unter all den besoffenen Engländern auch in einem Holzgaul verschanzen? Warum schreit Lundt seine Kartendienste im Auto an, die doch gar nichts von ihm wollen, außer ihm den Weg nach Hause aufzuzeigen? Und wie finden wir eigentlich die Tatsache, dass Christopher Nolan kein Handy hat und sich in der Verantwortung siehtt, diesen Umstand in jedem Interview zu erzählen? Ja, die Themen dieser Folge prasseln auf die Hörer*innen hernieder wie die Wellen des Ozeans auf den armen Odysseus. Doch während der sich retten konnte, indem er einen Bogen spannt - ist eben dieser bei Schmitt, Lundt und Helfer-Umlauf längst...überspannt. Cover: Christoph Schlozer https://www.instagram.com/christophschlozer www.christoph-schlozer.ch Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte: https://linktr.ee/BaywatchBerlin Du möchtest Werbung in diesem Podcast schalten? Dann erfahre hier mehr über die Werbemöglichkeiten bei Seven.One Audio: https://www.seven.one/portfolio/sevenone-audio

Worum es geht: Rund 150.000 Artikel auf SKU-Ebene, 270 intern verwaltete Attribute— und regionale Lieferanten, die keine Zeit haben, die von ihnen geforderten 50 Attribute in eine Eingabemaske zu tippen. Manchmal ist es ein Betrieb von drei Leuten. Katharina Bülowius hat bei REWE erst die eigene Abteilung sichtbar gemacht und dann mit der internen AI-Innovation-Abteilung zwei KI-Module bauen lassen, die Produktangaben von Fotos auslesen und gegen einen Gold-Standard prüfen. Worüber wir sprechen: **Das eigentliche Problem: regionale Lieferanten.** Käse, Hoflimonade, Kartoffeln — die Angaben stehen auf der Verpackung im Markt, nicht in einem Datenpool. **Lea und der Goldhamster.** Ein Modul liest Produktfotos aus, ein zweites prüft die Ergebnisse gegen verifizierte Wahrheiten und lernt aus jeder Korrektur des Teams. **Der Rückschlag bei 80 Prozent.** Warum die erste Version nicht online gehen durfte und wie daraus das zweite Modul entstand. **Stammdaten gegen Produktwissen.** Warum der Name mitentscheidet, ob das Thema im Unternehmen eine Bühne bekommt. **Wer betreibt das eigentlich?** Nach dem Pitch vor der Geschäftsführung steht die Operating-Model-Frage im Raum. Der Gast: Katharina Bülowius ist Lead Ecom Master Data Management bei REWE und verantwortet die Produktdaten für Liefer- und Abholservice. Vor REWE war sie Geschäftsführerin einer Digitalagentur mit Kunden überwiegend im Mittelstand. Jonas und sie kennen sich von Douglas, wo sie als Freelancerin 20 Jahre alte Produktdaten für die SAP-Einführung neu strukturiert hat. MY DATA IS BETTER THAN YOURS ist ein Projekt von BETTER THAN YOURS, der Marke für richtig gute Podcasts.

We got Google wrong this year — and episode 50 is where we admit it, correct it, and share the one thing every advertiser should double-check in their own account. Chris and Mike mark 50 episodes with a "summer school" retrospective: the calls they got wrong, the lessons they're taking into H2, and a rapid-fire lightning round to close it out.The confession: earlier this year, both hosts were flatly bearish on Google's AI outlook, at a moment when the consensus view across the industry was the same. That call was wrong — Google's AI-powered search business turned into one of its strongest growth stories, and the hosts hold themselves accountable for it on air, along with an equally wrong lowball prediction on OpenAI's ad revenue trajectory (they said it wouldn't hit $100 billion; they now think it's headed toward double that).There's also a real, correctable mistake here for advertisers: an earlier assumption that a change to Target ROAS functions would apply across all campaign types. It doesn't — it only affects campaigns limited by budget, and if you assumed otherwise, this is worth checking against your own account.From there, the conversation turns to a broader lesson about pace: even Google's own teams may be struggling to keep up with how fast AI-driven search and shopping behavior is changing — which means FOMO-driven, reactive decision-making is a real risk for advertisers right now. The fix the hosts land on isn't more hustle, it's a "correction layer" — a person, podcast, or process that keeps you honest about what's actually changed versus what's just noise — paired with a reminder that the fundamentals (data strategy, clean data feeds, solid paid search structure) still matter most.The back half is lighter: personal "chalkboard" lessons (including "ROAS is a lever, not a goal" — a line straight out of smec's own playbook), a debate about whether AI-assisted writing is making everyone sound the same, and a desert-island lightning round covering which ad platform, which app, and which single KPI (spoiler: not cost per click) the hosts would keep if they could only pick one.Growing Ecommerce is brought to you by smec (Smarter Ecommerce). Thanks for 50 episodes — see you after a short summer break.#PPC #GoogleAds #Ecommerce #DigitalMarketing #ROASAbout Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Marketing im Kopf - ein Podcast von Luis BinderIn dieser Folge wird über verschiedene Unternehmen gesprochen, da Markennamen genannt werden, handelt es sich um UNBEZAHLTE WERBUNG!In dieser Folge: In der heutigen Podcastfolge von Marketing im Kopf geht's darum, welche Instrumente über den gesamten Kundenlebenszyklus hinweg wirken, von Qualitätsmanagement bis Kundenwertmanagement. Wir schauen uns an, warum Beschwerdemanagement oft unterschätzt wird, obwohl gut gelöste Beschwerden mehr Käufe, ein besseres Image und positive Mundpropaganda bringen können. Außerdem geht es darum, warum der direkte und der indirekte Beschwerdeprozess eng zusammenhängen und wie Unternehmen damit ihre Kundenbeziehungen ganzheitlich steuern.____________________________________________⁠Marketing-News der Woche:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Social Media und Außenwerbung wachsen zusammenAktueller Kampagnen von Marken wie Rügenwalder Mühle und LBS zeigen, wie Inhalte zwischen Feed und Straße verlängert werden können. Ein Motiv funktioniert dabei nicht einfach identisch auf beiden Kanälen: OOH schafft öffentliche Sichtbarkeit und Reichweite, Social Media liefert Reaktionen, Weiterverbreitung und Gesprächsanlässe. Kampagnen sollten nicht mehr strikt nach Kanälen gedacht werden, sondern nach einer Idee, die sich zwischen digitalen und physischen Kontaktpunkten weiterentwickelt und gegenseitig verstärkt.YouTube greift nach den deutschen TV-BudgetsYouTube will im deutschen Werbemarkt deutlich stärker an klassische TV-Budgets heran. Die Plattform erreicht nach eigenen Angaben 57 Millionen Nutzer in Deutschland und sagt, dass viele Mediapläne diese Nutzung noch nicht ausreichend abbilden. Entscheidend ist in Zukunft weniger das Absender-Etikett des Kanals als die Frage, welche Reichweite, Zielgruppe und Wirkung ein Kontakt in dem Umfeld tatsächlich liefert.Punica zeigt die Grenzen von Nostalgie-MarketingPunicas Comeback endet erneut: Der Vertrieb der Saftmarke wurde eingestellt, obwohl die Rückkehr 2024 zunächst Aufmerksamkeit erzeugt hatte. Der Fall zeigt, wie begrenzt Nostalgie als Marketing-Strategie ist. Erinnerungen an eine bekannte Marke können kurzfristig Reichweite und Gesprächswert schaffen, ersetzen aber weder ein relevantes Produkt noch dauerhafte Kommunikation und Distribution. Die Vergangenheit kann den Start erleichtern, aber sie beantwortet nicht, warum Menschen heute kaufen sollten. Retro funktioniert vor allem dann, wenn eine bekannte Markenidee mit einem aktuellen Nutzen, ausreichender Sichtbarkeit und einem klaren Platz im Markt verbunden wird.Aldi macht Rabatt-Apps zum GegnerAldi greift mit seiner aktuellen Werbung die Rabatt-Apps von Rewe, Lidl und anderen Wettbewerbern frontal an. Die Botschaft: Gute Preise sollen ohne App, Coupons oder zusätzliche Datennutzung funktionieren. Der Discounter verlängert den Angriff über mehrere Motive und macht damit einen echten Marktmechanismus zum Kampagnenthema. Ein gutes Beispiel für klare Positionierung. Statt nur die eigene Leistung zu erklären, definiert Aldi bewusst, wogegen die Marke steht. Solche Vergleichsstrategien können aufmerksamkeitsstark sein, funktionieren aber nur, wenn das eigene Leistungsversprechen einfach, glaubwürdig und im Alltag überprüfbar bleibt.____________________________________________Vernetz dich gerne auf LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisbinder/⁠ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marketingimkopf/Du hast Fragen, Anregungen oder Ideen? Melde dich unter: marketingimkopf@gmail.com Die Website zum Podcast findest du hier. [⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2WN7tH5⁠⁠⁠]

