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Take me to PSFK iQThis shopper marketing & promotion guide is a special retail media report that looks at the rise of retailer owned media networks. It provides perspectives and implications for brands, advertisers and retailers looking to leverage this rapidly evolving marketing channel and create competitive advantage. The report also provides ideas around how to utilize these networks to deliver enhanced consumer experiences, influence spending habits.
Advertising and shopping have both seen a huge shift towards digital domination, and the pandemic only served to accelerate that. Yet only recently did the two disciplines begin to merge in very interesting ways.
As of 2021, Amazon had invested over $31 billion in its own display ads business (Amazon Marketing Cloud), beginning a trend in retail media advertising that is only in its infancy. Conversely, Apple has updated its ad policy to be an opt-in feature, greatly impacting retailers ad revenue. In response, rather than work in tandem with media agencies as a key ad buyer, retailers have begun to establish their own retail media platforms.
With access to a swath of proprietary, first-party data and the marketing world moving away from precise targeting via third party cookies, it seems like the perfect storm for a major retailer to build its own retail media network and create competitive advantage. Not only would that retailer have more control over content with the retail media program, but it would also glean far more insights about whether or not their marketing budget has been successfully employed.
As a result, retailers and consumer goods companies are starting to get very creative about ways in which to leverage retail media solutions to reach their customers in store and via their websites.
Within this report, PSFK iQ researchers detail the strategies powering the emerging retail media opportunity, as leaders explore new big data funnels, leverage store-based interactions, adopt the role of ad agency and ultimately create their own retailer media networks that drive incremental revenue.
This marketplace strategy research paper has been developed by the same researchers and analysts who help the world’s leading companies (inc. Nike, Google & Samsung) understand and activate trends. They help companies that include Nike, Google & Samsung with their sector-leading market research platform and bespoke trends research and innovation consulting.
AI continues to understand highly specific aspects of a customer by leveraging data about their past habits and behaviors to enhance their future and current retail experience. Now these algorithms are pushing to the forefront of the customer journey, showing consumers exactly how their own data can be used to influence their purchase decisions. It’s also working beyond the individual to facilitate community building and mood setting, creating new spaces of AI facilitated interaction.
Brand as AgencyBeyond developing in-house retail media networks, brands and retailers are positioning themselves as consumer data experts, creating opportunities for third-party retailer partnerships. Within a landscape absent of cookies, brands’ new role as media agency is helping retailers to meet more specific segments, gain a more in-depth understanding of consumers' needs, generating value for retailers, their partners and their consumers.
Localized LearningsRetailers are leveraging information gleaned from connected stores and digital learnings to inform and continually iterate the in-store experience. By applying these insights on a localized level, retailers are ensuring more relevant store experiences – from merchandising and product selections to in-store activations, technology and services.
Retailer EcosystemsTo build out their own retail media networks, retailers are leveraging a connected ecosystem of touchpoints, spanning both digital and physical channels. By expanding their offerings – think adding additional services and categories – retailers are able to feed additional data streams into their established retail media networks, becoming not just product distributors but custom experience providers for their customers.
Store-as-MediaBrick and Mortar stores are becoming media centers. Advancements in technology and access to more robust data are playing a big role in the in-store experience. With the store-as-media model, retailers are curating special in-store experiences, and gaining deeper information about how assortments, displays, end caps and product packaging influence consumers’ purchase decisions.
Store As MediaBrick and Mortar stores are becoming media centers. With the store-as-media model, retailers are curating special in-store experiences, and gaining deeper information about how assortments, displays, end caps and product packaging influence consumers’ purchase decisions.
Using loyalty-focused insights to supercharge in-house media solutions and drive greater personalization at scale by selling smarter to its own repeat shoppers is just one way Target is creating mutually beneficial solutions for both its customers and business partners.
Marriott is first hospitality brand to launch a media networkMarriott, which operates over 30 brands internationally including iconic properties like The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Bulgari Hotels, and many others; is taking advantage of its unique positioning and scale to debut the hospitality industry’s first global omnichannel media network.
Home Depot Turns Ecosystem Touchpoints Into Vendor Media NetworkRetail Media+ from the Home Depot is a full-service advertising and media network solution to help the brand’s third-party vendors drive sales and promote products that are mutually beneficial to Home Depot and its shoppers.