Almost every major retailer now has a retail media network. According to a Forrester Research report, category revenue will reach $50 billion globally this year.

However, brands must execute due diligence to find the right partner. The brands that are maximizing the opportunities inherent in retail media are the ones that ensure their retail partner can deliver:

• A brand safe environment
• Omnichannel expertise – the future of retailing!
• Competitive customer reach
• Best-in-class scale of shopping data, with rich measurement and insights capability
• Resources, talent and teams with diverse media backgrounds to leverage that data
• Closed loop attribution, tied to in-store and digital sales
• Appropriate media solutions if you’re a smaller brand with a smaller budget (e.g., self-serve options)

It’s not enough for retailers to launch a network and insert online ads. The goal is for retailers, brands and agencies to work together, to get the right message in front of the right customer at the right time, at all touchpoints throughout the shopping journey.

Retail media networks can make powerful brand partners in a world where diminishing signal strength, the demise of the cookie, stringent data-privacy expectations and a fragmented market with consumers on multiple devices, present significant barriers for brands to reach customers in the moments that matter.

All of the ways customers are engaging and behaving at the various touchpoints during the CX is need-to-know information for brands. How many times is a customer visiting? What are they searching? How much time did they spend online? Basket contents, cart abandonment, etc., retailers are in a unique position to surface all this relevant information and bring it to life for brands. Not only does this allow retailers to strategically influence customer behaviour when they are in a purchasing mindset. It empowers brands and their agencies to use these insights to create novel, engaging customer experiences in other areas of their media.

Retailers, brands and agencies have a unique opportunity today to work together to see data and marketing more holistically. Retail media is an important part of the overall solution.

Yes, creating relevant, seamless omnichannel advertising takes a team and it takes time, but outcomes show that time is well spent. Retail media drives real benefits. There is also a willingness on the part of brands and agencies to “test and learn” in this space, a culture that bodes well for satisfying consumers’ unprecedented desire to try and do new things in 2022. Today’s consumer is savvier than just a few years ago, so the data and insights derived from testing and learning is invaluable in evolving the personalized, frictionless shopping journey customers expect.

Retail media is still in the early stages in Canada, but as brands and retailers work and learn together, its potential to enhance the customer experience is virtually unlimited.

If you would like to learn more about this evolving space, ask your Walmart Connect representative for a link to the full recording of this MasterConnect Knowledge event, “Retail Media on the Rise. Connecting Brands with Customers through Retail Media” or email us.