Henrik Maaß hat sein Unternehmen Liquid Grape verkauft, mitten in der größten Krise, die der Weinmarkt seit Jahrzehnten erlebt. Rewe hat seinen Wein-Onlinehandel in Köln geschlossen, Weingenossenschaften melden Insolvenz an, und der Pro-Kopf-Konsum sinkt Jahr für Jahr. Trotzdem – oder genau deshalb – ist Liquid Grape, seine Plattform für Investments in Fine Wine, nun Teil von Mövenpick Wein. Christoph Fröhlich spricht mit ihm über die Hintergründe des Deals und über die eine Frage, die jedes Wein-Investment entscheidet: Wenn heute Flaschen für zehn oder fünfzehn Jahre eingelagert werden – wer trinkt die dann eigentlich? Es geht um die Schere zwischen Massenmarkt und High End, um Bordeaux, das Maaß in einer "Sinnkrise" sieht, um China und die Frage, wo der deutsche Riesling international steht. Warum Sterne-Restaurants zu Kunden eines Wein-Investment-Anbieters werden. Warum entalkoholisierter Wein für ihn das Produkt zerstört. Und welche Flasche ihn zuletzt so überrascht hat, dass sie ihn noch heute beschäftigt. Eine Folge über Rarität, Rendite und die Frage, wann aus gesunder Knappheit ein sterbender Markt wird.

Google's AI Max is now serving 1 in 4 of your exact-match ad impressions — and it's quietly reshaping Search and Performance Max campaigns. Chris and Mike deliver the AI Max deep-dive they promised last episode, breaking down exactly how that number gets generated and what it costs you in control.Picking up where Alphabet's Q2 earnings call left off, this episode unpacks Google chief business officer Philipp Schindler's claim that AI Max is "unlocking billions of net-new searches that weren't really monetizable before." The mechanics: when there isn't enough auction competition for a search term, Google either skips serving an ad or falls back to ad-rank thresholds — AI Max exists to monetize that gap by expanding matching beyond your exact and phrase match keywords, using what's effectively broad match under a new name (officially "search term matching").The numbers back it up. Across AI Max campaigns, roughly 80% of the additional impressions come from exact match terms and 20% from phrase match — and once AI Max is activated in a campaign running mostly exact match, about 1 in 4 impressions against those exact-match keywords now originate from AI Max instead of the keywords you actually chose. Chris and Mike weigh the real trade-off here: advertisers who deliberately chose exact match for control are being nudged toward broad-match-style reach, though the ad-group-level opt-out is a meaningful safety valve. Revenue uplift is real per in-platform attribution — but it's driving volume, not necessarily matching Google's claimed efficiency.The second half tackles a related head-scratcher: click-through rates on Shopping and Max campaign types have climbed roughly 17-20% year-over-year for over a year — the opposite of what the "zero-click," AI-Overviews-kill-CTR narrative predicts. Chris and Mike test a mechanical hypothesis (impressions falling 10-12% YoY while clicks hold steady would produce this exact pattern) without claiming it's confirmed, and discuss why ecommerce commercial queries may be more shielded from the zero-click trend than informational, publisher-facing searches — for now.If you manage Google Ads campaigns and want to understand what AI Max is actually doing to your account's match types, this is the episode.Growing Ecommerce is brought to you by smec (Smarter Ecommerce).Learn more: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comTry smec's free Market Observer benchmarking tool: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/  Catch last episode's Q2 earnings breakdown for context: https://youtu.be/yaSBRm-pEFo

Die Top-Meldungen am 11. August 2026: Kartellamt prüft Rewe-Einstieg bei Feneberg intensiv, Österreich ermittelt gegen Danone und Nestlé, und: Alnatura findet neuen Schweiz-Chef.

Unser heutiger Gast war bereits vor gut drei Jahren bei uns. Damals fiel sie vielen Menschen zum ersten Mal auf. Heute gehört sie zu den wichtigsten Stimmen einer neuen Generation von Leadership-Expertinnen in Deutschland. Sie begann ihre Laufbahn mit einem dualen Studium bei REWE und übernahm dort schon früh Führungsverantwortung. Mehr als 13 Jahre arbeitete sie im Konzern in unterschiedlichen Rollen rund um Führung, Personalentwicklung und Organisationsentwicklung. Anschließend wechselte sie in die Welt schnell wachsender Start-ups, bevor sie sich selbstständig machte. Heute begleitet sie Unternehmen, Führungskräfte und Teams auf dem Weg zu einer neuen Form der Zusammenarbeit. Mit ihrem Buch „New Leadership“ hat sie eine Debatte angestoßen, die aktueller kaum sein könnte. Im Zentrum ihrer Arbeit steht eine Überzeugung: Gute Führung beginnt nicht bei Prozessen oder Organigrammen, sondern beim Menschen. Bei Vertrauen statt Kontrolle. Bei echter Selbstreflexion. Bei der Fähigkeit, andere wachsen zu lassen. Und bei der Frage, wie wir in einer Welt voller Unsicherheit, künstlicher Intelligenz und permanenter Veränderung Organisationen schaffen, in denen Menschen ihr Potenzial entfalten können. Seit über neun Jahren beschäftigen wir uns in diesem Podcast mit der Frage, wie Arbeit den Menschen stärkt, statt ihn zu schwächen. In mittlerweile 570 Folgen haben wir mit mehr als 700 Persönlichkeiten darüber gesprochen, was sich für sie verändert hat und was sich weiter verändern muss. Warum wird menschliche Führung gerade im Zeitalter von KI wichtiger statt unwichtiger? Wie gelingt es Führungskräften, Leistung und Menschlichkeit miteinander zu verbinden, ohne in alte Muster von Kontrolle zurückzufallen? Und was muss sich in Unternehmen verändern, damit deutlich mehr Menschen morgens mit Freude zur Arbeit gehen und ihr Potenzial wirklich entfalten können? Fest steht: Für die Lösung unserer aktuellen Herausforderungen brauchen wir neue Impulse. Deshalb suchen wir weiter nach Methoden, Vorbildern, Erfahrungen, Tools und Ideen, die uns dem Kern von New Work näherbringen. Darüber hinaus beschäftigt uns von Anfang an die Frage, ob wirklich alle Menschen das finden und leben können, was sie im Innersten wirklich, wirklich wollen. Ihr seid bei On the Way to New Work, heute zum zweiten Mal mit Laura Bornmann. [Hier](https://linktr.ee/onthewaytonewwork) findet ihr alle Links zum Podcast und unseren aktuellen Werbepartnern

