As the holiday season nears, retailers are looking for new ways to engage with their customers and keep them in their stores longer. In-store retail media networks have emerged as a way to do just that.
The retail media network advantage
Let’s start with the basics: what exactly are retail media networks? Retail media networks allow retailers to use their first party data to optimize and personalize advertisements delivered to consumers across the seller’s various platforms – whether that’s onsite, offsite, and now even more so in-store.
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Retail media networks generate revenue for sellers by providing ad space to third parties or showing their own ads to increase sales. Retail media networks can also provide brands with detailed analytics, showing how ad placements and promotional efforts drive consumer purchases, both in-store and elsewhere. Perhaps most importantly this holiday season, retailers can position holiday-specific sponsored content, exclusive offers, or brand recommendations on their website or apps, bringing attention to relevant products at key decision-making moments.
However, retail media networks don’t just benefit stores. They’ve also been received surprisingly well by shoppers. As many as 61 percent of shoppers say in-store media content is useful, and many also say it improves the overall buying experience. Part of the reason shoppers don’t mind these in-store ads is that retail media networks reduce unnecessary, intrusive ads and instead prioritize content that is genuinely useful. This is because the advertisements depend mostly on first-party data rather than questionable third-party data sources.
Third party data comes from external sources like data brokers and consist of things like social media activity, browsing history from unrelated websites, or general demographic information sold by third-party aggregators. Since the data often lacks direct consumer input, it’s generally less relevant.
By contrast, using first-party data allows retail media networks to focus on insights from shoppers’ actual interactions with the store – like purchase history, product preferences, loyalty program activity and even engagement in physical store aisles – to create a more personalized and accurate ad experience. For example, instead of displaying generic ads based on broad demographic assumptions, stores can offer promotions on items that align with a customer’s past purchases or popular products within that specific location.
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By GlobalDataRelying on first-party data is also considered to be more “privacy conscious” compared to using third-party sources, whose data collection practices may not be the most reliable or secure.
The holiday shopping experience
Now, let’s get back to holiday shopping. Retail media networks can provide a more engaging experience by surfacing relevant products, deals, or information aligned with consumer preferences. The holiday shoppers can receive these offers through their store app on their phones or while at digital kiosks. With these timely promotions or personalized gift suggestions, they can then make faster, more informed buying decisions.
Here are three ways to get the full benefits of retail media networks this holiday season. First, use first-party data to showcase tailored gift suggestions based on customers’ past purchases or browsing habits. Offers from digital kiosks or in-app gift suggestions help improve the customer’s experience by providing relevant ideas right when they need them while keeping shoppers in the store to find the right item.
Second, use your retail media network to notify shoppers about low stock on popular holiday items or last-chance purchases in real time. This creates a sense of urgency, increases conversions, and helps customers make faster buying decisions, which is especially valuable during the high-demand holiday period. You can even show these items on check-out kiosks or near wait lines for returns to increase the time shoppers spend in your store.
Lastly, use the web-based portion of your retail media network to drive engagement by providing seasonal product previews. You can also encourage online shoppers to visit physical locations by promoting “in-store only” deals or services, such as free holiday gift wrapping. That way you can draw more customers to your stores and increase their likelihood of making a purchase.
Holiday optimization
By optimizing the holiday shopping experience through a retail media network, retailers can maximize customer satisfaction and increase the likelihood of repeat visits. This ensures that the holiday rush translates to sales and positive shopping experiences.
About the author: Ron Levac is Spectrio’s Chief Innovation Officer, driving market expansion, product development, and brand growth.
