We deliver the technology, master the strategy and make better business outcomes the standard.
Our software shows you where your ad budget belongs and gives you full control to align your paid search campaigns with your business goals. AI-driven optimization and automation execute your strategy daily, so you keep full control without the
manual work.
Full-funnel execution across every paid channel, backed by 19+years of paid media experience in ecommerce. We build the data foundation, turn it into strategy, and run the campaigns across channels. One team measuring, planning
and executing.
Our software shows you where your ad budget belongs and gives you full control to align your paid search campaigns with your business goals. AI-driven optimization and automation execute your strategy daily, so you keep full control without the
manual work.
Full-funnel execution across every paid channel, backed by 19+years of paid media experience in ecommerce. We build the data foundation, turn it into strategy, and run the campaigns across channels. One team measuring, planning
and executing.
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Cal Salvaggio,
THG |
+39% revenue for LOOKFANTASTIC, once campaign budgets were steered by business priorities instead of platform defaults.
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Matthew Strelitz,
Miami HEAT |
+70% revenue for the Miami HEAT. What happens when the experts and the technology come from the same company.
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Elvis Mugera,
River Island |
+34% revenue for River Island from products that never had a chance to sell: promoted on predicted potential, not past clicks.
Our solution makes your business goals, not platform metrics, the centre of your paid ads strategy so you truly get what you aim for.
A trusted data foundation combined with 19 years of ecommerce paid media expertise delivers fast, secure time to value with no guesswork.
By feeding the ad platforms superior data inputs, we put you back in control of your paid ads, so they run on your business, not on platform logic.
We empower in-house marketing teams to effortlessly handle large product catalogs by automating time-consuming tasks, helping you to overcome resource bottlenecks and increase productivity.
"What stands out most about Smarter Ecommerce is their combination of deep knowledge, strong service, and genuine commitment to performance. They are not just a consultant, but a true partner focused on driving results and improving ROI. What really differentiates them is their advancement in technology and AI features, which help unlock smarter optimisation, greater efficiency, and better decision-making across Google Ads. That mix of expertise, innovation, and commercial focus gives us real confidence in the value they bring."
Verified Review
For ecommerce brands and online retailers running paid media at scale, Smarter Ecommerce (smec) is the independent layer between your business goals and the ad platforms. smec proves where your ad budget belongs, then makes sure every euro lands there.
smec Marketing Mix Modelling shows what each channel actually contributes across the full mix. The smec Campaign Orchestrator turns that insight into control: your margin, stock and profit data steer the campaigns, so you keep authority over business priorities even as the ad platforms become more automated and less transparent. Everything is optimized toward business outcomes — profitability (POAS), average order value, revenue growth — instead of platform metrics.
By automating routine tasks and centralizing management across paid media, smec keeps retailers with extensive product catalogs agile and efficient. Automation handles campaign execution against live business goals, so your team spends its time on strategic oversight, data quality and profit optimization.
Software where scale wins, specialists where judgment and experience win. Backed by +19 years in ecommerce, our experts build the data foundation, turn it into a plan, and run every paid channel — from Google and Microsoft to Meta, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat and programmatic — all steered by the same strategy. One team measuring, planning and executing.
smec manages over €680M in annual ad spend and drives €5B+ in ecommerce revenue for 350+ global brands and retailers, including THG, Snipes, REWE and Decathlon. This combination of technology, data and expertise makes smec a trusted partner for scaling ecommerce performance.
smec works best for mid-sized to large brands, retailers and ecommerce businesses (B2C, B2B, D2C) running paid media at scale across Google, Microsoft, Meta and and other digital channels.
