Generating e-commerce customers in 2026: offers, creations, media mix

E-commerce in 2026 is no longer just about putting a budget on Facebook and waiting. Advertising signals are less reliable, logistics weigh on the margin and customers compare everything in a few seconds. Winning does not mean pushing harder. It is necessary to clarify the offer, show convincing evidence, combine the right channels and measure the real margin. This guide gives you a simple plan to get started as early as this week.

Express summary

• Clarify the offer : say what you are selling, at what price and why to buy now.
• Show the proof : prefer a 30-second video demo, reviews and before and after to pretty empty visuals.
• Get started with two channels: Google to capture the intention to buy. Meta, TikTok or YouTube to promote the brand.
• Stick to a six-week plan : test three offer ideas, launch 6 to 12 creations, do two quick points each week to cut what is holding back and reinforce what works.
• Follow the right numbers : sales, acquisition cost, average basket and margin after returns and delivery costs. Don't just rely on the click-through rate.
• Indicative starting budget : average basket of less than 60 euros between six and ten thousand euros. Between 60 and 150 euros between ten and twenty-five thousand. Beyond 150 euros between 20 and 40k. Excluding heavy video production.

1) An offer that makes you want to buy

An audience will never save a fuzzy offer. Before opening budgets, lock in what you're selling, to whom, and why now.

Six offer levers that are easy to activate:

• Bundles: Offer packs to increase the value of the basket. Example Starter Pack with product and accessory and Pro Pack with two products and a bonus.
• Proof and guarantee: 30-day trial, simple feedback, after-sales response within twenty-four hours. It removes the brakes.
• Smart price advantage: useful gift bearing rather than a dry shed.
• Easy payment: three or four times free of charge for baskets over one hundred twenty euros.
• Credible urgency: visible stock, limited private sales. Avoid the permanent emergency that tires.
• Customization: engraving or color that increases perceived value without complicating operations.

Product page checklist:

• A clear sentence of benefit.
• Three credible visual proofs.
• Two or three questions and answers about delivery and sizes.
• A before and after comparison.
• Recent reviews.

Quick example: A hair care product sells better in a 30-day Routine Pack with a money back guarantee than with a generic discount. The pack clarifies the use and increases the average basket.

2) Creations that convince without blah blah

Creation carries the promise and the proof. It's what changes your results the most.

Angles that work:

1. Problem then solution : brittle hair then Thirty Day Routine.
2. Encrypted proof : ninety seven percent note stronger hair out of a thousand customers.
3. How to use : three gestures and sixty seconds.
4. Social Proof : score of four point eight out of two thousand hundred reviews.
5. Honest comparison : old serum versus complete routine with price, use and result.

Effective formats:

• Educational carousel of 5 to 8 slides : problem, steps, result, call to action at the end.
• UGC video short between 15 and 30 seconds : a real person tells the problem, test, result.
• Encrypted testimony : a customer and a tangible indicator as time saved or savings achieved.
• Before after real : same angle and same light.
• YouTube or TikTok shorts : two-second hook, concrete benefit, clear call to action.

Simple script for a UGC Thirty seconds:

• Hang up.
• Visual proof.
• Review or rating.
• Call to action with delivery time and warranty.

Cadence: Start 6 to 12 variations at the start, repeat every two weeks, and keep a list of good hooks, then recycle the best ones into other formats.

3) A media mix that does its job

One channel can't do everything. Give each floor a clear role.

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Starting distribution

• 40 to 50% on the intention.
• 30 to 45% percent on discovery.
• 10 to 20% on recovery and retention.

Adjust according to acquisition cost and margin.

To make it simple : a brand that discovers everything quickly burns the margin. By ensuring intent and recovery first, you're funding discovery at the rate of margin.

4) Plan six weeks from zero to decision

Before you start

• Test budget and keep the purchase cost on the basket.
• Two or three offer angles and a clear return policy.
• Decision KPIs defined.
• Roles on the client side and on the agency side posed.