Marketing im Kopf - ein Podcast von Luis BinderIn dieser Folge wird über verschiedene Unternehmen gesprochen, da Markennamen genannt werden, handelt es sich um UNBEZAHLTE WERBUNG!In dieser Folge: In der heutigen Podcastfolge von Marketing im Kopf geht's darum, warum Kunden ihrem Anbieter treu bleiben, obwohl sie eigentlich gar nicht mehr zufrieden sind. Wir schauen uns an, warum es dafür 2 unterschiedliche Strategien gibt, nämlich Verbundenheit und Gebundenheit, und welche Wechselbarrieren dahinterstecken, von vertraglichen und wirtschaftlichen bis hin zu emotionalen. Außerdem geht es darum, warum Kunden trotz all der Barrieren manchmal doch abwandern und wie man rechtzeitig erkennt, ob das am Unternehmen, am Wettbewerb oder am Kunden liegt. ____________________________________________⁠Marketing-News der Woche:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Werbung richtet sich erstmals direkt an KI-AgentenMit „Agent Ads“ entsteht digitale Werbung, die KI-Crawler anspricht. Aktuell werden Textseiten mit gekennzeichneten Markeninformationen im FAQ-Stil getestet. Besucher von KI-Plattformen eröffnen bspw. 3,5x häufiger ein Konto, als Nutzer aus klassischer Suche. Der KI-Traffic innerhalb von einem Jahre um 9x gestiegen. Marken müssen maschinenlesbar werden, ohne Antworten heimlich zu beeinflussen. Kennzeichnung, überprüfbare Fakten und Brand Safety werden zum wichtig für die neuen Werbeform. ProSiebenSat.1 bündelt sieben Sender für einen SpotProSiebenSat.1 bietet Werbekunden einen gemeinsamen Werbeplatz auf sieben Sendern an. Derselbe Spot läuft gleichzeitig bei ProSieben, Sat.1, Kabel Eins, sixx, Sat.1 Gold, Kabel Eins Doku und ProSieben Maxx. Rewe nutzt das Angebot als erster Kunde. Für Marken in Deutschland kann das bei bspw. Launches oder großen Kampagnen interessant sein. KI empfiehlt Marken nur bei klarer ThemenkompetenzEine Analyse von über 1.000Kategorien mit fast 300.000 Quellenangaben und über 76.000 Markennennungen zeigt, wie stark thematische Nähe die Sichtbarkeit in ChatGPT beeinflusst. In weit entfernten Themenfeldern wurden Marken in 25 % der Fälle erwähnt, bei eng verwandten Themen in 44 %. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit einer Quellenangabe stieg von 50 % auf 74 %. Breite allein schafft keine Autorität. Marken müssen Kernfragen eines Themenfelds wiederholt, tief und aus mehreren Perspektiven beantworten. Für SEO und GEO zählt damit weniger die Zahl einzelner Beiträge als ein erkennbares Wissen.Mitarbeitende werden zu den glaubwürdigsten CreatornGap, Staples und Starbucks machen Mitarbeitende immer stärker selbst zu Creatorn. Gap öffnet sein Affiliate-Programm für Beschäftigte, die über persönliche Links Provision verdienen können. Staples profitiert bereits von einer Mitarbeiterin, deren TikTok-Videos aus dem Filialalltag Millionen Reactions erreicht. 40 % der Konsument entdecken Produkte häufig über Employee Generated Content. Alleine in der Gen Z sind es 61 %. Für Marken liegt der Vorteil in der Glaubwürdigkeit anstatt hochglanz Werbung. ____________________________________________Vernetz dich gerne auf LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisbinder/⁠ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marketingimkopf/Du hast Fragen, Anregungen oder Ideen? Melde dich unter: marketingimkopf@gmail.com Die Website zum Podcast findest du hier. [⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2WN7tH5⁠⁠⁠]

Meta, Google, and Amazon just posted Q2 2026 earnings — and the numbers reveal exactly where ad costs are headed next for advertisers. Plus: Shein's IPO filing shows what happens when ad dependency meets a broken profit model.Chris and Mike break down all four Q2 earnings calls that matter for anyone running paid search or social budgets right now. Meta's ad revenue jumped roughly 27% year-over-year, but almost none of that growth is coming from new users — it's coming from higher ad load and rising frequency on existing accounts, which is why per-unit ad costs are climbing even as impressions go up. CapEx grew 55% year-over-year and net income actually dropped 14%, which is part of why the stock got punished despite the growth headline.Google/Alphabet told a different story: search ad revenue is up 17% to over $60 billion, even as growth decelerated for the first time in years — still one of the strongest showings of any company this size. Cloud revenue is up 80%, and Google tied its ad growth directly to AI Max, which the company says is monetizing "billions" of net-new search terms that weren't served by ad inventory before. Chris and Mike table the "how does AI Max actually work" deep-dive for next week's episode — subscribe so you don't miss it.Amazon's ad business grew 26% to roughly $19.8 billion, led by sponsored products, with no signs of slowing. And Shein's newly filed IPO prospectus reveals a business that's almost entirely dependent on paid advertising — 95% of its 2025 marketing budget (around $6 billion) went to ads, growth has stalled since the U.S. de minimis exemption ended, and the company isn't hitting the "Rule of 40/50" profitability-plus-growth benchmark institutional investors look for.This is a market-earnings recap for PPC managers, in-house ecommerce marketers, and agencies who need to know what's actually driving ad costs and platform strategy this quarter — not just headline numbers.Growing Ecommerce is brought to you by Smarter Ecommerce (smec).Learn more: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.com Subscribe for the AI Max deep-dive next episode Follow us on LinkedIn#PPC #GoogleAds #Ecommerce #MetaAds #DigitalMarketingAbout Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Die Top-Meldungen am 03. August 2026: Rewe übernimmt Feneberg-Belieferung. Nachfrage nach Bio wächst weiter. Insolvenzverfahren über Depot eröffnet.

