A global study of more than 1,000 brands, agencies, retailers and publishers conducted by commerce media firm Criteo has revealed that 83% of publishers are curious to tap retail media ad spend by embedding products on their web pages.
Among the key findings in ‘The Great Defrag: how commerce media will unite advertising in 2024’ report is that the majority of agencies (93%), brands (88%) and retailers (89%) said retail media has had a strong or positive impact on their bottom line in 2023. In fact, 79% of advertisers agreed retail media spend is more effective in terms of sales than any other channel.
The data also illustrates how retail media has evolved beyond purely sponsored product ads. Overall, 85% of brands and agencies agreed the ability of retail media to drive upper-funnel brand awareness is growing stronger.
Brian Gleason, chief revenue officer at Criteo, commented: “Advertisers, publishers and retailers want to make full use of this new media and our mission is to make it as simple as possible. The easier it is for all parties to successfully buy and sell retail media, the faster we reach the potential of this $100bn market opportunity.”
Looking ahead, 69% of publishers stated that they are prioritising retail media revenue over the next 12-18 months. This is good news for the 56% of brands and 47% of agencies currently investing in retail media, both onsite and offsite. Another quarter (24% brands, 25% agencies) are investing only in onsite, but plan to expand to offsite in the future.
To meet offsite demands, 51% of retailers are prioritising investment in this area, while 43% are also working to meet demands for retail media in-store, such as digital screens and point-of-sale displays in physical stores.
“Ultimately retail media has to emulate the whole journey of the consumer,” added Gleason. “Offsite and in-store are essential components in influencing and guiding decisions, alongside sponsored products and onsite display ads. As retail media moves up the funnel, new demand sources like brand marketing and performance marketing need to be added to the mix.”