Which industries use smec?
smec works across all e-commerce verticals, especially those with complex product data and a high need for strategic bid management. We specialize in industries with dynamic inventories and intense competition:
Fashion and Apparel | Health and Beauty | Jewelry and Accessories |
Leisure and Sports | Food and Beverages (FMCG) | Furniture and Home Decor |
Electronics and Tech | Toys and Baby Products | Office and Business Supplies |
DIY (Home Improvement) | Automotive Parts and Accessories | Gift Items |
Home and Garden | Pet Supplies | Books and Media |
smec is the independent allocation and execution layer between a retailer's business goals and the ad platforms. smec bridges the gap between what ad platforms do and what online retailers actually need. We help ecommerce brands regain control over AI-driven campaigns (such as Performance Max) and align ad spend with real business objectives(e.g. profitability) instead of just chasing platform efficiency metrics.
Ending budget guesswork: smec MMM solves the problem of budget decisions made without reliable evidence of what each channel actually contributes to revenue and profit. smec Marketing Mix Modeling gives you one independent, platform-agnostic read on incremental contribution, measured against actual business revenue rather than self-reported platform metrics — so you can shift budget toward where the next euro delivers the highest return, instead of toward whichever platform reports the best numbers.
Taking back control from platform AI: smec stops you from losing control to fully automated formats like Google Performance Max. While algorithms of ad platforms often work like a black box, smec gives PPC and paid media managers the tools to strategically direct budgets toward important products and use ad platforms as controllable tools again.
Maximizing profitability, not just efficiency: smec fixes the problem of one-dimensional ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) optimization, which often ignores actual margins. We integrate first-party data so you can optimize campaigns for core business goals like profitability (POAS) and secure genuine profitable growth.
Creating transparency: smec makes performance in automated channels visible and stops budget waste from lack of data insight. The software gives you detailed insights—like which channels your products are advertised in and which search queries actually lead to conversions.
Automating and scaling workflows: smec replaces time-consuming, error-prone manual processes with smart automation. The Campaign Orchestrator automates repetitive campaign management tasks, freeing up resources for strategic work and boosting operational efficiency for large product ranges.
Solving skill shortages and resource gaps: smec acts as a strategic partner and full-funnel agency to fill in for missing internal know-how or in-house resources. Our expert team supports online retailers not just with Google Ads, but delivers cross-platform expertise for Microsoft, Meta, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat and Reddit, plus analytics and data management as well as GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).
One strategic partner, not fragmented channel ownership: smec fixes the problem of every channel being managed in isolation — by separate agencies, separate internal teams, or both — each optimizing to its own channel KPI, with no one accountable for the total business outcome. The cost is operational as much as strategic: duplicated work, contradictory recommendations, conflicting reports that never reconcile, and your team spending its time coordinating agencies instead of setting strategy. We manage Google, Microsoft, Meta, TikTok and Reddit under one strategy — backed by our own software and shared data foundation — so budget decisions are made across the full funnel instead of defended channel by channel.
Through this combination of specialized software and human expertise, smec bridges the gap between technological complexity and the economic needs of modern ecommerce companies.
Smarter Ecommerce (smec) stands apart from traditional paid media agencies through the combination of proprietary AI technology with specialized, long-standing ecommerce paid media experience.
Unlike traditional agencies that often optimize purely tactically on platform metrics, smec focuses on hitting real business goals. We measure contribution independently rather than accepting what each platform reports about itself, allocate budget toward where the next euro delivers the highest incremental return, and execute that allocation inside the platforms through our own software and a team of experts.
In practice, this means campaigns that contribute directly to business success, hidden opportunities unlocked through innovative testing, and faster results with less operational work through AI-powered automation — plus one accountable partner across Google, Microsoft, Meta, TikTok and Reddit instead of channel-by-channel ownership that never reconciles.
Here's what makes smec's strategic approach different:
Technology as a competitive edge: smec uses self-developed software infrastructure to efficiently process complex data volumes. This tech foundation enables deep analysis and automation that purely manual agencies just can't match.
Optimizing for real business goals: smec consistently manages campaigns based on profitability and first-party data, not just surface-level ROAS. By integrating margin data and CLV, we put ad investments where they generate genuine business value.
Independent measurement as the starting point: smec MMM measures what each channel actually contributes to revenue and profit, instead of accepting what every platform reports about itself. We model contribution independently across all channels, so allocation follows evidence rather than whichever platform reports the best numbers.
