RETAIL MEDIA NETWORKS GROW BEYOND GROCERY

While retail media networks began in the grocery vertical, they are also found across the retail industry. Discounter Target was an early participant, launching its Roundel ad network in 2019 as a tool for CPG brands to create personalized digital ad campaigns aimed at Target customers. Roundel helps advertisers connect directly with Target’s customers through personalized, relevant marketing messages across Target’s owned platforms and hundreds of select off-platform channels.

Meanwhile, Target’s chief discount rival Walmart operates the Walmart Connect media platform, as well as a demand-side platform for suppliers and their media and ad agencies (both Target and Walmart offer a grocery assortment at some stores and online).

Home improvement titan Lowe’s offers the Lowe’s One Roof Media Network, which includes data-driven insights integrated with analysis of consumer behaviors and home category trends, as well as customized advertising products. The company moved the network’s advertising sales and operations departments in-house in early 2023.

Meanwhile, leading consumer electronics chain Best Buy operates customers on path to purchase.

We will also be able to hit customers with a programmatic billboard on their way to the store, or via in-store digital screens. But our idea is to be able to do all that through one platform and then bring that around with closed loop measurement to understand what was the most effective media that drove conversion once they convert.

Also, Ahold Delhaize USA wants to know that we can make more use of that space so that we aren’t repeating the serving of ads to someone who has already seen them and then converted somewhere along the path to purchase. There are other great things we’re looking at, such as connecting with consumers in their vehicles. But that’s further down the pipeline.

Editor’s Note: Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based global grocery conglomerate Ahold Delhaize, operates more than 2,000 stores across 23 states under the Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Co., Hannaford, and Stop & Shop banners, as well as e-grocer FreshDirect and Peapod Digital Labs, the company’s digital, e-commerce and commercial platform.

Best Buy Ads, an in-house media company designed to help its suppliers provide shoppers with targeted, timed promotional messages based on its customer relationships and insights.

And you don’t need physical stores to participate. Digital department store retailer Lord & Taylor got in on retail media networks in 2022, using InMobi Commerce technology to provide partner brands and ad agencies with a full-funnel retail media platform, including shoppable videos, designed to move immersive product discovery from third-party social platforms back to its owned channels.

The convenience sector is also seeing some growth in the retail media network space. 7-Eleven has introduced a retail media network called Gulp Media Network. In addition, on-demand delivery platforms Instacart, DoorDash, amd GoPuff, which all have access to inventory from partner convenience retailers, offer some type of media network service to advertisers.

Even regional convenience retailers are joining the retail media network trend. Midwest convenience store retailer Casey’s General Stores launched its own retail media network, called Casey’s Access, earlier this year. The network enables CPG companies and other vendor partners to leverage Casey’s customer data to connect audiences with relevant promotions, offers, and marketing content across digital and in-store touchpoints.