With the advance of digitalisation, there is also a growing emphasis on the online space for shopping. Getting information about and buying products and services online is becoming an integral part of our way of life. This means that more and more market players are looking to capture the attention of consumers, which means more and more advertising. We have known for a long time that people cannot absorb an infinite number of advertising messages, so we have to turn to more and more creative advertising solutions. Retail media networks can be a good alternative. But what does the term mean? Here's an introduction to retail media networks!

Retail media networks are high on the list of modern commercial trends. Retail media itself is not new, but its application and the data-driven approach that can be associated with it can open up new horizons. In this introduction to retail media networks, we will shed some light on what we call retail media, what its benefits are and what the numbers say.

Introducing retail media networks

The essence of retail media is that the retailer creates an advertising platform on its own website, or on its app, or on any other digital channel it owns, and makes it available for brands to advertise and reach their target audience.

Retailers can offer different solutions to brands, for example, ads can appear on the homepage, on the category page, on the search page, on the product page. This diversity of offerings allows advertisers to target brands at different points in the customer journey. This is particularly important as users are much more receptive to different types of advertising when they are shopping than when they are, for example, just gathering information.

Why are retail media networks important?

The importance of retail media is that it helps brands reach their target audiences effectively, at the exact moment they are shopping. It allows brands to further expand the audience to whom products are marketed and raise awareness of their benefits.

Advertising can be much more targeted, with modern solutions giving brands access to powerful analytics that underpin data-driven decision making.

Most importantly, they offer an alternative to traditional online advertising solutions, a new and effective tool that can benefit retailers, brands and consumers.

Let's take a closer look at these benefits!

What are the benefits of retail media networks?

An important part of the presentation of retail media is to explain the benefits. Let's take a look at the benefits of retail media advertising.

Useful content for customers

The strength of this form of advertising lies in the fact that the advertisements that are displayed appear to be topical and relevant in that particular situation, they are more likely to be seen as useful content and therefore not avoided or clicked away.

Regulates prices

For consumers, the advantage is that retail media can help to control prices. Thanks to the extra revenue that retailers generate, they can be more patient with price increases and therefore easily outpace competitors in price competition.

Personalised advertising

Due to the nature of the advertising solution, more relevant, personalised ads can be displayed. Although consumers often find advertising annoying, they do not reject relevant and useful content.

Reaching a relevant audience

Retail media can help you reach a relevant audience. Brands can more easily connect with visitors who are ready to buy, already ‘reaching for their wallet’.

Reliable data

Retailers provide brands not only with advertising space, but also with internal data. That is, they can learn important information about the target group, their preferences and their buying habits. This is a huge treasure trove that brands can use when preparing their business strategy and marketing strategy. This extra information also helps brands to understand what is happening from the moment a user encounters a digital ad until the moment they make a purchase.

New source of revenue

This is the key benefit for retailers: they can earn extra revenue with minimal investment. This is possible in different schemes, for example, with Inhabitad, online stores can integrate the framework that allows them to create a retail media network for free, only paying a percentage of the ads that run on the network.

What are the disadvantages of retail media?

Every advertising infrastructure has its drawbacks. In principle, retail media gives small and large retailers the same space, but in reality the larger players may be more persuasive in the first instance. However, it is worth treating this with caution, as the larger the retail media player, the more products will compete for the audience's attention. So overall, you may be better off with a smaller advertising platform than a large player.

The rise of retail media is no question. It is increasingly important for companies to spend their advertising budget wisely, in a place where they can clearly track campaign performance. The rise of retail media is borne out by the numbers. There has been a huge explosion in online shopping, followed by a slight slowdown, but the upturn is clear.

Be part of the new trend, attract visitors and earn extra revenue! Inhabitad will help you!