The retail media market is one of the fastest growing sectors of the market and helping to drive this growth is a constantly evolving range of ad products across the ecosystem. In this article we hear from members of the IAB Retail Media Council with updates and insights on how retail media products are changing. Thanks to OMD and Vudoo for their contributions.
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Vartika Arora-Patel, Transformation Director, OMD
What would you say are the biggest changes to ad products in retail media over the last 12 – 18 months?
As retail media networks mature, we are seeing the strongest growth within their ad product offering that moves the proposition beyond direct response to become brand building led opportunities.
Traditionally through media agencies, Retail Media has been planned across the lower funnel, however with the acceleration of first party data adoption, coupled with new ad inventory across streaming, social and other channels, that funnel is collapsing, and retail media is starting to address all types of objectives.
Retail media networks have spent years working on the building blocks for onsite capabilities but now the demand of leveraging their own data to enhance their off-network opportunities has been taking center stage. As advertisers and agencies continue to redefine the role of retail media as a part of their holistic media mix, more traditional media budgets have begun to shift into the retail landscape.
Retailers can access sales data instantly and are sitting on rich first-party data, that’s not dependent on cookies. The use of data is accelerating brands knowledge about how their customers behave before, during and after an ad campaign or exposure, in turn helping brands reach customer at point of purchase and tap into the consumer data to grow customer loyalty.
According to Morgan Stanley, more than $550 million of traditional media ad spend will be diverted to retail media by 2025, increasing to $1.1 billion by 2027. With evolving closed loop measurement, the attribution makes retail media an important channel will help brands show the value of their media and support the predicted growth.
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Manuela Cadd, Head of Global Strategic Partnerships, Vudoo
What is the most exciting change to retail ad products and solutions that you think is on the horizon?
The most exciting change on the horizon for retail ad products is the emergence of seamlessly integrated, interactive shoppable content. This innovation is revolutionising how consumers interact with advertisements and make purchases online, aligning perfectly with the “shop when inspired” moment that modern and time poor shoppers crave.
New technologies are enabling a streamlined shopping experience directly within content. Imagine watching a video browsing an image gallery and purchasing products instantly without leaving that immersive environment.
As Evan Shapiro aptly put it, “We’re moving from advertising that is predominantly built around hearts and minds to one almost exclusively built around hearts and carts.” This “frictionless commerce” approach collapses the traditional sales funnel, allowing consumers to move from inspiration to purchase in a single, fluid interaction.
Retailers are uniquely positioned to leverage their rich first-party data in this new landscape. By understanding their consumers’ preferences and behaviours, they can offer personalised, relevant shopping experiences both on and off their platforms.
This data-driven approach, combined with AI and machine learning, enables retailers to present the most appealing products to each viewer, enhancing the impulse purchase moment. These advanced shoppable creatives can be integrated into various forms of content, including social media posts, articles, and live streams – all formats that engage today’s digital-savvy consumers.
This versatility opens up new possibilities for retailers and brands to reach consumers across multiple touchpoints, offering authentic, value-driven experiences.
Moreover, these interactive ad solutions provide rich, real-time data insights.
Advertisers can track not just views and clicks, but also specific product interactions, add-to-cart actions, and completed purchases. This granular level of data enables more targeted and effective advertising strategies, crucial for capturing the attention of discerning consumers. As we look to the future, we can expect this technology to become more sophisticated, with enhanced features like augmented reality try-ons and voice-activated purchasing. These innovations cater to the growing demand for convenience and immediacy in online shopping, particularly among younger consumers who are known to be inspired by visual content and prefer frictionless, experiences. This evolution in retail ad products is not just changing how we advertise; it’s fundamentally transforming the entire shopping experience. By seamlessly blending content and commerce, retailers can create more engaging, personalised, and efficient shopping journeys that resonate with consumers of all ages, ultimately driving both customer satisfaction and sales.