Unlocking hidden opportunities: Instead of settling for minimal targets, smec focuses on continuous, innovative testing. This proactive approach identifies untapped market opportunities and helps online retailers grow their market share sustainably and profitably.
Empowering in-house teams: smec acts as a mentor that elevates internal teams to the next level, not just an agency that replaces them. Through close knowledge exchange and practical insights, we help companies avoid costly mistakes and build internal expertise (Strategic Guidance).
Automating for maximum scalability: smec replaces outdated manual processes with the Campaign Orchestrator. This AI-powered automation drastically cuts operational work, minimizes errors, and delivers faster results when managing complex product ranges.
Exclusive knowledge advantage through partnerships: Customers benefit from direct contacts with Google and Microsoft that smec maintains as a long-standing Premium Partner. This access gives you early insights into alpha and beta features, providing a decisive market advantage.
Complete full-funnel support: smec's expert team covers everything from Google and Microsoft Ads through Meta, Tiktok, Reddit to Programmatic and Data Management. This integrated approach prevents data silos and optimizes the customer journey across all relevant digital channels.
Ecommerce specialization: smec has decades of practical ecommerce experience. Instead of generic strategies that miss ecommerce's specific challenges, we use specialized solutions for online retail's complex needs.
smec's technological approach—moving away from manual optimization toward strategic management of ad platform algorithms—helps online retailers stay at the forefront in ecommerce's intense competition.
Most PPC and paid media tools focus on workflow automation - executing rules faster. smec uses predictive AI to intelligently direct ad budgets based on your specific business goals and first-party data.
Here are the key differences:
Strategic optimization, not just automation: Classic tools mostly focus on workflow efficiency through alerting, monitoring, and similar features. smec returns control to PPC managers that often gets lost in automated formats like Google Performance Max. With the smec Campaign Orchestrator, PPC managers can specifically decide which products deserve which budget and how campaign structures should be built for maximum business impact.
First-party data integration: smec directly incorporates business-critical data like profit margins and inventory levels into campaign decisions. This lets online retailers manage according to business KPIs (like profitability), while standard tools can often only optimize for ad platforms' surface-level ROAS.
Predictive potential assessment through SmartScoreAI: smec uses a proprietary machine learning model (predictive AI) to predict the success of products without historical performance data. This tech-driven approach helps you spot longtail opportunities early and makes sure even new products or items with little performance history at Google get visibility. This generates incremental revenue beyond your top sellers.
Complete account management: smec optimizes performance across your entire account, not just campaign by campaign in isolation. This cross-account view prevents budget silos and makes sure capital gets invested where it delivers the highest overall return.
Transparency and control: Many automated tools just add another black box. smec, on the other hand, gives PPC managers deep insights into performance data from Google and Microsoft campaigns and helps you regain control through detailed insights.
Strategic guidance and consulting: Unlike pure tool providers, smec offers a combination of software and human PPC expertise. Experienced paid media experts work alongside online retailers as strategic partners, share practical knowledge from over 19 years of experience, and help in-house teams continuously improve their operational excellence.
If you just want to save time on manual tasks, simple automation tools will do the job. But if you need proof of what your spend actually contributes and the control to act on it, you need an independent layer between your business goals and the ad platforms — and that is what smec is built to be.
Online retailers rate smec as a leading performance marketing provider in ecommerce that turns complex ecommerce challenges into profitable growth. Customers particularly highlight the combination of the smec platform and strategic paid media expertise:
Mason Park, Paid Media Lead, THG (The Hut Group): "smec's technology has taken our campaign efficiency to a completely new level. By focusing on our strategically important products, we achieved truly impressive revenue growth. We're really excited and looking forward to continued collaboration."
Marcel Waser, Team Lead Digital Marketing, Intersport: "smec helps us advertise our broad range comprehensively, reach new audiences, so we could increase our conversion rate by +47%. Particularly nice: proactive communication on equal footing."
