Global retail media has grown by leaps and bounds and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Spend in this area is expected to account for 19.3% of digital advertisers’ allotments in 2023, almost double the share spent in 2019. Success stories abound: Retail ads have grown to account for 5% of Amazon’s total revenue, Walmart’s digital ad business grew by 30% in the last quarter of 2022 and Lowe’s sales increased by 15.1% in the last six months.

The key to many of these retailers’ advertising success is the effective collection and activation of first-party consumer data. Furthermore, many smaller businesses have begun dipping into retail media in the hopes of accelerating revenue growth.

Retailers’ data is reaching brands with first-party resources

Taking a cue from the larger retailers, smaller brands have amassed an effective combination of resources — first-party data and direct sales capabilities — to place them on competitive footing with the largest incumbent publishers and ad networks.

Retailers’ rich first-party data procured from audience sources has allowed them to become premium suppliers of ad inventory in a relatively short time. This inventory is often addressable and targetable based on high-intent signals from searches, shopping carts and other behaviors.

Yet despite the success of the biggest retailers, not all brands in the space know how to extract value from first-party consumer data effectively. Many are scrambling to find solutions as they await the upcoming deprecation of third-party cookies. They’re searching for ways to maintain an ongoing relationship with consumers while gathering valuable data that can be used to target audiences in the future.

Isolated networks are preventing retailers from successfully activating first-party data

Retail brands are increasingly recognizing the value of first-party data, but many don’t have an understanding of their customers beyond their RMNs. For example, they might know what a customer bought over the last two months (such as a specific brand or product), but they often don’t have the demographic data that advertising teams require for further targeting and measurement.

These retailers’ lack of knowledge about what happens outside of their RMNs and other properties poses a long-term risk of their networks becoming yet another walled garden for advertisers, shifting the burden of omnichannel measurement and attribution to their operations.

To address these challenges, savvy retailers are making the most of RMNs by connecting them to other data sources, such as off-site partners or other media properties. This enables them to match their proprietary data …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron