Retail Media

What is retail media?

When we talk about retail media, we’re talking about ads placed on a retailer’s ecommerce site or app by a brand in order to influence the customer at the point of purchase.

Retail media enables brands to boost their visibility on the “digital shelf”, similar to an endcap or special in-aisle feature in a physical store.

What do retail media ads look like and where do they appear?

Retail media ads can be native ads or display ads. The native ads blend in seamlessly with the search results—they look like another product in the list—but have a small “sponsored” label at the bottom or top of the ad. The display ads allow for more impactful creative, blending branding messaging with dynamic, retail-specific features like real-time pricing.

Retail media ads can be shown on the home page, category page, search results page, or product detail page to reach consumers at various stages of their journey. Some retail media solutions also enable brands to retarget retailers’ audiences as they browse the open web.

Here’s an example of a native ad in the search results:

Here’s an example of a display ad in the search results:

 And here’s an example of a display ad on the home page:

This is what an offsite retail media ad looks like. This is retargeting someone who visited the retailer, looked at pans, and then left to check the weather:

What is the retail media ecosystem?

Just like in nature, where different entities must work together in order to maintain balance, the success of retail media requires the collaboration of its participants. The ecosystem includes:

Brands: Act as the demand side of the ecosystem. Examples of this include P&G, Levis, Honest Company, L ‘Oreal, Estee Lauder.

Retailers: Act as the supply side of the ecosystem. Examples of this could include retailers like Target, Best Buy, Shipt, Costco and Ulta.

Agencies: Part two of the demand-side, as a proxy for their brand clients. Examples of this include Wavemaker, Publicis, Group M.

Consumers: Why it all matters. Consumers’ expectations for a personalized experience shape retail media’s technology and offerings. Both retailers and brands work together to make sure ads are relevant and the shopping experience is preserved.

What are the benefits of retail media?

Each player in the ecosystem enjoys different benefits from retail media:

Benefits of retail media for brands/agencies:

• Reach shoppers right at the digital point of sale with measurable campaigns that can be tied to online and offline sales at the SKU level
• Ensure product visibility on the digital shelf and maintain brand equity
• Run campaigns using retailer first-party data that doesn’t rely on third-party cookies
• Run campaigns in brand-safe environments
• For agencies, a retail media platform like Criteo’s streamlines media buying by giving them one place where they can buy ads and manage campaigns across multiple retailers

Benefits of retail media for retailers:

• Add a new revenue stream by offering new and unique inventory ad formats that go beyond shopper marketing needs
• Sell directly to brands and control who has access to inventory and data
• Have the control to ensure ads maintain a positive shopper experience

The Criteo Retail Media Platform

Our technology is purpose-built to enhance the partnership between retailers and brands to deliver more product sales and more value for all. If you’re a retailer looking to increase ad revenue or a brand that wants more product visibility and sales, our Retail Media Platform has all the tools you need to succeed.