Die großen Handelsketten hatten versprochen, Fleisch mit der schlechtesten Haltungsform 1 aus den Regalen zu nehmen. Noch aber ist es da. Bei Rewe spricht man von Ausnahmen, Bauernvertreter verweisen auf Kundenwünsche.

Everyone selling in Europe has heard the pitch: use a third-party CSS and get a "20% discount" on your Google Shopping bids. Mike Ryan and Chris finally settle what that number actually means — and it's not a discount at all. They break down the real math behind Google Shopping Europe's mandatory margin, whether a multi-CSS strategy still makes sense in 2026 (spoiler: it doesn't), and why the fear of "bidding against yourself" across multiple CSS partners is a myth Google has gone out of its way to debunk.Then: a lesson for every advertiser, EU or not. If bid is the only real differentiator between a PMax shopping ad and a Standard Shopping ad serving the identical product, what happens when you run both at once? Mike shares fresh CPC data across shopping-only, hybrid, and PMax-only accounts suggesting the answer is: your account gets hotter. Whether or not you technically "bid against yourself," running overlapping campaign types may be quietly inflating your CPCs — and Google's new Channel Diagnostics report might be a tacit admission of exactly that.In this episode:• Myth #1: the "20% discount" claim — it's purchasing power, not a discount• The real math: how Google Shopping Europe's mandatory margin actually hits your bid• Do you still need a third-party CSS in 2026? (Yes — here's why)• Myth #2: does a multi-CSS strategy still make sense, or is it a "last-mover penalty"?• Myth #3: are you bidding against yourself with multiple CSS partners?• The bigger lesson: what happens when bid is the only ad rank differentiator?• Fresh CPC data: shopping-only vs. hybrid vs. PMax-only accounts• Google's new Channel Diagnostics report for PMax — a tacit admission?• The verdict: hybrid PMax + Shopping setups can work, but only with a real strategyGrowing Ecommerce is brought to you by smec (Smarter Ecommerce). Learn more: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.com

A small regional court in Germany just handed down a ruling with global consequences: Google is liable for what its AI Overviews say. The "AI can make mistakes" disclaimer? Insufficient. Text generated by Gemini counts as Google's own words — and Mike Ryan and Chris break down why this precedent could quickly spread from publishing to shopping, consumer protection, and the product recommendations AI assistants are already making every day.Then: a victory lap. Five weeks ago we called it — the EU's July 1st de minimis change would break the business model of Temu, Shein & AliExpress in Europe. Now the data is in (and quoted by Reuters): Temu fell from 70%+ of advertisers facing daily competition down to just 23%. Shein dropped to 5%. We cover what the €3-per-item fee actually does, why one major German fashion retailer is overspending by 70% to grab the open market, and why UK retailers should brace for what comes next.In this episode:• The German libel ruling: why Google's AI disclaimer didn't protect it• "Those are your own words" — hallucinations as legal exposure• Why the precedent could spread to shopping, consumer protection & false advertising• The feed as deterministic anchor: why Google grounds its AI in merchant data• The €3 de minimis fee — and why it's worse than a 10% tariff• smec's data in Reuters: Temu 70% → 23%, Shein down to 5% of advertisers• The playbook: profitable CPCs are on tap — but maybe not for long• Shein's IPO trouble, the shift to Europe & the warning for the UK, Canada & AustraliaAbout Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Wie hilft Anthropologie dabei, bessere digitale Produkte zu bauen? Markus Pirker spricht mit Angela Prendl von der REWE International AG über ethnografisches Research im Konzern, den Relaunch des BILLA Online-Shops und warum Neugier für Researcher:innen entscheidend ist.Wer ist Angela Prendl?Angela kam über Grafik- und Webdesign zur Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie sowie zur Wissenschaftsforschung in Wien. Seit 2023 leitet sie bei REWE International User Research für eine Produktfamilie, die digitale Lösungen für BILLA, BIPA, PENNY, ADEG und IKI baut.Für wen ist diese Folge relevant?Für UX Researcher:innen und Product Manager:innen in großen Organisationen: Wie skaliert man Research bei vielen Stakeholdern, und wie bringt man Ethnografie in den Konzernalltag? Angelas Team pflegt dafür ein Research Repository statt einzelner Reports.Der Relaunch des BILLA Online-ShopsVom ethnografischen Stakeholder-Mapping über interne User Tests bis zu einem Fragebogen entlang der User Journey (Discovery, Checkout, Order Handling): Rund 80 Prozent der Kund:innen füllten den Fragebogen komplett aus. Live-Feedback half, UX-Probleme früh zu reparieren.Key TakeawaysEthnografie strukturiert das Verstehen von Stakeholder-Bedürfnissen.Ein Research Repository macht Daten für alle jederzeit zugänglich.User Journey Mapping strukturiert Fragebögen entlang echter Schritte.80 Prozent Rücklaufquote zeigen die Kraft von Kundenbindung.UX Paper Cuts lassen sich durch Live-Feedback früh reparieren.Neugier und Hartnäckigkeit sind zentrale Skills für Researcher:innen.Timestamps(00:00) Vom Grafikdesign zur Anthropologie(05:56) Angelas Rolle im Research bei REWE(16:24) Der Relaunch des BILLA Online-Shops(20:01) Der Fragebogen entlang der User Journey(41:32) Rat: neugierig bleibenAngelas LinksAngelas LinkedInAngelas Buchempfehlung und Ressourcen99% Invisible PodcastMismatch: How inclusion shapes design - Kat HolmesCreative research methods: A practical guide - Helen KaraScience in action: How to follow scientists and engineers through society - Bruno LatourAfter method: Mess in social science research - John LawStar, S. L. (1990). Power, Technology and the Phenomenology of Conventions: On being Allergic to Onions. The Sociological Review, 38(1_suppl), 26-56.Ähnliche FolgenE101: Konrad Maruschewski über iteratives User TestingE97: Manuel Schnell über Kundenfeedback als ErfolgsfaktorE95: Gerhard Kühne über UX im Konzern bei OTTODanke fürs ZuhörenIch hoffe, ihr konntet aus dieser Folge von UX Heroes konkrete Ideen für bessere User Experiences mitnehmen. Wenn ihr auch die nächsten Episoden nicht verpassen wollt, abonniert UX Heroes auf Spotify, Apple Podcasts oder in eurer Lieblings-Podcast-App.Eine Bewertung oder 5-Sterne-Rezension hilft uns sehr dabei, noch mehr Menschen zu erreichen, die sich für UX Design, UX Research, Product Discovery und bessere digitale Produkte interessieren.Habt ihr Fragen, Feedback oder Themenvorschläge? Dann schreibt uns gerne an podcast@userbrain.com. Ihr findet mich auch auf LinkedIn unter Markus Pirker.Bessere UX-Entscheidungen mit UserbrainUX Heroes ist ein Podcast von Userbrain. Mit Userbrain könnt ihr schnelle und unkomplizierte User Tests durchführen, um herauszufinden, wie echte Nutzer:innen eure Website, App, euren Prototypen oder eure Produktidee erleben.Dank KI-Unterstützung erstellt ihr euren User Test in wenigen Minuten. Erste Ergebnisse sind innerhalb weniger Stunden verfügbar, damit ihr schneller erkennt, wo Nutzer:innen Probleme haben, was sie verwirrt und welche Verbesserungen wirklich wichtig sind.Userbrain hilft UX-Teams, Product Manager:innen, Marketer:innen und Gründer:innen dabei, bessere Entscheidungen auf Basis von echtem Nutzerfeedback zu treffen.Kostenlos mit Userbrain startenProbiert Userbrain aus und startet euren ersten User Test: Geht auf userbrain.com/podcast, erstellt einen kostenlosen Account und bekommt die ersten 2 Tester:innen im Wert von 90 € geschenkt.

