2025 Will See Retail Media Networks Launch a Charm Offensive
As retail media networks enter 2025, they face a new reality where just having a platform is no longer enough. Retailers must now transform into sophisticated B2B marketers to compete for a share of the projected $67 billion media ad spend. To stand out, networks will need to enhance their capabilities, focus on transparency, offer self-serve tools, and forge strategic media partnerships to expand their reach.
“While retailers have flocked to the opportunity to boost their margins with a media offering, they will find that simply launching an RMN and listing available ad units is no longer sufficient.” Kiri Masters, Forbes Contributor
Google Highlights Retail Media’s Weaknesses at Mediaweek
In Google’s Mediaweek Panel in NYC last week, we got a glimpse into how they view retail media networks: an effective way to leverage first-party data for targeted advertising but limited in its current form. According to Google’s Shawn McGahee, retail media networks often prioritize their own agendas, restricting brand flexibility.
Our take: Google is in direct competition with expanding upper funnel retail media avenues, like the Amazon DSP. Google remains the world’s leader in ad revenue, and growth of retail media in recent years may be perceived as a threat.
Instacart Releases New Features: Share of Shelf Reporting & “Free Gifts”
Instacart extends its innovation streak with two weeks of new features: Share of Shelf reporting to enhance advertisers’ understanding of their competitive standing, and a product trial service aptly titled “Free Gift.”
Share of Shelf: This new tool measures the percentage of impressions a brand’s products receive for common keyword searches, allowing advertisers to identify trends, optimize strategies, and benchmark against competitors directly within Ads Manager.
Free Gift: This new promotion allows CPG brands to offer consumers a full-sized product sample at no cost to boost trials and engagement. Brands can easily set up these offers through Ads Manager with targeted audience options, and early case studies show strong results in driving brand awareness and repeat purchases.
Opinion: What May Stall Retail Media’s Hyper Growth Trajectory?
Retail media’s continued growth faces three main challenges: the need for consolidation among numerous platforms, the lack of standardized measurement, and confusion over budget control between sales and marketing departments. Advertisers seek to streamline ad buys across multiple networks, establish better metrics for measuring campaign effectiveness, and clarify control over budgets to avoid wasted spend, especially as retail media shifts to upper-funnel marketing efforts.
Our Take: Couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Eliminating data silos and streamlining channels is a compounding issue, since the expansion of available retail media networks shows no signs of slowing down. Pacvue’s commerce acceleration suite has historically kept ahead of retail media innovations, like with our recent release of the Cross-Platform Budget Planner.
Early Learnings from the First Holiday Sales of the Season
Curious about how October’s major sales events, like Prime Big Deal Days, are relevant to the holiday season? We analyzed data from Amazon, Walmart, and Target, uncovering key insights on ad spend, conversions, and campaign performance that can give you an edge this Cyber 5. Get the full breakdown and actionable insights in our latest post.
Looking to find the perfect partner to evolve your retail media strategy? Book time with us to see what Pacvue can do.