Week 0

• Validate three offer angles.
• Set up own tracking with Google Analytics 4, server side conversions and own campaign names.
• Prepare 6 to 12 creations.
• Link product flow and basic email and SMS scenarios.
• Link a simple dashboard with revenue, expenses and estimated margin.
• The definition of loan is simple. Two test commands tracked from start to finish. Zero tagging errors. Six creations ready.

Week 1

• Start small but clean.
• Google with a few non-brand keywords and Shopping or Minimal Max Performance.
• Meta with two Prospecting and Retargeting campaigns and three offer angles.
• Email and SMS with welcome, cart abandonment and feedback collection.
• Read the first few signals. If the cart addition rate is less than 3% on unbranded traffic, reinforce the offer and the page before increasing the budget.

Week 2

• Cut the 10 to 20% of the weakest combinations.
• Increase the budget by 30% to 50% on the best couples offer more created more audience.
• If the average basket is stagnant, try a tier gift or a Pro bundle.
• Look at the cost of purchase on shopping cart and not just clicks and views.

Week 3

• Capitalize on winning hooks.
• Produce new creations on these angles.
• Strengthen Performance Max if the product flow is solid.
• If new designs don't improve the cost of purchase on a shopping cart by around ten percent, change the angle rather than just changing the visual.

Week 4

• Step up gently.
• Plus twenty to 30% of the budget on things that keep an eye on for three days.
• Activate email and SMS reminders at J plus three and J plus seven.
• Post a product FAQ and a comparison on the site.

Week 5

• Measure incrementality.
• Cut off a small portion of the target to see what it actually brings.
• Reduce the share of brand search for 3 days to estimate its natural part.
• Adjust the retargeting windows according to your cycle.

Week 6

• Decide.
• Look at the public margin or MER and the acquisition cost on the basket, adjusted for returns and fees.
• Plan the next 3 months with stock and creative needs.
• Choose Go, Pivot, or Stop and document.

5) Our examples to better understand

EVA virtual reality rooms

Issue : open new rooms with a cost per reservation compatible with margin.

Action: harmonized accounts and reporting by room. Google for intent and Meta for discovery.

Results :

• 1260 reservations.
• Cost per acquisition equal to 29% of the average basket.
• Global ROAS equal to 6. Google at 9 and Facebook at 2.

Reading : we feed the intention and we educate via Meta. Piloting is done at the cost per reservation in relation to the basket.

Air Moana

Issue : launch a new inter-island company with no media history in the United States and France.

Action : Search architecture by intention and destination. Duplication by market. Meta to expand demand.

Results :

• ROSA 2.2.
• First Google Ads position in the United States. Third in France.

Reading : we first secure the intention and then we scale.

PrestaShop

Issue : more downloads while keeping the economy down thanks to module purchases.

Action : mix Google LinkedIn Meta and post-installation follow-up to link traffic and module purchases.

Results :

• Profitability multiplied by 4.5.
• Conversion rate multiplied by 8.
• Cost per download divided by 2.

Reading : when the management understands the real value, the system costs less and returns more.

Easy move

Issue : really qualified quotation leads with a compatible cart cost.

Action: well-targeted intent and qualifying forms. Management at cost per opportunity and not by click.

Results :

• 425 leads in 2 months.
• Average cost 29 euros.

Reading : at a high basket, quality comes first. We judge by cost per opportunity.

6) Six-week test budgets

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Adjust according to gross margin, returns and logistics costs. The objective is to keep a compatible MER margin. MER stands for total sales divided by media spend.

7) Measuring reality and not mirage

• SEA and ROAS: Follow the MER every day and the ROAS by channel. Correct returns and fees.
• Attribution: combine the advertising model with small cutoff tests to estimate the real contribution of retarget and brand.
• CRM: connect orders and customer lifetime value. Use CRM audiences to follow up at the right time.

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Small useful lexicon

• SEA: total sales divided by media spend. It's your margin guard.
• PINK: sales attributed to the channel divided by expenses on that channel.
• UGC: content created by real people. Very credible and quick to produce.
• Max performance: Google campaign that broadcasts on several surfaces with a product feed.
• CAPI: sending conversions on the server side to make the measurement more reliable.

If you want a turnkey six-week pilot with offers, creations, media mix and margin monitoring, we can frame a simple and measurable plan.

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