Points brands should consider while choosing retail media network Share via

As third-party cookie tracking is nearing its end and increased data security and privacy laws are coming into effect, retail media is solving the first-party data problem of the brands. Since brands do not have scalable first-party data and rely heavily on third-party data, which will cease to exist shortly, they have started to advertise more on the online marketplaces, taking advantage of the retailer’s solid understanding of the consumer. The retailers know the brand’s customers more than the brand itself. They have access to data on the consumer’s interest, purchase behavior, brand preferences, shopping frequency, and much more, which is a gold mine for the brands trying to tap those customers. Additionally, retail media provides brands with highly personalized targeting capabilities, effective ways to measure the ROI on their ad spending, and flexibility to track down spending to the SKU level, making this channel popular with the organizations.

But with all the benefits that retail media networks provide to a brand in the e-commerce space, brand marketers should be mindful of the capabilities that specific retail media network offers and if they resonate with their objectives and goals. In addition, as retail media is gaining in popularity and more prominent retail companies are establishing their media businesses, brands should thoroughly evaluate them before putting their advertising money on any network to get the best results. This blog will discuss some points every brand should consider before selecting a retail media network for their marketing campaign.

Can you identify your customer?

Apart from just looking at the amount of first-party data the retailer has access to, brands should also carefully consider if the retail media network enables them to get a comprehensive view of their customers. For example, can you identify your consumers across different touchpoints, devices, and channels? This is important from the brand’s perspective, as if they have access to these data, they can reach out to their customers where they shop more frequently and are more receptive to the brand’s targeting campaigns. In addition, understanding where the customer is more responsive during their shopping journey will help the brands engage with them more efficiently. And this can only be done if the retail media network that the brand is working with has its first-party data underpinned with an accurate digital identifier.

Effective measurement

Can the retail media network you are associating with measure and track down your marketing and advertising spending to a granular level? Can they provide quick analytics so that you can optimize the performance of your campaign when it is still live? Are you as a brand getting the metric reports that are important for your business, rather than just what is crucial for the retail media network? Before you invest in any retail media network, these questions need to be asked. The network should offer brands total sales views for the entire campaign across each channel. An ideal retail media network allows brands to track their spending to the SKU level.

Off-site capabilities

Brands should ensure that the retail media network they are engaging with should let them connect on-site with off-site advertising to reach a broader audience base and maximize relevance and engagement. While the on-site advertisement is akin to promoting a brand in-store, off-site media provides advertisers with increased scale where they can leverage the retailer’s first-party data to target shoppers off the retailer’s website itself. Adding off-site media to a retail media network has various benefits for the brands as it ensures seamless connectivity and optimization between all retail media channels, resulting in enhanced consumer engagement and additional sales.

Support to advertisers

Another crucial point that a brand should check is whether the retail media network is equipped to provide technical support to the advertiser to improve their return on advertising spending. Brands should go with retail media networks that can provide them with self-service tools to do their pre-campaign analytics and build target groups.

There is no doubt that retail media networks will be the next big thing in digital marketing, and the pace at which big retail companies are creating their media businesses on the back of robust first-party data, brands will be increasingly forced to take this advertising route. But for brands to get the maximum benefits out of every dollar spent on the retail media network, they have to be clear about their goals and then identify the most suitable retail partner that ticks the most boxes.