We turned Google Ads into a World Cup bracket. Three head-to-head rounds, two hosts, no referee — just the campaign types and bid strategies advertisers argue about most.In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris go feature vs. feature:

Die Sanierung des Wetzlarer Bismarckturms läuft, Meilenstein in der Nauborner Straße erreicht und Weltladen Aßlar feiert Neueröffnung nach Umzug. Das und mehr heute im Podcast. Alle Hintergründe zu den Nachrichten des Tages finden Sie hier: Wetzlarer Bismarckturm: Die Sanierung läuft https://www.mittelhessen.de/lokales/lahn-dill-kreis/wetzlar/wetzlarer-bismarckturm-die-sanierung-laeuft-5853350 Meilenstein in der Nauborner Straße erreicht https://www.mittelhessen.de/lokales/lahn-dill-kreis/wetzlar/meilenstein-in-der-nauborner-strasse-erreicht-5861498 Weltladen Aßlar feiert Neueröffnung nach Umzug https://www.mittelhessen.de/lokales/lahn-dill-kreis/asslar/weltladen-asslar-feiert-neueroeffnung-nach-umzug-5857055 Der neue Rewe in Braunfels soll kommen – nur wann? https://www.mittelhessen.de/lokales/lahn-dill-kreis/braunfels/der-neue-rewe-in-braunfels-soll-kommen-nur-wann-5845146 Neues Wetzlarer Freibad bleibt weiterhin geschlossen https://www.mittelhessen.de/lokales/lahn-dill-kreis/wetzlar/neues-wetzlarer-freibad-bleibt-weiterhin-geschlossen-5858929 Ein Angebot der VRM.

Sommerhitze verzögert Teilöffnung der Binger Straße, Mainzer Sommer bricht Hitzerekorde und Aufzug zum Bahnhof Römisches Theater freigegeben. Das und mehr heute im Podcast. Alle Hintergründe zu den Nachrichten des Tages finden Sie hier: https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/mainz/stadt-mainz/binger-strasse-kein-zweispuriger-verkehr-bis-zum-10-august-5859570 https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/mainz/stadt-mainz/diese-hitzerekorde-hat-der-mainzer-sommer-schon-gebrochen-5842943 https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/mainz/stadt-mainz/aufzug-zum-bahnhof-roemisches-theater-ab-jetzt-in-betrieb-5857429 https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/mainz/stadt-mainz/nahkauf-am-stiftswingert-oeffnet-erst-im-spaetherbst-5852559 https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/mainz/stadt-mainz/auszeichnung-fuer-inklusives-zahnarztzentrum-in-mainz-5768823 Ein Angebot der VRM.

Auf manche Stellen gehen heute hunderte Bewerbungen ein. Trotzdem investieren Unternehmen wie die REWE Group in aktives Sourcing über LinkedIn. Maike Georg und Sarah Decker zeigen, wie sie im LinkedIn Recruiter nach passenden Kandidatinnen und Kandidaten suchen und worauf es in einem Profil ankommt. 00:00 Intro: Warum Active Sourcing trotz hunderter Bewerbungen zählt 00:28 Begrüßung und Vorstellung von Maike Georg und Sarah Decker 02:37 800 Bewerbungen in zwei Tagen: der Ausgangspunkt 05:06 Was der LinkedIn Recruiter anzeigt 08:17 Die wichtigsten Suchfilter im Active Sourcing 09:55 Die häufigsten Fehler in LinkedIn Profilen 12:34 Was in die Berufsstationen gehört 14:58 Open to Work Banner: Sinn oder Risiko 20:31 Typische Denkfehler bei der Jobsuche über LinkedIn 23:21 Quereinstieg sichtbar machen: Maike Georgs eigene Erfahrung 25:53 Drei Tipps für ein besseres Profil 28:54 Zum Abschluss

KI im Supermarkt: Jeder Einkauf beginnt analog – doch KI entscheidet längst mit. Rewe-CEO Lionel Souque und Kienbaum-Chef Fabian Kienbaum über Daten, Handel und Leadership.

Die Top-Meldungen am 08. Juli 2026: Netto Nord verlässt die RTG. Edeka verliert Feneberg an Rewe. Drogerien machen Supermärkten bei Lebensmitteln Konkurrenz.

Starting August 17th, Google is quietly rewriting how Smart Bidding treats campaigns that are limited by budget — and if your account is currently over-delivering on Roas, this affects you directly.In this episode, Mike Ryan and Chris break down Google's upcoming change to budget-limited campaigns, why "over-delivering" Roas is being treated as money left on the table, and the carrot-and-stick logic behind Google's new Bid Target Adjustment tool.Whether you're comfortable with your current Roas buffer or actively trying to scale, this episode explains exactly what will shift under the hood — and what to do before the change hits.What you'll learn:What changes on August 17th for budget-limited campaignsWhy campaigns over-delivering Roas are Google's real targetThe two mechanical levers Google can pull to force Roas down (worse clicks vs. higher CPCs)Why smart bidding is structurally conservative — and why ~25% of campaigns always over-deliverThe new Bid Target Adjustment tool and what it's really nudging you towardHow this connects to Google's broader push (Demand Gen budget pacing, flight-based budgeting, Smart Bidding Exploration)The workaround: smarter product segmentation and campaign structureAbout Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Eine Civey-Umfrage zur WM 2026 zeigt: Adidas führt im letzten gemeinsamen Jahr mit dem DFB klar bei Bekanntheit, Involvement und Glaubwürdigkeit, vor Coca-Cola und Telekom. Nicht-Sponsoren wie Check24 und Rewe erzielen dabei vergleichbare Aufmerksamkeit wie offizielle Partner, ganz ohne teure Rechte. Ich ordne ein, was das für Sponsoring rund um die WM 2026 bedeutet.Außerdem in den Marken- und Marketingnews der KW27:

Die Top-Meldungen am 2. Juli 2026: Rewe-West-Chef tritt ab, Führungsbeben bei Depot, Edeka Nordbayern kurbelt Expansion an

AI is coming for your checkout — and the infrastructure behind it is called Universal Commerce Protocol. In this episode, Mike Ryan breaks down exactly what UCP is, why Google and Shopify built it together, who's already on board, and what ecommerce brands actually need to do to prepare.Whether you're being pressured by an AI mandate at work, confused by wildly conflicting advice online, or just trying to understand what "agentic commerce" actually means for your business — this episode cuts through the noise.What you'll learn:1. What UCP is (and what it's not — it's NOT an AI browsing your website) 2. Why OpenAI's competing standard (ACP) already lost 3. Who has endorsed UCP: Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Shopify, Walmart, Zalando and more4. The core implementation steps — without boiling the ocean5. New conversational feed attributes available globally right now 6. UCP analytics coming to Google Merchant CenterMike's key takeaway: Don't panic. Start with Google. Improve your feed. The rest will follow.About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Musikalischer Wecker, gar nicht mal so langsam gehendes Heimbüro, Umbau bei Rewe und der letzte Salat.

