Retail media is expected and on track to become the third and biggest wave of change in digital advertising, with as much as $1.1 billion in advertising spend to be transferred from traditional media owners to the likes of Woolworths, Coles, and Amazon by 2027.
For retailers, this new wave of change presents an unprecedented opportunity to diversify the revenue base, boost sales, deepen partner relationships, and improve customer experience.
Compared to traditional channels — and even social media apps and digital publishers — retail media programs have more and richer user data which will become increasingly important as the third-party cookie depreciates.
But how on earth can you get started with a retail media program?
GETTING STARTED WITH RETAIL MEDIA
Setting up a retail media network can take time as well as huge financial and human resources — something that not every retailer is blessed with. Fortunately, if you are considering building out your own retail media network or need to grow an existing one, help is at hand.
Microsoft Advertising has quietly become a leader in the world of retail media after launching a pilot version of its Microsoft Advertising Network for retail in January 2023. In fact, the network has grown to become the world’s largest retail media demand pool.
Retail media is no short-term bet though and, despite the hype around the technologies this year, it can seem as though it would take months — or even years — to get established with a revenue-generating retail media network. Teams across the Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Sales functions need to be built and then work together to develop, onboard, and grow any retail media program.
Then, you might find advertisers are hesitant to commit their budget to your network through no fault of your own. There are simply so many retail media networks available and advertisers have too little bandwidth to manage all of the different services. Instead, retailers can leverage Microsoft’s ready-built demand, expansive ad supply, and access to high-intent shoppers with its Advertising Network for retail. Ads formats across the internet — from native and search ads to display and CTV ads — can be leveraged to send high-intent shoppers back to you.