US home improvement retailer Lowe's has partnered with Google to pilot a new retail media solution to enhance privacy-centric advertising.  

The retailer is one of the early beta partners for Google's initiative, which involves a closed beta [testing on real users in a production environment] in Search Ads 360 (SA360) for offsite retail media campaigns. 

The SA360 platform allows retailers to utilise their first-party data to power AI-driven Performance Max campaigns while maintaining consumer privacy.  

Google plans to test features that enable self-service campaign management for brands and will expand the beta to more retailers globally. 

With the self-service option, retailers can share first-party audiences with brand partners in a way that protects user privacy.  

This approach allows brands to target high-intent shoppers with relevant ads. Shoppers are then directed to the retailer’s product detail page, where they can easily add items to their cart. 

Retailers can share only relevant parts of their product inventory feeds with brand partners, ensuring that ads only display in-stock products.  

This prevents brands from advertising out-of-stock items and allows retailers to share sales and performance data selectively. 

SA360 product manager Ewan Fisher stated in a blog post: “We see retail media as a cornerstone of the SA360 mission to drive reach, performance and productivity for advertisers. Going forward, we will be supporting additional campaign types for offsite retail media, including Microsoft campaigns.  

“We will also build more retail media features unique to SA360 to drive greater performance. We are committed to helping this ecosystem grow and look forward to sharing updates in the coming months.”