Ad Injections are essentially unauthorized software entered in the customer’s browser. These injections install whenever someone downloads certain apps, browser extensions or enter unsecured Wi-Fi networks. This means the ad injections enter ones browser without their permission.
The entire procedure mentioned above relies on adware, in which injections pose as legitimate software to mislead visitors on websites into installing them on their mobile device, tablet or desktop. Once the ad injections take over people’s browsers, they start generating revenue by stealing ad impressions and serving ads from other sites.
In the e-commerce landscape, price comparison advertisements are often used for distraction shoppers to prevent them from buying products. In some cases, ad injections even display competitor ads for stealing customers.
Once ad injections are installed, they appear on every page of your e-commerce store’s website. Online shoppers often fall prey to such ads, which redirect them to other sites. The term “Customer Journey Hijacking” is often used to describe this phenomenon.
Whenever ad injections affect someone’s browsing session, they completely alter their online experience. This is because the website is taken over by unwanted pop-ups, product ads, in-text redirects and banners. Some of the ads are so sophisticated that they mimic the feel and look of the e-commerce site, tricking people into clicking.
Besides preventing customers from completing their buying journey, ad injections also make customers think that the store is at fault, damaging their reputation significantly. Unfortunately, this issue is not visible to e-commerce merchants as ad injections only run on the device or browser of the customer.
Ad injections affect the customer’s journey in a variety of ways. Let us find out how.
A study by Google suggests that millions of people access websites that contain some variation of injected ads. This study also noted that most ad injection store massive revenue from renowned retailers like Target, Walmart, Sears, eBay etc.
Ad injections impact the customer journey of over ten percent of online shoppers. If not taken care of, these ads damage online revenue, brand reputation and conversion rates. The number increases significantly during the winter holiday season, cyber Monday and Black Friday. Here is a look at how ad injections affect e-commerce stores:
Brand Reputation: Ads that are not authorized can create a poor, frustrating experience for customers, harming the reputation of your brand.
Conversion Rate: Unwanted ads often redirect shoppers to online retail sites, resulting in issues like abandoned cars and massive loss of revenue.
Site Performance: Ad injections greatly impact the performance of your website, slowing down load times and causing other issues. Problems like these can cause visitors to abandon their cart.
Affiliate Fraud: Affiliate links or codes are often injected and allow traffic hijackers to gain unfair commissions for sales that they didn’t promote.
According to E-commerce giants like Amazon and Wal-Mart, retailers lose about seven percent in conversion after the 3 second mark.
How Can E-Commerce Stores Prevent Ad Injections
Eliminating ad injections can be quite ineffective and time intensive as there are thousands of them around. The massive volume of ad injections, along with the ones emerging constantly on browser extensions and apps makes it almost impossible top spot and eliminate them.
What’s more, these ads inject through the browser on the client’s side and not the server side, which is why e-commerce merchants don’t see them. This is why online retailers require a client side solution to ensure a smooth customer journey. Doing so can also protect their brand’s reputation and improve their conversion rate.
Conversion Guard can help e-commerce stores prevent ad injections, ensuring their customer journey is free from disruptions. With Conversion Guard, e-commerce stores can:
