There's not room for everyone in retail media - that's OK
In this edition, we're breaking down the myth that there's room for every AdTech and MarTech player in retail media, and why ongoing and looming consolidation is positive for the industry. Plus, retail media updates from the IAB, Dollar General and Thrive Market.
Hello, again! Welcome back for another edition of Unfold, the retail media newsletter from the experts at Threefold. We just wrapped up a jam-packed couple of days at the IAB Connected Commerce Summit here in New York City, which was bigger and bolder in its second year.?
We’re getting ready to head out west for the Ascendant Network 's Retail Media Boot Camp in Palo Alto, where Managing Director Sean Crawford will take the stage with Robert Cummins of WHSmith North America for a panel about in-store retail media moderated by EMARKETER Principal Analyst Sarah Marzano . We’re really looking forward to this one and can’t wait to see our fellow Ascendants!??
Are you a retailer heading to Groceryshop? There are a few spots open at our VIP Retail Media Dinner, October 6 at 7:30 p.m. hosted in partnership with Particular Audience and PubMatic . Join us for an exclusive evening of dinner, drinks and networking with retail media industry peers. Get more information and let us know if you want a seat at the table at Threefold.team/dinner. Seats are limited, so act fast.
This week, Justin Sparks , VP of Business Development, is back, debunking the myth that there’s room for everyone in AdTech to get a piece of the retail media pie. Here's Justin!
Retail media is the hottest thing in the AdTech space since CTV—or maybe the year of mobile, retargeting, social media or search. Either way, you get it: Retail media is the belle of the ball right now. According to EMARKETER, retail media will account for one-fifth of digital ad spending globally this year. And that doesn’t even include the burgeoning world of in-store retail media in the US, which is smaller but likewise expected to grow steadily over the next four years and eclipse the $1 billion mark in 2028.
As retail media follows the consumer, and the money, and continues to move off-site from retailer websites, mobile apps and into other spaces—such as digital programmatic, CTV, and in-store, to name a few—many in the AdTech and MarTech industry have scrambled to find where they can bring value to the networks. Some of these businesses are jumping on the bandwagon to get a piece of the pie and may struggle building a value exchange, or a profitable one.
As with any growth cycle, not everyone can stay along for the ride. There will be winners and losers; some will fizzle out quickly, while others will be absorbed by larger players. We're already starting to see that take shape with recent and potential mergers, as the chessboard changes shape. So, yes, the ongoing consolidation in the AdTech and ad agency business is needed for a multitude of reasons, and above all else, to create a better and less fragmented experience for brand advertisers. This cycle is part of a healthy industry evolution that will make commerce media better for brands, retailers, and consumers alike, which may be the most bullish sign of retail media’s long-term standing in the industry.
As such, it’s key for retailers and other businesses looking to launch and operate Commerce Media Networks to choose the right technology partners for their tech stack and service providers. They must not be wooed by big promises from players that can’t actually deliver. That’s why, at Threefold, we take an agnostic approach to building a technology stack for our retail partners, meaning we choose the best partners to meet our individual partners’ capabilities and needs. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution in AdTech, despite what that pitch deck may say(!), and the continued innovation and eventual consolidation will make it easier for RMNs to find technology solutions that actually deliver for retail media. There’s not room for everyone, and that’s okay. The retail media industry is maturing right in front of us, even if we all still have more work to do.
Now the news
The top story: IAB releases in-store retail media definitions and measurement standards Breaking it down: The Interactive Advertising Bureau ( IAB ) at this week’s Connected Commerce Summit in New York City launched its new In-Store Retail Media: Definitions & Measurement Standards, in collaboration with IAB Europe . The in-store definitions and measurement standards follow IAB’s ongoing work to standardize retail media measurement. The report aims to define terminology for in-store retail media components, i.e., impressions; recommend formats for in-store advertising; standardize classifications of store zones; and provide measurement guidelines for tracking, reporting and analyzing in-store retail media. These standards only pertain to digital in-store retail media and do not offer standards for printed media, static media or experiential in-store media.
Our thoughts: The IAB is once more advancing the conversation toward creating a less fragmented retail media landscape, which is a win for retailers, brands and consumers alike. While the IAB’s overarching measurement standards, finalized earlier this year, were comprehensive, they lacked solid recommendations for in-store retail media, so it’s exciting that the IAB has released this supplemental resource in an era when retailers globally are (rightfully) taking in-store retail media more seriously. At Threefold, we’ve been activating in-store retail media campaigns since the beginning of our business more than a decade ago, so we were more than happy to have a seat at the table in the IAB’s Retail Media Measurement Working Group as this resource was crafted.
More on this from Peyton Bigora at Industry Dive .
Another audio upgrade: Dollar General adds in-store audio for advertisers
The news: Dollar General , one of the top 20 retailers in the US, announced that new in-store audio capabilities would be available to its brand advertisers in the fall. Dollar General says it will provide both creative services to assist advertisers in creating the audio content and will offer closed-loop reporting for campaigns. Dollar General already offers several in-store touchpoints, including digital shelf tags and in-store screens.
What this means: Discount retailer Dollar General is the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the US by store count and has grown in popularity, especially among budget-conscious consumers and in regions with few retail options. Dollar General overhauled its RMN proposition in 2023 and earlier this year enhanced its offering by partnering with Criteo. In-store retail media capabilities are important for all retailers with a brick-and-mortar store presence, but they’re especially important for a retailer like Dollar General, which has an e-commerce presence but sees the vast majority of sales in-store. In-store audio is one of many effective touchpoints in reaching shoppers in and around the store, growing brand awareness and increasing sales at the point of purchase.
Read it from the Path to Purchase Institute 's Cyndi Loza .
Another RMN: Digital grocer Thrive Market launches retail media
What's new: Thrive Market , a members-only digital grocer geared toward healthy and sustainable goods, is launching retail media capabilities powered by Instacart . Brands will first be able to advertise via sponsored searches on its website in the fall, with further capabilities, including on-site digital display and video ads, to follow. Thrive Market, which carries a much smaller assortment of brands compared to a typical grocer, says those brands will be better able to tailor campaigns to target shoppers in niche categories. In addition to insights from Thrive Market, brands will be able to access Instacart's grocery data when crafting retail media campaigns.
领英推荐
What this means: Another new player in the retail media space means greater competition for coveted brand dollars. However, with a more niche product assortment and a smaller customer base, brands will likely see unique benefits in investing in Thrive Market compared to existing and larger RMNs. Additionally, since it’s a membership-based retailer, Thrive Market will have robust purchase data about every one of its shoppers, enabling extremely precise targeting capabilities not quite possible via all RMN propositions.
Read it from Lauren Johnson at ADWEEK .
News from SMG
SMG, the parent company of Threefold, this week launched Very Media Group , a reenvisioned Retail Media Network for our longtime partners at The Very Group.?
Samuel Knights , CEO at SMG, says: "As a foundational client of SMG, we are excited to take this new and exciting next step with The Very Group in their retail media journey. What makes The Very Group unique is the combination of the wide variety of brands on their platform, from sports to electricals to home to beauty to fashion to toys alongside the incredible data set they have on a hard-to-reach but very valuable set of customers. Combined with our technology and expertise, this partnership will enable brands to create engaging campaigns with incredible efficiency and closely measure performance."
Sean Crawford , Managing Director, appeared on Sentient Talent 's Programmatic Pulse podcast to chat about the evolution of retail media, the explosion of retail media, an update on our work in North America. Sean says: “Retailers have a golden key—it’s first-party data. That’s hugely powerful for brands because it helps them genuinely understand who is engaging with their product and who is buying it. It’s booming, but it’s not new. People saying retail media is new are wrong. It’s been around for decades. The exciting part is that people now believe retail media is media. And I fully support that.”
Connect with Threefold this fall.
Want to chat with the retail media experts at the forefront of the global retail media evolution? Join us at the following events this fall.
September 25 - 26, Palo Alto
October 7- 9, Las Vegas
And there’s more where that came from. Keep in touch with Threefold here on LinkedIn and head to threefold.team for the latest updates and happenings from Threefold.
Previous Editions