5 retail media trends shaping the future of digital commerce

Across the broad landscape of digital advertising, retail media has emerged as a trend to watch in 2022. In the US alone, spending on digital retail media advertising is expected to surpass $41 billion this year; that’s nearly $10 billion higher than spending in 2021. Retail media ad spending is expected to grow to $50 billion by 2023, representing one in five digital ad dollars nationwide.

What do marketers need to know to make the most of retail media? Here are five retail media trends, changes, and insights shaping the future of digital commerce.

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#1: Retail Media Investment Will Invite Newcomers

#2: Diversification Will Strengthen Retail Media Strategies

#3: Video Will Take Retail Media Ad Placements Further

#4: First-Party Data Is Gold

#5: Machine Learning Powers Retail Media Success

5 Retail Media Trends Shaping Digital Commerce in 2022

#1: Retail Media Investment Will Invite Newcomers

Where they once focused on the biggest and best known brands, retailers are likely to tap into less obvious sources of revenue by paying attention to smaller companies in 2022. While fully managed retail media solutions might not be the right fit for smaller brands, self-serve options and budget-friendly access to retail media capabilities will help draw in those oft-forgotten companies with fewer resources. The result for retailers  is a more well-rounded set of revenue sources spread across the spectrum of brands they work with.

#2: Retail Media Strategies Will Focus on Diversification

Similarly, a proliferation of retail media partnerships will enable retailers to diversify their revenue sources across multiple networks, platforms, and solutions. Instead of working with a single supply-side platform (SSP), for example, retailers are likely to develop and maintain partnerships with multiple providers at the same time. This diversification will allow companies to avoid an unstable reliance on a single source, instead distributing their efforts across a variety of ad formats, audience segments, and target markets, depending on each provider’s specialty. Multiple media formats are also top of mind this year, as advertisers expand their retail media efforts into new technologies like connected TV (CTV).

#3: Video Will Take Over  Retail Media Ad Placements

As more companies develop their own retail media platforms, placements like sponsored product and sponsored search have become the norm. To stand out, advertisers need to turn to more engaging formats like rich media and video ads. Video is incredibly effective, with an average click through rate that’s 7.5 times higher than static placements or display ads. The dynamic nature of video also enables advertisers to include various touch points across the funnel, maximizing the potential impact of a single ad unit. No matter which ad formats they employ, advertisers will still need to tie their retail media spending back to critical metrics like positive ROI.

#4: First-Party Data is Gold

In a world without cookies, brands are forced to rely less on third-party data. First-party data emerged as a critical tool for advertisers to provide consumers with personalized and relevant experiences that move the needle. By partnering with retail media networks, brands can access huge quantities of first-party data on customers’ search, browsing, and purchasing habits. From there, brands and retailers can work together to design and optimize retail media ad campaigns based on valuable insights.

#5: Machine Learning Powers Retail Media Success

The growing emphasis on data creates a massive opportunity for another retail media trend: machine learning. Artificial intelligence and machine learning taps into customer data to help advertisers optimize their campaigns for specific metrics. Whether you’re targeting click-through rate (CTR) or return on investment (ROI), data-backed decision making is a critical element of effective retail media advertising campaigns. That’s why sophisticated machine learning capabilities will play an increasingly important role in the growth of retail media networks in 2022 and beyond.

It’s also why the Moloco Retail Media Platform uses advanced AI technology to help e-commerce marketplace owners introduce retail media elements and help advertisers make the most of their retail media budgets. By putting machine learning and data-driven ad targeting within reach for more retailers and brands alike, we hope to usher in the personalized and value-driven future of digital commerce.

Ready to learn about the Moloco Retail Media Platform? Contact us today.

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