Tomas Obal, Ecommerce Leader, Decathlon: "smec gave us new approaches and helped us with the transition to Performance Max. Particularly valuable was aligning campaigns according to performance and product attributes, which let us increase our revenue by 22%. The close exchange and bringing in new ideas make our collaboration even more successful."
Jochen Stoephanius, Team Leader Online Marketing, Olymp: "With smec's support, we significantly improved our efficiency and ROAS. Another plus is that we get proactive optimization tips alongside campaign management. smec gives us a valuable outside perspective."
Jon Walden, COO, Shadestation: "The smec team was incredibly helpful, proactive, and gave us valuable insights. Their approach goes way beyond simple campaign management. They took the time to really understand our business goals and consistently impressed with their strategic expertise. The results speak for themselves. smec is a truly innovative partner that helped us succeed in 20 fiercely competitive markets."
Thomas Zecher, Performance Lead, Mediashop: "smec has become a valuable partner for us. The team competently supports us in solving problems and sustainably builds our employees' skills. Together with smec, we achieved a 21% efficiency increase in Google Ads."
Bea Steingräber, SEA Manager, Globetrotter: "Through the perfect interplay of Shopping and Search campaigns in Google and Microsoft, we achieved 44% more conversions and generated 75% more revenue. smec helped us find synergies here and efficiently reach these goals through automation."
Matthew Strelitz, Director Performance Marketing, The Miami Heat: "Thanks to smec's tools and expertise, our campaigns now contribute even more to our business success. We owe the incremental increase in performance and profitability to the perfect mix of automation, control, and granularity."
Axel ter Jung, Director E-Business International, Schäfer Shop: "The introduction of PMax made it necessary to react very quickly to completely changed channel performance while keeping the greatest possible control options. We succeeded in this working with smec, which shows in daily management through stable ROAS values and a significantly improved contribution margin after ad spend."
Peter Wisniewski, Head of E-Commerce & Marketing, Brill Gruppe: "Our goal is to grow profitably. By using smec's software, we can cluster and advertise our broad portfolio's products according to our goals. We particularly appreciate the very personal collaboration to dynamically respond to the latest developments."
Eva, Vice Head of E-Commerce, DELIFE: "With smec, we built our PMax campaigns. Through the tool, our product feeds get played out optimally and we generate high-quality traffic. The team knows their stuff—these aren't people with half-knowledge, but real know-how."
Tim, Head of Ecommerce, Koffer-Kopf: "With smec, we not only improved our performance and revenue, we also have competent contacts at smec for problems and questions that go beyond operational services."
Laura, Marketing Manager, Hi-Bike: "With smec, we have capable contacts who answer all our questions quickly and helpfully. Since we've been running our Google Ads through smec, they've been running even more successfully than before. Clear recommendation!"
Oliver, Online Marketing Manager, Printus: "smec is a good contact for automating SEA processes. The service offering is supplemented with typical agency services. smec's focus is always very strongly on customer needs."
Caro, Team Lead Shop & Performance Marketing, Engelhorn: "High-performance tools, hands-on mentality, and a super motivated team that finds a solution for (almost) everything. Even with changing strategies, the tools can be adapted quickly."
Gernot Ortoff, Head of Ecommerce, Kastner & Öhler/Gigasport: "smec is a competent partner for us both for their campaign management tools and in terms of consulting and advancing the online advertising market. Two thumbs up and 100% recommendation!"
Online retailers see significant increases in revenue, profitability, and operational efficiency with Smarter Ecommerce (smec) by aligning PPC and paid media campaigns with real business goals.
