Forrester’s latest report predicts that retail media will balloon to become a $50 billion industry in 2022. It’s not very hard to believe when giants like BestBuy have entered the market with innovative advertising techniques just last year, giving their online sales a staggering 144% boost.
Retail media has become a lucrative option for brands who wish to drive more traffic and increase brand awareness quickly. Today, there are several reasons why retail media advertisements excite brands.
In this blog, we’ll cover everything from ad formats to building an omnichannel strategy and creating a loyal consumer base, all using the power of retail media.
Importance of Retail Media in 2022
Brands are constantly looking to increase three target points – consumers, brand awareness, and market share. There’s a number of ways to help accelerate this using retail media advertising:
- Platforms like Amazon give you access to powerful first-party data about your brand. You can even conquest competitors. If you’re Coke, Pepsi can bid on the keyword Coke and show up on the first page.
- If you can advertise to those who visit Amazon, Walmart, or Instacart’s website with the intent of purchasing, your ad ROIs will be more likely to improve. Online shoppers are ready to buy items when they search for them and are hot targets for your ad strategy.
- Further, as an advertiser, you can measure ad efficacy on these retail sites compared to other channels, such as podcasts or social media influencers. Based on your expected versus actual returns, you can shift your investments to make better profits.
- Online retail platforms also have a 24/7 consumer engagement rate, so you can get direct access to your target audience’s preferences. Product placement matters a lot, so utilizing this data massively improves your chances of showing up in front of those who care.
Leverage Deep First-Party Data
So much data is available to retailers that without a proper strategy, most of it is wasted. Amazon, for example, allows you to analyze exactly what shoppers in your industry are looking for, which sectors you can target, compelling keywords, and targeted ad insights.
From KPIs, historical ad performance, daily ad analytics, and category-wise actionable recommendations, a ton of data is generated that you can leverage to automate your campaigns and boost ROAS.
Each platform offers unique media opportunities, so shifting each campaign can be molded to fit the format. For example, Amazon offers easy competitive targeting, while Walmart launched Search Brand Amplifier ads at the top of search results to gain more traction, and Club SKUs are successful on Instacart.
Build an Omnichannel Strategy
With social media being the easiest way to gain your consumers’ trust and build a rapport, big retailers now create content for traffic-driving sites like Instagram, Facebook, and recently, TikTok with the hopes of building an omnichannel strategy.
- Experiment with Social Commerce – According to Stackla, 75% of companies were reported saying they will increase their investment in social media marketing in the coming year. Thanks to a large number of daily users and a wide range of creative ad opportunities, a lot of CPG brands have been adopting this into their advertising plans.
- Programmatic Display Ads – Latest statistics show that global programmatic advertising spending amounted to $155 billion in 2021. With elements like automation and hyper-personalization, this is quickly becoming a brand-favorite way of building an omnichannel strategy.
- Shoppable Videos – Across devices, channels, and platforms, shoppable videos have proven extremely high-return, as a single click can take customers to the product visible on screen and shop instantly. With zero resistance, this form of advertising is going to continue being a popular choice in 2022.
By building a unified retail dashboard, you can compare each channel side by side easily to push funds where you get the highest returns. Still, the fundamentals remain sponsored ads or sponsored listings. Priority number one is to make sure you’re showing up in search on each of the eCommerce sites where your customers are shopping.
The Future of Retail Media Landscape
With an abundance of data being generated every day, zero and first-party retailer data will mean brands will craft more data-oriented campaigns. Competition is only getting fiercer with an abundance of platforms coming into the spotlight, so innovation will have to be at the heart of every successful advertising strategy. Brands can really take this opportunity to stand out of the crowd and build a loyal consumer base, irrespective of where they come from.
2022 is just around the corner, and retailers should look to maintain a healthy mix of brand awareness, direct response, and retargeting. Tools like rule-based automation can help you save time, stay ahead of the competition, and focus on your business.
