The challenge

With privacy laws and regulations rapidly changing, UK-headquartered online marketplace Fruugo was looking to future-proof its business to deliver a positive privacy experience for buyers and sellers, without compromising the effectiveness of its advertising. However, without the right measurement solutions, the business lacked the critical data needed to accurately assess their performance – leading to an incomplete understanding of overall user behaviour. Partnering with Croud, they sought to transform their approach to data and privacy, while continuing to deliver effective advertising and drive conversions for their retail partners.

The strategy

Croud and Fruugo took a user-first approach, giving customers a clearer view and greater control over how and whether their data is used, while still meeting its wider performance targets. The team turned to three Google tools - Consent mode, Performance Max, and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) - in order to preserve privacy and performance.

Working closely with Google, Croud’s team helped Fruugo migrate 60 marketplace websites from Google Analytics 3 to GA4 in order to develop a strong ‘privacy preserving’ foundation and, later, integrated consent mode into its measurement set-up, switching on for all Performance Max campaigns, which it had already been testing for more than a year.

Fruugo and its team of data scientists have collaborated closely with Croud since 2019 – benefitting from expert guidance and support during the implementation of the new privacy management solution, and its integration with the latest analytics technologies.

The Results

As a result of this work, Croud and Fruugo saw impressive, business transforming results. The use of conversion modelling through consent mode and enhanced conversions helped Fruugo capture 36% more conversions. The team also reduced cost-per-acquisition (CPA) by 26% – while a 36% lift in data signals helped maximise results from AI-powered bidding. The new solution also worked hand-in-hand to respect user consent choices while driving performance.

This work not only delivered immediate impact for Fruugo, but it helped the business’ long-term growth by better preparing them to meet any new limits on user-level data that may emerge in the future.