Google just announced the biggest change to search in its history — and not everyone is happy. At Google I/O, the search bar became a search box, signaling a full shift toward conversational, Gemini-powered search. The market is already reacting: DuckDuckGo rocketed from around position 400 to the top 100 in the app stores almost overnight, right around the May 20–21 launch. Mike Ryan and Chris unpack what a privacy-and-no-AI search wrapper suddenly surging tells us about consumer appetite — and why the relentless pace of change is exhausting retailers and experts alike.Then: fresh eMarketer data puts the AI advertising hype into much-needed context. AI ad spend in the US sits around $32B in 2026 (roughly a third of Google's search spend), but ~80% of it is just AI-search-adjacent — ads above and below AI Overviews. The chatbot-driven slice everyone is panicking about? Tiny. We dig into why OpenAI's $100B ad ambition looks unrealistic, what the 2030 projections actually say, and why the real takeaway for CMOs and CDOs is: prepare, but don't abandon your bread and butter.The throughline: everything is changing, and everything is staying the same. With limited budget and talent, the retailers who win are the ones who resist FOMO, pick their battles, and keep investing in the core campaigns that still drive the business.In this episode:Why Google's “bar to box” change is its biggest search shift ever — and what it implies about how Google wants you to searchDuckDuckGo's surge from ~position 400 to top 100: a clear sign some consumers find the new box too muchWhy the pace of change may now be too fast even for Google itselfAI Max for Shopping vs. PMax — the strategic misalignment Google may not even seeWhy standard shopping is here to stay (and the comeback we called early)The new eMarketer data: ~$32B AI ad spend in 2026, ~80% of it AI-search-adjacentWhy OpenAI's $100B ad goal and the 2030 chatbot-ad market projections don't line upThe real CMO/CDO playbook: prepare efficiently, beat the FOMO, protect your bread and butterAbout Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Google's new AI-powered Shopping ads can now decide which of your products wins the click — and it's optimizing for the user, not for your margin, your brand, or your strategy. This Gemini-built format writes its own product descriptions and may re-rank which product gets shown, beyond your bid. Mike Ryan and Chris dig into what that means for retailers who suddenly have less control over what gets pushed. Plus: ChatGPT is finally bringing Product Listing Ads (PLAs) to its results — a solid first step, or a Bing-style copycat play?The real story: "more relevant to the user" is not the same as "best for the retailer." As automated channels get more aggressive at matching products to searches, advertisers risk quietly losing control of which products actually get sold.In this episode:→ What Google's AI-powered Shopping ads actually are — a new format inside AI Max for Shopping, not an umbrella term → "Intelligent product identification": how Gemini may re-rank which product is shown, beyond the bid → The retailer's blind spot — Google optimizes for click-through rate; you optimize for the business → The coffee-machine problem: when the highest-converting product isn't the one you need to sell → Why the best Google Ads outcome isn't always the best business outcome → ChatGPT's PLAs: a solid, feed-based first step — or a Bing-style copycat play? → What OpenAI's $100B ad ambition means for what comes nextThe throughline: AI executes, but only you know what your business needs to achieve. The retailers who win are the ones who keep translating business goals — margin, brand priority, profitability — into the channel, instead of letting the platform decide.

The EU is finally using its teeth on Chinese e-commerce — and the auction landscape is already shifting. Mike and Chris break down what falling CPCs in Europe mean for your accounts, why the July 1st customs change could matter more than any fine, and the playbook for grabbing market share before the window closes.Then: a major Google Marketing Live feature almost nobody is talking about. Google's new AI Performance Insights and the "Share of Voice" metric in Merchant Center finally show your product visibility inside AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Gemini — across both organic and paid. We cover what it does, where it lives, and the one big gap Google still leaves wide open.In this episode: • Why the EU crackdown on Temu, Shein & AliExpress is a sign of what's coming • Average CPCs dropped ~2.3% in May 2026 — and up to 5% in some categories • The July 1st customs exemption change and what it does to Chinese sellers' margins • The playbook: tROAS as a signal, AI Max search, demand-led growth & smart bidding exploration • JoyBuy — the unregulated Chinese player to watch • Google's new AI Performance Insights & Share of Voice metric in Merchant Center • The black box that still remains: campaign-level dataGrowing Ecommerce is brought to you by smec (Smarter Ecommerce). Learn more at smarterecommerce.com.

Es wurde auch mal wieder Zeit: Wir ziehen die Samthandschuhe komplett aus und sezieren das Drama rund um den YouTube-„Tierschutz“, gescheiterte Justiz-Bluffs und die chronische Doppelmoral einer völlig überdrehten Bubble. Zu Gast in dieser Episode ist Leon von TalNews, der exklusiv und detailliert auspackt, was wirklich hinter den Kulissen und im Gerichtssaal abgelaufen ist. Was passiert, wenn man die Konsequenzen des eigenen Online-Handelns nicht mehr kontrollieren kann? Man flüchtet sich kollektiv in die Opferrolle, serviert der Justiz abenteuerliche Geschichten und scheitert am Ende krachend an der harten Realität. Die Aktenzeichen dieser Episode:Der Gerichtssaal-Showdown: Wie die einstweilige Anordnung gegen TalNews in Sekunden in sich zusammenbrach und warum sich Lawan vor der Richterin in absurde Rewe- vs. Aldi-Widersprüche verstrickte. Das juristische Nachspiel: Unter Eid gelogen? Die Hintergründe zur mutmaßlich falschen eidesstattlichen Versicherung und warum die Chose nun bei der Staatsanwaltschaft liegt. Der Chipping-Skandal: Die Wahrheit über den 14-seitigen Fragenkatalog, illegale Chipping-Aktionen an Katzen im Eigenbau und warum offizielle Tierschutzvereine den Kontakt komplett abgebrochen haben. Die Inkasso-Akte Impulsiva: Wie eine unlizenzierte Textkopie von TalNews im Mahnverfahren landete und warum vor Gericht plötzlich versucht wurde, Schulden hastig mit Bargeld auf die Hand zu begleichen. Das Märchen vom Presseausweis: Eine schonungslose Analyse über Pressekodizes, haltlose KI-generierte Droh-E-Mails und wertlose Dokumente aus dem Internet. Die Eskalationsspirale: Warum manche Creator komplett mit dem realen Leben überfordert sind, sich in pathologischen Details verlieren und man ihnen zum Eigenschutz eigentlich das WLAN abdrehen müsste. Gnadenlos analytisch, faktenbasiert und wie gewohnt ohne Filter. Jetzt streamen und mitdiskutieren! Wie seht ihr den Fall? Lasst uns euer Feedback in den Kommentaren da – solange es sachlich bleibt und zum Kontext beiträgt. Vergesst nicht zu liken, zu teilen und den Kanal zu abonnieren!

