The playing field for Retailers and their vendors has shifted thanks to evolving consumer behaviour. Unsurprisingly, the outbreak of the pandemic has accelerated the rise of eCommerce spend (with 80% of shoppers now doing over 50% of their shopping online).
The rise of retail media has sparked new opportunities for both Retailers and Brands. For Retailers, your owned assets can now serve as a new revenue-driving media ecosystem. As for Brands, this offers unprecedented access and improved first-party data to speak to customers right at the point of purchase (and effectively measure media ROI, too).
For Brands selling through third-party Retailers (such as FMCG brands, consumer electronics brands etc.), retail media can help you boost your visibility, improve conversions and succeed at performance marketing. And for Retailers, now is the time to become a media publisher and earn extra revenue.
So, let’s walk you through what you need to know about this emerging media opportunity.
What is Retail Media?
In a nutshell, Retail Media is marketing to consumers across Retailer’s owned assets at or near the point of purchase. Typically, this happens on a Retailer’s website through site banners or via email marketing.
But, we see Retail Media as more than just turning owned channels into revenue-driving ecosystems. Instead, we think full-funnel and include all extension channels into the Retail Media mix (including, Facebook, Google and even Spotify).
Think of retail media like the digital version of specials and in-aisle features seen in physical stores. From the homepage right through to product detail pages, retail media allows brands to display their ads and reach high-intent customers at all stages of the buyer journey.
And here’s why this matters: two-thirds of online product searches start on retailer sites. That means brands have a unique opportunity to drive higher conversion rates and a better consumer experience by harnessing the power of retail media.
What is the opportunity?
Right now, we’re seeing a once-in-a-generation shift that is opening the doors to a major new advertising opportunity for two key groups: Retailers and Brands.
The opportunity for Retailers
Right now, Retailers have the opportunity to monetise their owned assets. If not, you are leaving an average of $233 million in potential revenue on the table.
And 84% of your Brand vendors are willing to pay more with Retailers if they knew exactly how Retail Media could benefit them.
Here’s the thing: many Retailers aren’t sure how to articulate the value proposition of Retail Media to Brands either (84% in the US and a whopping 95% of brands in the EU).
By turning your owned assets (from your website to EDM to social channels) into a revenue-driving machine, you’ll be able to collaborate effectively with your Brand partners and grow your own Media publishing ecosystem.
And there are big benefits on offer for your Brand partners, too.
The Opportunity for Brands
Do you want to gain unprecedented access to your customers, right at the point of purchase? That’s exactly what you can gain with Retail Media.
Here’s what we know: in the US, 75% of Brands feel they’re spending too much of their budgets within ‘walled gardens’ (which rises to 89% in the EU).
Instead, by collaborating with Retailers and tapping into their full-funnel media buying solutions, you can deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time to drive and boost campaign performance.
And with the right tech infrastructure in place, you can gain total visibility over how your ads are performing to ensure you’re seeing tangible ROI from every dollar spent.
But, Retail Media doesn’t come without its challenges. To ensure success, Retailers need to:
- Develop an in-depth understanding of first-party data: how to use it, how to segment it, how to handle it with integrity and how to leverage it to deliver tailored personalised experiences.
- Ensure they have the right tech in place: this means developing sophisticated mechanics to deliver these ads, track their results and hold them accountable for performance.
Why we’re passionate about the rise of retail media
Here at TP, we’ve already been harnessing the power of retail media for our clients.
In fact, it’s the reason why we created our proprietary tech, TP.Collab is a technology that empowers Retailers and their Brand partners to easily collaborate and leverage retailer-owned assets to ultimately increase revenue for all.
And the stats speak for themselves: TP.Collab is already delivering great results for our client Noel Lemming, part of New Zealand’s The Warehouse Group.
We’ve identified gaps in brands’ ability to achieve personalisation and designed this tech to deliver a mutual value exchange between brands and their retail or distribution partners (ultimately improving conversions for all).
And we know this: first-party data is the holy grail when it comes to navigating the new privacy-aware consumer environment (while not relying on cookies). So, we’re setting the standard for connecting suppliers and retailers’ data sets to enrich every touchpoint that consumer has with both the product they are looking to buy and where they are going to buy it.
Ultimately, we see retail media as a win-win for Retailers and their Brand partners/vendors.
Ready to drive stronger results and hold your budgets accountable for performance?
Get in touch with us to see how TP can move the needle for your business.