Is Retail Media a game changer for the retail industry?
The retail media market continues to grow and offers a lot of potential for entrepreneurs. However, not only big players can benefit from this market, but also small and medium-sized companies. In this article we take a look at what makes the retail media business so special and sustainable for the future, how the market could develop and what to consider if you want to start with retail media.
2023-05-24
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Retail Media as an important market for companies of all sizes
Retail media has increasingly become a high-growth, high-margin business and will continue to play an increasingly important role for companies in the future. Top players are also already using retail media as it offers them the opportunity to generate additional revenue streams, engage with their target audiences, strengthen brand presence, gain a competitive advantage and make data-driven decisions. This supports their growth, profitability, and success in the marketplace. Therefore, small and medium-sized businesses should also invest in retail media to benefit from the gains and not lose touch with the fast-growing market.
What is a retail media network?
To get started in the retail media business, we first need to know what a retail media network actually is. A buyer trend is decisive for this: on the Internet, more than half of all product searches no longer take place via conventional search engines such as Bing or Google, but are searched directly on the respective marketplaces such as Amazon, Otto or Zalando. Accordingly, it is only natural to place advertising exactly where customers’ product searches really take place.
A retail media network is an advertising platform that a retailer sets up to enable advertisers to buy advertising space in the retailer’s own (onsite) properties and in paid (offsite) media. The data collected in the process is then used to engage with shoppers throughout the buying process. This transparency, combined with the ability to promote and sell its products across multiple channels, is what makes the retail media business so attractive and successful.
What will retail media look like in the next few years?
The retail media business is an extremely fast-growing market. New networks appear almost weekly, offering countless opportunities for entrepreneurs. According to estimates, this will cause the retail media market to grow by up to 25% in the next few years, and by 2026, more than a quarter of total advertising spend could be devoted to digital media.
What makes Retail Media so special
The retail media market currently offers great potential for generating enormous profit margins. One of the reasons for this is that retail media provides a direct link to a target group that is ready to buy. Interested buyers are already browsing the marketplaces and can be made aware and persuaded to buy through precise targeting.
On retail media channels, you can reach potential customers who are already searching for products on online marketplaces and place your advertising exactly where it is important and tailor it to your target group. With the help of data analyses, you can then measure and optimize the success of your campaigns in real time. So there’s a lot of potential for effective advertising in the retail media business!
Recommendations for action so that you too can get started with retail media
Retail media is a promising business model, and large players in particular are already generating significant revenues through this channel. But small and medium-sized companies can also be successful with it. The transparency of the networks enables precise measurement of success, as well as planning and adjustment of advertising expenditure for individual channels. In addition to the many advantages, however, the competition on marketplaces is also becoming increasingly fierce. Therefore, it is also advisable for smaller companies to place a high focus on the appropriate marketplace and retail media strategy.
Get in now to be in the mix in the future
When developing an effective retail media strategy, there are several important factors brands should pay particular attention to:
- Audience targeting: Brands should ensure that their retail media strategy is aligned with the specific audiences they want to reach. By leveraging customer data and behavioral analytics, brands can better understand their target audiences and deliver relevant advertising messages tailored to customers’ needs and preferences.
- Integration and consistency: A successful retail media strategy requires seamless integration of advertising messages across different sales channels. Brands should ensure that their ads and content are consistent and uniform, whether they appear on the website, in the mobile app, or in the retailer’s brick-and-mortar store. This helps strengthen brand identity and build trusting customer loyalty.
- Measurability and analytics: A data-driven approach is critical to measure and optimize the success of a retail media strategy. Brands should continuously monitor the performance of their advertising campaigns and analyze relevant metrics such as clicks, conversions, sales, and ROI (return on investment). These insights help evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy and make adjustments to achieve the desired results.
- Partnership with the platform/marketplace: Brands must maintain a close working relationship with the marketer or the respective platform on whose retail media platform they wish to advertise. It is important to have clear agreements on objectives, budgets, targeting and performance measurement. A strong partnership enables brands to exploit the full potential of retail media opportunities and implement successful campaigns together.
- Continuous optimization: A retail media strategy is not a rigid concept, but requires continuous adjustments and optimization. Brands should regularly monitor the performance of their campaigns, gather feedback from customers and partners, and improve their strategy based on these insights. Through iterative adjustments, brands can operate successfully in the retail media sector in the long term.
By taking these aspects into consideration as a brand and developing a targeted, data-driven retail media strategy, you can significantly increase your visibility, brand awareness and performance.
Conclusion
Retail Media is a fast growing market and offers a lot of potential for all companies. To be successful here, you don’t have to be a big player and dominate the market. The important thing is to use a good strategy, recognize the potential of the market and reinvest profits to redefine the competitive advantage of your own core business. That’s how you too will manage to take off with retail media and increase your reach and profits.
Need help?
Patrick is our Head of Retail Media. With many years of experience in selling on marketplaces, he advises you on marketing and content. He also supports you with the right marketplace setup to accelerate the growth of your business. Contact him by mail or by phone at +49 89 215 276 60.