Meta has overtaken Google in ad budgets - and for ecommerce advertisers, that changes everything.It means Google is on the offensive. It means the pressure to split your budget between platforms is about to intensify. And it means that if you're not set up correctly on Google's AI surfaces right now, you're already losing ground to competitors who are.In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan (smec's Head of Ecommerce Insights) and Chris share firsthand takeaways from GML 2026 — both the San Francisco and Dublin events — with unfiltered takes on what actually matters for your campaigns.What we cover:→ Google vs. Meta: The "War of the Titans" and why Google's messaging to advertisers is getting aggressive→ AI Max for Shopping: Why standard shopping campaigns may have limited eligibility in AI surfaces→ New AI-native ad formats: Conversational discovery ads, feed-based text ads, and why the line between shopping and search is collapsing→ Ask Advisor: A great idea — but oversold to an irresponsible degree (Mike's take)→ Universal Cart: Multi-retailer, cross-platform checkout — and Google's Amazon moment→ What the shift to agentic commerce means for how you monetize clicksCut through the hype. Know what to act on.

Google just dropped a PMax special — and there's a lot to unpack.In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris break down three major updates reshaping how ecommerce advertisers run Performance Max and Shopping campaigns in 2025:1. Network exclusions for PMax: You can now opt out of Search Partner Network AND Google Display Network directly inside PMax. Years in the making, and a massive lever for both performance and brand safety. We walk through why it matters, when to use it, and how to check your own data first.2. Shopping Performance View: A new level of product-level reporting coming to PMax and Demand Gen campaigns via the Google Ads API. See performance by brand, category, product type, and item ID — the same parity you get in standard Shopping. Huge for anyone who's tried and failed to understand feed performance inside Max.3. AI Max for Shopping: The biggest one. Google is rolling out an optional AI layer for standard Shopping campaigns with three features:- Text customization: Google rewrites your product titles dynamically per query- Final URL expansion (FUE): Google picks landing pages from your site — including category pages- Optimal format selection: Text ads can now appear inside your Shopping campaignsWe discuss what this means for advertisers who run standard Shopping for control, whether there's real redundancy with Search and PMax, the campaign overlap and CPC escalation risk, and why Mike thinks this is actually bigger than AI Max for Search.Standard Shopping: confirmed not dead. Google is investing in it.Growing Ecommerce is brought to you by smarter ecommerce (smec) — helping online retailers optimize paid search through AI-powered software and human PPC expertise.#PerformanceMax #PMax #GoogleShopping #AIMaxForShopping #GoogleAds #EcommerceMarketing #PPC #SearchPartnerNetwork #GoogleAdsUpdates #PaidSearchAbout Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller dive into the much-anticipated updates to the OpenAI ads platform and break down Google's staggering Q1 earnings report.While OpenAI has finally transitioned their ad platform from a primitive Excel spreadsheet to a proper User Interface, their highly publicized shift to a CPC model is raising major red flags. We break down the math behind their highly constrained $3 to $5 max CPC range, revealing how it mathematically equates to the exact same astronomical $60 effective CPM they originally launched with. We discuss why advertisers should demand more transparency and control before shifting their performance budgets to ChatGPT.We also unpack Google's unstoppable Q1 momentum. With a massive $110 billion in revenue and an 80% spike in earnings per share, Google is silencing the "death of Search" narrative. We explore their impressive 19% core Search growth, the staggering 63% surge in Google Cloud that is heavily outpacing AWS and Azure, and why Google's massive $180 billion CapEx guidance for 2026 solidifies their dominance in the AI arms race.Key Takeaways:• The OpenAI Ad Trap: Don't be fooled by OpenAI's new CPC bidding model. By forcing advertisers into a strict $3 to $5 CPC range, the platform is essentially maintaining its premium $60 effective CPM under a disguise. Advertisers should hold off on shifting performance budgets until real incrementality and transparency are proven.• Search is Still Thriving: Despite the ongoing narrative that AI will kill traditional search engines, Google's core Search product grew by 19% year-over-year. The search giant's core advertising flywheel remains the most reliable engine for ecommerce growth.• Google Cloud is Winning the AI War: Google Cloud (GCS) achieved a staggering 63% year-over-year growth, heavily outpacing Amazon AWS (28%) and Microsoft Azure (39%). Powered by deep Gemini integration and proprietary TPUs, Google's vertical integration puts them in a unique position to dominate the next decade.Resources & Links:• Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/ • How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec's Google Ads Benchmarks: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

In this episode of Growing E-commerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller dive into the end of an era: Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) are officially dying.While Google's new AI Max for Search currently sits at a tiny 1.5-2% adoption rate, the mandatory migration of all DSA campaigns by September will trigger an instant hockey-stick growth curve. We explain exactly what you need to expect from this sunset, how the auto-migration handles broad match and URL expansion by default, and why advertisers need to start testing AI Max immediately before the Q4 holiday crunch.We also unpack the diverging automation strategies of the tech giants and the catastrophic drop in Meta Advantage+ adoption. After peaking at 40%, its cost share has nosedived to a concerning 20%. We discuss why this downward trend calls Mark Zuckerberg's "fully automated" vision into question. Plus, we explore the latest Meta Pixel updates and why Meta wants a feed-less future while Google doubles down on structured data.Key Takeaways:The AI Max Hockey Stick: Do not be fooled by the current low adoption rate of AI Max for Search. Once the legacy DSA campaigns (which currently hold about 15% cost share) are auto-migrated in September, AI Max will become a dominant and highly relevant campaign type overnight.Meta's Automation Problem: Advantage+ adoption is on a multi-quarter decline, dropping to just 20% cost share. Without substantial product improvements, Meta will struggle to achieve the fully automated, hands-off advertising ecosystem it envisioned.The Feed vs. Feed-less Divide: Meta is attempting to offload feed management by using AI to scrape landing page data directly via the Meta Pixel. Conversely, Google relies heavily on detailed data feeds to ground its AI and maintain quality control.Resources & Links:Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec's Google Ads Benchmarks:https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/ About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller break down the latest shifts in the battle for AI dominance and the future of online shopping.We analyze the quiet death of OpenAI's Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP). With major tech giants—including ACP co-founder Stripe, as well as Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon—joining Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) Tech Council, we explore what this consensus means for the future of e-commerce standards and why these companies chose to back Google's infrastructure over ChatGPT.We also look at where ChatGPT's outbound traffic is actually going. With 20% of its e-commerce referrals landing on Amazon—and roughly 30% of its overall referrals directing users right back to Google or YouTube—we question the long-term impact on user experience and whether OpenAI is just feeding the monopolies it is trying to disrupt.Plus, we cover Google's rollout of "AI mode" to Chrome users in the US, featuring a new side-by-side browsing experience, and discuss the looming threat of mass arbitration facing Google in the wake of its 2024 antitrust loss.Resources & Links:Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec's Google Ads Benchmarks:https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/ About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Google just quietly won the agentic commerce war — and most ecommerce retailers haven't even noticed. In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris break down the three UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol) updates Google just shipped, why OpenAI's ACP is already falling behind, and the structural advantages that make Google's lead almost impossible to catch.If you run Performance Max campaigns, sell on Google Shopping, or want to understand where ecommerce is headed in the AI era — this is the episode that connects the dots.Inside this episode:The 3 new UCP capabilities that just went live: cart building, catalog capability, and identity linking — and why "boring" updates matter more than hypeWhy OpenAI's ACP dropped to single-item checkout while Google moved aheadThe Walmart Sparky chatbot inside ChatGPT — the workaround that proves OpenAI's pipeline is brokenHow Google Pay and Google Wallet quietly lock retailers into a walled gardenGoogle's flywheel: how the shopping graph + audience graph + structured knowledge graph data create a moat LLMs can't replicateWhy this time is different from Buy on Google's 2018 failure — and what changed in Google's leverage over retailersWhy pipeline-based agents (UCP) will win over browser-based agents — and how this is really the logical endpoint of headless commerceThe only thing that could realistically stop Google: regulatorsTopics covered: UCP, Universal Commerce Protocol, agentic commerce, Performance Max, PMax, Google Shopping, AI mode, ChatGPT shopping, OpenAI ACP, agentic checkout, Google Pay, Google Wallet, headless commerce, Merchant Center, knowledge graph, shopping graph, Walmart Sparky, AI overviews, conversational attributes.About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

