Contents of the case
Initial data
Whole works
- /01 Increasing online sales of fresh baked goods and bread through the website
- /02 Attracting new customers in Dubai, with a focus on the premium segment
- /03 Promoting subscriptions for regular deliveries of fresh bread
- /04 Increasing the number of in-person visits to the bakery through local marketing tools
- /05 Optimizing the cost per acquisition (CPA) in a highly competitive market
Issues and general strategy
The client approached us with a request to scale up their online sales. Despite the high quality of their products and an aesthetically pleasing Shopify site, the majority of orders came from repeat customers, and acquiring new users was too costly. The food delivery market in Dubai is oversaturated with aggregators, so our task was to make the brand stand out among the giants and direct traffic directly to the bakery’s website.
Project status before work began
- Ad campaigns were launched haphazardly, without a clear breakdown into categories (bread, pastries, groceries).
- Lack of optimization for local “near me” queries, which is critical for a business selling fresh baked goods.
- High cart abandonment rate due to the nature of quick decision-making in the Food & Beverage niche.
Proposed Strategy
We decided to focus on “visual appeal” and local relevance. The strategy involved launching highly effective Performance Max campaigns with an emphasis on high-quality video and photo content, as well as aggressive promotion on Google Maps. Since Shopify allows for easy product feed integration, we focused on automating inventory updates to advertise only what is available “right now.”
What has been done
Technical Setup and Synchronization with Shopify
We conducted a comprehensive review of Google Merchant Center settings. For a bakery, it is crucial that ads display up-to-date prices and availability, as the selection of fresh baked goods can change throughout the day. We set up automatic feed updates via API, which helped avoid wasting budget on items that were already out of stock.
Launching Performance Max with a focus on Lifestyle
We created separate ad groups for different categories. For each group, we selected relevant audience signals: organic food enthusiasts, residents of Dubai’s upscale neighborhoods (Downtown, Dubai Marina, Jumeirah), and food bloggers. Using professional food photography in video format significantly increased the ads’ CTR.
Local promotion and Google Maps
Since the bakery has a physical location, we activated local campaigns. Users searching for “bakery near me” or “fresh croissants Dubai” saw ads in the top positions on the map. This not only drove visits to the store but also increased the number of online orders with the pickup option.
Working with semantics and “quick” queries
We abandoned overly broad queries in favor of specific artisanal terms. Instead of the general “bread delivery,” we focused on “sourdough bread delivery Dubai,” “gluten-free bakery,” and “morning pastry delivery.” This allowed us to attract the most targeted audience with a high intent to make a purchase right away.
Dynamic remarketing and cart “reactivation”
Using data from Shopify, we set up remarketing scenarios for users who added croissants or bread to their cart but did not complete the transaction. Ads reminding users of “today’s fresh baked goods” and limited stock helped bring back a significant portion of shoppers and reduce the cart abandonment rate.
Results
By focusing on local promotion and the visual appeal of products in Performance Max, we were able to transform the bakery’s website into a powerful sales channel that operates independently of delivery aggregators. The main growth came from precise geotargeting to Dubai’s premium neighborhoods and the use of specific “artisanal” search terms.
Synchronizing ads with real-time inventory on the Shopify platform allowed us to achieve high profitability, as users always saw only items available for order in the ads. In addition to the growth in direct sales, we recorded a significant increase in brand awareness within the local community.
| Options | At the start of the work | In 4 months | The difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Views | |||
| Views | 280000 | 540000 | +93% |
| Clicks | |||
| Clicks | 4200 | 9850 | +134% |
| CTR | |||
| CTR | 1,5% | 1,82% | +21% |
| CPC | |||
| CPC | $0,95 | $0,81 | -15% |
| Conversions (transactions) | |||
| Conversions (transactions) | 115 | 330 | +187% |
| Average bill | |||
| Average bill | $35 | $42 | +20% |
| ROAS | |||
| ROAS | 280% | 460% | +64% |