Welcome to Built Different, a new blog series that spotlights Commerce Audiences and explains how agency buyers can plug enterprise-grade shopper intelligence into the DSPs they already use – no jumping through hoops required.
Programmatic dollars keep ballooning, but nearly half of them are still squeezed through one door.
Google DV360 alone pushes 42% of global programmatic demand. If your agency lives in that UI, a platform switch is basically a non-starter – but leveraging better data is not.
Criteo’s SSP, Commerce Grid, feeds Commerce Audiences straight into DV360 (and 60+ other DSPs) using the very seat, settings, and reporting you already trust.
So you get better-performing campaigns, but without all the fuss.
Enter, Criteo Commerce Audiences
Criteo sees millions of real shopping moments every day – searches, views, purchases, and ad interactions – across over 17,000 ecommerce sites, more than 225 retailer partners, and thousands of open web publishers.
Our commerce AI turns that firehose of first-party data into audiences based on what people actually do, not what a panel says they might do.
Commerce Affinity is one of those audiences.
What makes a Commerce Affinity Audience?
Affinity Audiences use real-time content signals to reach people who have shown consistent interest in a brand, product, or category – even if they’re not actively searching for it right now.
This audience type excels at boosting mid- and upper-funnel campaigns, where the aim is discovery, consideration, and brand lift rather than bottom-of-funnel cart captures (though we’ll revisit this area in a future post).
How we build them
- Index content consumption. First, our machine learning maps what users read across thousands of publisher sites and ties it to more than $1 trillion in annual transactions covering 4 billion product SKUs.
- Cluster by interest. Next, our system identifies users who consistently engage with content – and make purchases – around a theme like “Home & Garden” or “Hair Care” – then adds them to the Affinity bucket.
- Refresh continuously. Our Affinity segments update in real time, so you’re always targeting the freshest pool of high-propensity shoppers.
Why you’ll want them
That’s the anatomy – but what’s the utility for you as an agency buyer?
Here are the big three:
- Increase awareness. Reach new-to-brand shoppers who aren’t hunting for your products yet but have shown a long-term interest in your category.
- Increase sales. Let our commerce AI identify those consumers whose content habits and past purchases make them likelier to buy.
- Increase efficiency. Focus your spend on users who are most likely to respond to your ads, lifting conversion rates while avoiding wasted budget.
A peek under the hood
As we mentioned, all of our Commerce Audiences are built with fresh commerce signals from billions of online interactions.
So what does “built different” really mean? Here are the building blocks that give us a view of true intent:
- Products searched. Millions of onsite queries across our network reveal early interest
- Products viewed. Four billion SKU-level product views spotlight what’s catching eyes
- Products purchased. Over $1 trillion in ecommerce transactions show what actually converts
- Ad interactions. Billions of impressions daily signal creative and format preferences
- Content consumption. Engagement across thousands of publishers highlights topical interests and context. It’s here that Affinity Audiences finds its foundation.
How to activate (in under five minutes)
Launching a Commerce Affinity Audiences campaign from your DSP of choice is simple.
- Grab a deal ID. Commerce Grid surfaces always-on Affinity Audience deals in DV360’s Deals Marketplace and other DSP libraries.
- Layer your usual filters. Add geo, viewability, or frequency caps right in your DSP.
- Set bids and go live. Because the deal bundles audience and premium supply, you treat it like any PMP deal.
- Monitor and optimize. Keep using your standard DSP reports, then fold in Criteo’s audience insights to fine-tune spend. Commerce Grid’s cross-DSP support lets you A/B test against other data providers without re-tagging creatives .
Ready to build different?
Commerce Affinity Audiences give agencies with a locked DSP a direct line to the world’s richest commerce data – no new contracts, tags, or logins required. Just pull the deal, press play, and keep reach big while waste stays small.
If you’re new to Commerce Grid, or want to know more about what’s possible with supply-side targeting, talk to a member of our team today.
