Insights firm Incisiv and digital commerce and fulfilment solutions provider Wynshop have revealed findings from a survey focused on digital grocery retail in the US.

More than 4000 grocery executives who were asked for their opinions on retail media networks presented an optimistic prediction of an average 13% rise in revenue in 2024. This is a sizeable chunk of the US grocery sector, which is forecast to reach $3.13bn by 2027.

The role of artificial intelligence (AI) is also viewed as important. 82% of grocers believe AI can improve shopper targeting and 87% think it can improve pricing and inventory management. However, fewer than 7% are currently utilising AI to its fullest potential.

Incisiv CIO Gaurav Pant commented: "Retail media should be a major focus for grocers in 2024. Now that grocers have succeeded in staking out their own claims in the digital grocery frontier, they will double down on initiatives that help them maintain customer loyalty and improve profitability."

How do consumers feel about retail ads?

The consensus from consumers is that they welcome ads as long as they are relevant.

93% said that the relevance of offers influences their purchase decision, with 73% reporting that they have clicked on an ad when they thought it was relevant and 84% responding to limited-time-only deals. However, 91% said they already see too many ads online.

Wynshop CRO Charlie Kaplan added: "Shoppers respond positively to online grocery ads, but only if they are timely and personally relevant. Grocers' ability to finely target offers to the preferences of individual shoppers using AI will be the key to success in the retail media game this year."

A recent report from Turbyne spotlighted a gap between retailers’ perceptions of the value delivered by their retail media networks and brands’ actual satisfaction with these networks.