Amazon’s ad sales may have grown 19% annually to $11.6 billion for Q4 alone – but “retail media” isn’t just about the big retailers anymore.
A growing number of retailers are converting their shelf space – whether digital or physical – into ad inventory.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Katie Kulik, Executive Managing Director, Americas, Criteo, explains how the category is changing.
Grocery’s growth
“We obviously see a lot of the traditional retailers like a Target or a Walmart that has obviously huge online presence, but then also brick and mortar,” says Kulik.
“What’s exciting is that grocery is coming on with a vengeance. You see it with Albertsons and Kroger and leading the way with their first-party data.
“They’re very sophisticated about how they’re approaching it. A lot of other grocery (groups) will follow suit.”
Retail media boom
In September, a GroupM report estimated:
- Retail media networks make up 18% of global digital advertising spend.
- That is 11% of all advertising.
- Spend is expected to hit $101 billion in 2022.
- A further 60% rise is due by 2027, surpassing the growth rate of digital advertising overall.
Walmart Connect, Target’s Roundel and Criteo have all begun offering advertising services to retailers.
Criteo’s retail journey
Kulik’s Criteo has grown into the retail media space, with a platform serving brands like Microsoft, Dyson and L’Oreal, as well as retailers like Walmart, Target and Staples.
In March 2023, the company confirmed it was acquiring Brandcrush, an owned media platform that enables businesses, retailers, and influencers to reach shoppers more effectively.
The Australia-based firm will help Criteo clients “manage their entire media inventory across both ecommerce and physical retail while enabling brands and agencies to seamlessly discover and purchase omnichannel media from leading retailers”.
First-party reality
According to Kulik, the retail media space is surging thanks to retailer first-party data, which she describes as their “crown jewel”.
“They should be very protective of it,” she says. “There’s a lot of conversation around how to use it in a brand-safe way and a smart way.”
And Kulif thinks retail media technology can make consumers’ lives easier.
“I just want to be able to go into a store, whether it’s brick and mortar, or go online and have information served to me that is what I want to buy that day,” she says.
“I think there’s enough first-party data out there that we’re getting closer and closer to that becoming a reality.”
You are watching ‘Inside Commerce: Retail Media & What’s Next? Reports from ShopTalk 2023,’ a Beet.TV Leadership Series presented by Criteo. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
