Albert Heijn launches Sponsored Products in app

Supermarket chain Albert Heijn is the first Dutch supermarket that sells advertising space within the search results of its mobile app. A first public tryout started yesterday. This service is comparable with sponsored products within Google.

The Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn started a public tryout yesterday with a couple of its launching partners. Heineken, FrieslandCampina, Unilever, Perfetti Van melle and Mondelēz International are among them. The marketing of the project is being handled by GroupM.

Advertisers pay per click

With the new Sponsored Products service, partners can have their products featured more prominently within the search results of the Albert Heijn mobile app. The service is similar to sponsored search results in Google and Dutch omnichannel retailer bol.com, for example.

Advertisers choose keywords with which they want their products to be found and then set a price. They will pay per click. According to the demo posted by AH Media Services, there will be two advertising spaces for sale per search results page. It’s not yet known whether the search result positions will be fixed or variable.

There will be two advertising spaces for sale per search results page.

Advertising in retail has been a common practice in offline stores for many years. Brands pay for better visibility in offline stores. This practice is becoming more and more common online as well. On bol.com and Amazon, external sellers pay for better visibility of their products within the search results on those platforms.