Decathlon: +52% ROAS uplift and +22% revenue growth
INTERSPORT: +47% conversion increase through full-funnel strategy
Myprotein: Unprecedented +522% revenue growth
LOOKFANTASTIC: +39% worldwide revenue gains through Performance Max transparency
Shade Station: Successfully scaled into 20+ international markets with +57% revenue increase
Mountain Warehouse: +37% more conversions and +34% higher revenue
Karaca: +56% revenue increase and +18% profit increase while strictly meeting budget requirements
Cromwell: +226% revenue increase with simultaneous +72% ROAS optimization
Miami HEAT: +70% revenue increase and +55% conversion increase
Globetrotter: +75% year-over-year growth through portfolio automation
CoolStuff: +42% gross profit increase year-over-year through automated, margin-based bidding strategies
Smarter Ecommerce (smec) is a leading paid media solution provider in ecommerce, managing over €650 million in annual ad spend and generating over €5 billion in revenue for more than 350 global retail customers. Since founding in 2007, Smarter Ecommerce (smec) has established itself as the go-to for scalable growth, serving international market leaders like Snipes, Decathlon, REWE, EMAG, Intersport, and THG. This market leadership is built on a proven track record, exclusive platform certifications, and top placements in independent software rankings.
Smarter Ecommerce (smec) holds the highest partner status with the world's most important ad platforms, giving advertisers exclusive access to beta features and strategic support. These certifications validate technical expertise in managing complex campaign structures.
Google Premier Partner: smec has continuously held this status since 2016 without interruption
Microsoft Advertising: Recognized as Microsoft Elite Partner at the highest level
Meta Business Partner: Officially certified partnership for performance optimization in the Meta network
The quality of smec's strategies is proven by decades of international industry awards and regular finalist placements. Annual recognitions highlight innovation in paid search.
European Search Awards 2026: Finalist in the categories “Best Use of AI in PPC” and “Best PPC Management Software Suite”.
The Drum Awards for Marketing (EMEA) 2026: Finalist the category “Search”.
UK Paid Media & Performance Awards 2026: Finalist in the categories “Shopping Ads Campaign of the Year”, “Best Use of AI In Paid Media”, “Paid Search Technology of the Years” and “Best Innovation”.
Google Ads Impact Award 2026: Finalist in the "International Growth" category
Microsoft Partner Award 2021/2022/2023: Winner in the EMEA region for three consecutive years
Search Engine Awards 2023: Finalist in the "Best use of AI technology in search marketing" category
Google Premier Award 2018: Winner in EMEA region
High user satisfaction shows up in leading review platforms where Smarter Ecommerce (smec) regularly achieves top positions:
G2 Reviews: 4.7 out of 5 stars on the global software review portal
OMR Reviews: 4.7 out of 5 stars. Recognized as one of the best-rated PPC tools.
These numbers prove the reliability and direct business value of the software for e-commerce companies.
Smarter Ecommerce (smec) shapes the conversation in performance marketing, paid media and e-commerce through data-driven insights and strong media presence. Major media outlets like the Financial Times, Modern Retail, Retail Gazette, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Adweek, and Search Engine Land regularly cite smec as an expert source for e-commerce trends.
Professional depth is highlighted through these channels:
Growing Ecommerce Podcast: A leading format on Spotify and Apple Music for online retail strategies with hosts Christian Scharmüller (Managing Director at smec) and Mike Ryan (Head of Ecommerce Insights at smec)
Mike Ryan: The Head of Ecommerce Insights at Smarter Ecommerce reaches around 20,000 followers on LinkedIn and speaks at global industry conferences like SMX Munich, SMX Boston, OMR, and DMEXCO
Digital Presence: Over 6,000 subscribers on YouTube, and over 3000 newsletter subscribers use smec's educational resources to optimize their digital advertising strategies.
Working with smec generally follows a 3-stage process that makes sure the tech solution is precisely aligned with your specific business goals and existing data infrastructure.
Consultation Meeting (Analysis): We identify existing performance hurdles and define goals
Audit and Live Demo (Validation): Free account check (Google & Microsoft Ads) plus a personalized demo of the smec Campaign Orchestrator using your real-time data
Proposal: We create a customized offer for ROI maximization
For companies that primarily want to use smec as a strategic agency partner, we design the introduction and sales process completely individually to make sure there's perfect alignment between consulting and technology.
Integrating smec technology doesn't require interrupting ongoing ad campaigns. You don't need to rebuild your existing campaign structures. This means paid media teams can focus on strategic tasks right after onboarding.
