Programmatic Commerce is the phenomenon where consumers and businesses allow purchase decisions to be made on their behalf by connected devices based on pre-programmed parameters and learned preferences.

Etymology

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The term Programmatic Commerce was coined by ecommerce consultancy Salmon in 2015.[1] The concept was first publicly introduced at the Salmon Commerce 2020 conference,[2][3] where Neil Stewart, CEO Salmon Ltd. presented the implications of Programmatic Commerce for retail, B2B and branded products.

The term Programmatic Commerce was later Trademarked in the EU on 17 February 2016 by Salmon Ltd.[4]

Definition

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Programmatic Commerce loosely refers to the use of technology to make purchasing decision in place of a human. Salmon presented the example of a coffee machine not only detecting when the coffee is running low, but automatically reordering supplies according to an individual’s pre-set preferences. A further example is the tyres on a car detecting when the tread is close to the legal limit, then sending a message to the cars’ manufacturer, enabling them to order replacements in advance.

Through Programmatic Commerce, buying and selling, particularly of routine purchases, will be transformed into an automated process, guided by artificial intelligence and pre-set consumer parameters.

Background

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Grocery ecommerce demonstrates an early example of a shift in consumer trends towards machine-led purchasing. Future product choices can be recommended based on data collected by online grocery retailers.[5][6] Consumers can then accept these suggestions, partly automating the purchasing process.

Programmatic Commerce depends on the willingness of users to delegate decision-making to automated systems. As such, the adoption of this model would require change in consumer behaviour. After Salmon coined the concept, Programmatic Commerce has used as a term by media outlets to discuss its association to its potential implications for retail markets.[1][7]

See also

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References

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