In this episode of Growing E-commerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller unpack two massive stories highlighting the current realities—and potential delusions—of the tech and retail sectors.First, we discuss the quiet and staggering fall of Allbirds. Once a Silicon Valley staple and D2C darling valued at a massive $4 billion, the sustainable shoe company has reportedly sold for a fraction of that cost. We explore what their trajectory tells us about the overestimation of the D2C model and why the fundamentals of traditional retail still matter.Then, we dive back into the OpenAI ad platform. OpenAI recently released a bullish projection: they expect their ad business to cross $100 billion in revenue by 2030. We take a critical look at the current state of their ad interface—which currently resembles Google Ads from a decade ago—and discuss why hitting that revenue target will require an unprecedented, disruptive evolution of their product.Key Takeaways:The D2C Reality Check: Allbirds' massive devaluation highlights a broader trend: many D2C brands were valued as high-growth tech companies rather than traditional retailers. As market conditions shift, the core competencies of traditional retail—and the value of retail middlemen—are becoming apparent again.OpenAI's Steep Climb: While OpenAI projects a massive $100 billion ad business by 2030, their current platform is rudimentary. It operates on a flight-based approach with a fixed $60 CPM and relies on basic keyword matching, limiting its appeal primarily to large brand advertisers rather than the performance-focused mass market needed for that scale of growth.The Comparability Problem: OpenAI's ad platform will inevitably be compared to highly sophisticated, always-on ecosystems like Google Ads and Meta. To capture significant market share and reach their revenue goals, OpenAI must evolve beyond a basic UI and deliver a product that proves strong incrementality and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).Resources & Links:Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec's Google Ads Benchmarks:https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/ About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Is the “Zero-Click” shopping era finally here, and are European retailers ready for a three-way war between Amazon, Temu, and JD.com's Joybuy?In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller unpack a huge week in e-commerce. First: Meta's new Stripe partnership for in-app checkout. With OpenAI and Google both struggling to make native checkout work, can Meta finally crack the “zero-click” model and keep shoppers fully inside its platform?Then comes the real clash of the titans. JD.com has launched Joybuy in Europe, going straight after Amazon and Temu. We share exclusive Google Ads data showing how aggressively Joybuy is already outranking incumbents. But unlike Temu, Joybuy isn't just burning cash for growth. It's building a sustainable base and investing in local logistics, making it a serious hybrid threat.Finally, Mike shares updated market penetration numbers for Amazon and Temu across Europe. The picture is clear: Amazon dominates wealthy Western European markets, while Temu has seized the Central and Eastern European markets Amazon largely ignored.

OpenAI is facing a projected $25 billion shortfall, and their attempt to monetize ecommerce is already falling apart.In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmüller ask the billion-dollar question: Is the dream of "agentic commerce" already dead on arrival? While the media celebrates OpenAI's early $100 million in ad revenue, the math tells a much darker story. Their projected 2026 burn rate sits between $14 and $25 billion. To survive, they need a massive, highly profitable ad network—but their recent retail experiments are failing the test.We break down why ChatGPT quietly killed off its new "Shopping Research" feature (hint: consumers won't wait minutes for an AI to fetch product recommendations). We also reveal the shocking data from Walmart's early checkout test within ChatGPT, where in-app conversions were three times lower than standard website traffic.If ChatGPT wants to steal budget from Google Ads and Meta, they have to prove they can actually drive profitable sales. Right now, the data suggests users simply aren't ready to let an AI agent do their shopping.Key Takeaways & SEO Insights:The Revenue Reality: Generating $100M in two months is impressive, but with Capital Expenditures (CapEx) skyrocketing to compete with Google and Microsoft, OpenAI's projected losses are staggering. Advertising is their most obvious path to close that gap.Speed vs. Quality in E-commerce: OpenAI shut down its specialized post-trained shopping model because generating deep product analyses took too long. In retail, friction kills adoption.The Conversion Crisis: Early tests with major retailers like Walmart showed that instant checkouts within ChatGPT converted at a rate 3x lower than traditional website traffic. If they can't drive efficiency, advertisers won't shift their budgets.The Scraping Band-Aid: OpenAI's reliance on scraping Google Shopping data for product recommendations shows they are still heavily dependent on their biggest competitor to power their agentic commerce dreams.Resources & Links:Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec's Google Ads Benchmarks:https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/ About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

Ever wonder what the biggest e-commerce brands are discussing behind closed doors? We are opening up the vault.

Is the "clash of the titans" coming for your profit margins, and is Google about to take away your website traffic? In this episode of Growing E-commerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Sharma tackle two massive, existential shifts threatening the traditional online retail playbook.First, we dive into the aggressive European expansion of Chinese e-commerce giants. While JD.com (Joybuy) and SHEIN are making aggressive moves, Temu is completely taking over. We break down the official monthly active user data, revealing that Temu now commands a 40% overall market share in Europe – including a staggering 71.1% market share in Poland and 44% in Germany. Are European retailers simply becoming collateral damage in this war of attrition?Then, we unpack a recently granted Google patent that sounds like a sci-fi nightmare for marketers. The patent outlines a system where Google evaluates your landing page, and if it doesn't meet their qualitative standards, they will generate an AI replacement landing page within the ad ecosystem. We discuss what this means for the loss of your tracking data, zero-click purchases, and the ultimate "PMax-ification" of Google Ads.

Why did OpenAI quietly kill its shopping feature, and what does it mean for the future of Google Ads?

Der Tag in 2 Minuten – vom 4.2.