Interviews, insight & analysis on digital media & marketing

Retail media interest growing across the industry

Most publishers are keen to see what retail media can deliver for their business through the embedding of products on their web pages, according to Criteo.

A survey of 1004 senior professionals from brands, agencies, retailers, and publishers in six countries found that 83% of publishers are curious to tap into retail media ad spend by placing products within their pages.

It seems like the right move for publishers, with agencies (93%), brands (88%) and retailers (89%) overwhelmingly seeing retail media having a positive impact on their bottom-line last year. Notably, 79% of these advertisers agree that retail media spend is more effective in terms of sales than any other channel, while 85% of brands and agencies agree that the ability of retail media to drive upper-funnel brand awareness is growing.

“Advertisers, publishers and retailers want to make full use of this new media and our mission is to make it as simple as possible. The easier it is for all parties to successfully buy and sell retail media, the faster we reach the potential of this $100 billion market opportunity,” said Brian Gleason, Chief Revenue Officer at Criteo.

Over the next 12-18 months, 69% of publishers will prioritise retail media revenue, which will be welcome news for the 56% of brands and 47% of agencies already investing in retail media both onsite and offsite. Meanwhile, a further quarter brands and agencies are only investing in onsite, but plan to expand to offsite eventually.

On the retailer front, 51% are prioritising retail media investment, while 43% are also working to meet the needs of retail media in-store, such as digital screens and point-of-sale displays.

“Ultimately retail media has to emulate the whole journey of the consumer”, added Gleason. “Offsite and instore are essential components in influencing and guiding decisions, alongside sponsored products and onsite display ads. As retail media moves up the funnel, new demand sources like brand marketing and performance marketing need to be added to the mix.”

Interestingly, 58% of brands and 51% of agencies want to see other commerce-led verticals, such as airlines and hotels, further monetise their digital footprints. With that in mind, 45% of brands and agencies will seek out opportunities to invest in non-retail verticals that have similar features to retail media.