The ACE Framework: A Proven Path to Digital Commerce Success

Success rates in digital commerce have dropped to less than 20% for businesses using outdated marketing approaches. Companies that implement the ACE framework by Shopalyst have seen their conversion rates triple in today’s digital world.

Research shows that traditional marketing methods fall short of modern consumer expectations. Today’s shoppers need customized, seamless shopping experiences. The ACE framework helps businesses identify the right target audience and create engaging shoppable content and also assists in designing customer journeys that convert. This proven framework can reshape your digital strategy in 2025.

Marketing in 2025 has changed a lot. Old advertising methods don’t work anymore because brands now use a more active approach. Buyers find and buy products almost at the same time. This change didn’t happen slowly – brands had to completely change how they connect with consumers.

From traditional marketing to discovery commerce

Discovery Commerce marks a new phase in digital marketing. Traditional marketing pushed messages to passive audiences, while Discovery Commerce connects inspiring moments with buying opportunities. Modern shoppers use various digital platforms and often purchase outside typical environments. Intent is key; traditional marketing creates demand, whereas Discovery Commerce fulfills existing desires. Brands can now engage consumers where their interest starts—on social media, video platforms, or elsewhere online.

Major changes in this progress include:
• A move from demographic-based to intent-based targeting
• Shopping features built right into content experiences
• Smooth trips instead of disconnected marketing funnels
• Multiple shopping options rather than single-path conversions

The ACE framework emerged as an answer to scattered digital marketing tools. This approach combines three vital parts – Audiences, Creatives, and Experiences. The results consistently beat separate marketing approaches, providing real-time consumer insights and improving overall ad performance.

Brands using ACE framework connect with ready-to-buy shoppers through AI-driven targeting tools. These advanced systems analyze product descriptions, packaging content, expert reviews, and competitive insights. They find consumers who actively research purchases in relevant categories, leveraging purchase intent signals for more effective campaigns.

The ACE framework implementation lets brands skip managing separate strategies for each channel. Instead, audiences see the same key messaging wherever they find the brand. This consistency works – over 500 brands in more than 30 countries report higher returns on ad spending through integrated discovery commerce strategies.

Finding your ideal audience is the lifeblood of successful digital campaigns. Traditional audience targeting methods are becoming outdated as brands accept new ideas through the ACE framework, focusing on data-driven insights and market intelligence

Beyond demographics: Intent-based audience segmentation
Demographics alone cannot fully capture purchase intent. A more effective method organizes audiences by shopping behaviors and interests, not just age or location. This intent-based marketing strategy drives conversions better. The ACE framework uses machine learning and AI to identify relevant shopping traits for your brand by analyzing product descriptions, packaging, expert reviews, and competitor best-sellers to create detailed audience profiles.

AI Builder tools for audience discovery

• First-party audience acquisition – The system collects data from user actions on your brand’s digital assets and media platforms. It then organizes segments based on interest, behavioral, and purchase intent traits.

• Third-party audience organization – The platform finds the best audiences on media platforms by matching brand shopper traits with corresponding keywords (Google Ads) and interests (Facebook).

• Custom intent audience curation – Your campaigns can use a consistent library of brand audiences across all media platforms, enhancing user acquisition efforts.

“Shopalyst has enabled us to understand our audience better. The 1P data collected enables Enfagrow to drive smarter & more effective audience targeting in our future campaigns”
Rosi Hoesin, Media Director | Reckitt

The real magic happens when you blend brand storytelling with product details effectively. The ACE framework adds product information strategically to your brand visuals without making the creative feel overwhelming, enhancing both brand awareness and the product experience.

Your standard product display page serves as the foundation. AI-powered tools combine essential elements like pricing, ratings, benefits, and reviews smoothly. This balanced approach turns casual viewers into potential buyers, leveraging interactive product displays to boost engagement.

Automation tools for creative scaling:

Creative development usually takes lots of time, but the ACE framework makes it easy to scale through automation. The Creative Builder tool offers three main benefits:

The tool creates product-aware creatives that blend brand esthetics with commerce features intelligently. It also produces multiple formats that work across platforms without manual adjustments. You can run complete A/B tests to try different versions and boost top performers, continually improving ad performance through iteration.

