INTERVIEW

Pascal notes that in the earlier days of the web, eCommerce sites existed, but they were not on the radar because they were so small.

“Everything happening on the web at that time from a marketing standpoint was focused on reaching and engaging with consumers,” she explains. “Marketers focused more on content platforms as the audience and reach was quite large. Then, social media sites began to gain traction in the areas of content, advertising and engagement. eCommerce sites were just humming along in the background while marketers and publishing sites got attracted to social and search and built out those capabilities. As a marketer, what is so interesting about these e-commerce communities is that they are commerce platforms, but they are also content platforms that reach a massive audience. For us, it is important to ensure we are leveraging these platforms to build awareness through marketing campaigns and content creation."

She explains that in consumer goods, where industrywide, 98 percent of sales traditionally come from traditional big-box retailers, most marketers have not been paying attention to the growing opportunity within eCommerce, but the role of big-box retailers is dramatically changing in the face of eCommerce disruptors.

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