“Working with Shopalyst on our campaigns has been immensely beneficial. Their personalized solutions promote innovation in our campaigns”
Uditi Kukreja, Assistant Manager-Projects | L’Oréal (YSL)

The final component of the ACE framework transforms interest into action through smooth shopping paths. Your success depends on removing barriers between product discovery and purchase after capturing audience attention with shoppable creatives. This focus on customer journey mapping and omnichannel retail solutions ensures a cohesive brand experience across all touchpoints.

Reducing friction between discovery and purchase

The Experience Builder activates smooth shopping right from ad clicks. Our data shows that immediate purchase options at discovery boost conversion rates significantly instead of directing shoppers through multiple steps. This approach to contextual commerce seamlessly blends content and commerce.

The landing page builder creates destinations with experiential commerce that give multiple shopping paths:
• Instant checkout on brand DTC sites
• Direct links to popular e-marketplaces
• Hyperlocal delivery service options
• Store locator functionality for offline shopping

Personalizing the shopping experience
Personalization shapes the shopping path. The ACE framework enables this with customizable templates for various ad types and audiences, utilizing e-commerce personalization techniques. Each campaign has unique needs. The Experience Builder offers drag-and-drop widgets for shopping actions, social media, video, chat, voice, and surveys.

Mobile-first experience design principles:
Most discovery occurs on mobile, so the ACE framework prioritizes mobile optimization. Speed is vital—ad landing pages use reliable infrastructure for fast loading, enhancing mobile ad intelligence. The platform automatically adjusts layouts, button sizes, and content placement for optimal experiences on all devices. This is crucial for smartphones, where most buying decisions are made, making mobile marketing a key focus. The Experience Builder fulfills the ACE framework’s promise by linking discovery and purchase points through three elements: smooth purchasing, personalized experiences, and mobile optimization.

“Blackmores India leveraged Shopalyst to swiftly create and publish an engaging brand experience offering consumers choice of multi-retailer shopping options”
Rajan Mahalingam, Head of Marketing | Blackmores

The ACE framework is the fastest route to success in digital commerce, proving invaluable for today’s businesses. Our collaboration with over 500 brands shows it consistently outperforms traditional digital commerce optimization methods. AI-driven audience targeting, platform-optimized creatives, and seamless shopping experiences effectively boost conversions.

The ACE framework integrates these elements into a strategy that adapts to consumer behaviors, utilizing visual search technology and full-funnel reporting for comprehensive insights. It addresses major challenges faced by digital marketers, unlike traditional methods that struggle with privacy issues and fragmented platforms. ACE provides a future-proof solution based on first-party data and ongoing channel connectivity. Companies adopting this integrated approach will lead as digital commerce evolves.

Q1. What is the ACE framework in digital marketing?
The ACE framework is an integrated approach to digital marketing that focuses on Audiences, Creatives, and Experiences. It helps businesses build targeted audiences, create engaging shoppable content, and design seamless customer journeys to improve conversion rates in the evolving digital commerce landscape.

Q2. How does intent-based audience segmentation differ from traditional targeting?
Intent-based segmentation focuses on shopping behaviors and interests rather than demographics alone. It uses AI and machine learning to analyze product descriptions, reviews, and competitor data to identify high-intent shoppers, resulting in more effective targeting and higher conversion rates.

Q3. What are shoppable creatives and why are they important?
Shoppable creatives are advertisements that blend brand messaging with product information, allowing for direct purchasing opportunities. They’re crucial because they transform passive audience attention into active purchase consideration, adapting to each platform’s unique environment for maximum engagement.

Q4. What role does mobile optimization play in the ACE framework?
Mobile optimization is a key principle in the ACE framework’s Experience Builder. It ensures that shopping journeys are seamless on mobile devices, where most discovery happens. This includes fast-loading pages, responsive design, and adapted layouts for optimal experiences on smartphones and tablets.