By Alexia Nakad, VP of Brands and Commerce Media, UK and MEA, LiveRamp
Retail media has rapidly transformed from a niche topic to one of the most talked about forces in advertising. Google Trends shows a surge in searches since early 2022 – and if industry group chats are anything to go by, it’s still the hot topic everyone’s debating, dissecting, and doubling down on.
It is easy to see why. At a time when ad spend is increasingly being tied to business outcomes, retail media’s ability to provide a comprehensive and measurable view of the customer’s path to purchase represents an essential solution in the advertiser’s toolkit.
Meanwhile, with new offerings announced seemingly by the day, more and more retailers are expanding their networks to capitalise on the demand. Building on the momentum set by trailblazers like Tesco, Asda, Boots, Co-Op, and THG, other retailers are stepping in, eager to capitalise on retail media spend as advertisers grow more confident in their power to drive measurable, incremental results. The figures speak for themselves – this year, UK retail media ad spend excluding Amazon is anticipated to reach £1 billion.
However, retail media is just one vertical under the broader umbrella of “commerce media.” At its core, commerce media is about businesses with strong first-party customer relationships using their data to create smarter, more personalised advertising experiences. This includes retailers, of course, but also other data owners such as travel and entertainment companies, financial institutions etc, sitting on valuable customer insights.
Retailers may have ushered it in, but we’re living in the Commerce Media Age, and it’s time we embraced the value and unique propositions of these other networks.
The growth of commerce media
So, how did we get here?
Fuelled by the increasing demand from brands for deterministic data to inform every stage of the consumer journey, major players across various industries are now recognising the importance of their media networks. To maximise the potential of their first-party data, these companies are investing in the technology stacks necessary to facilitate, scale, and capture new opportunities. Companies in sectors such as travel, financial services, automotive, and rideshare – including Uber, Tripadvisor, Expedia, and PayPal – are embracing the retail media model, launching and promoting their own networks to capitalise on this emerging revenue stream.
With vast goldmines of unique, intent-driven data that can drive outcomes, incrementality and measurement across the whole funnel, these brands make strong media network partners. For example, travel brands have access to rich insights across several areas: customer preferences like destinations and travel dates; demographic details including age, gender, income, and family size; behaviour patterns such as booking habits and spending trends; and broader market trends, including which destinations are currently most popular. Advertisers can use this data to enhance how they deliver their brand experience through personalisation and relevance, identify new opportunities, and stay competitive with perfectly timed campaigns.
The importance of collaboration
Retail media is most definitely here, but the next phase of media networks is firmly in the domain of commerce media. Although retailers have certainly had a head start with loyalty program data and are utilising these to great success with attribution and measurement across the customer journey, commerce media networks possess a wealth of first-party data that empowers them to deliver targeted strategies unmatched by traditional retail media. With a solid go-to-market strategy, internal alignment, and a tech stack built on neutrality, these networks are uniquely positioned to offer advertisers a wide range of insights that can benefit them, whether that be holiday shopping trends, everyday behaviours, or transactions everywhere. Commerce media isn’t bound by the same spending types as retailers, and instead, networks can offer something that works alongside retail media while distinguishing themselves through other spending habits. This enables commerce media networks to create highly effective advertising strategies that drive significant incremental revenue growth, greatly benefitting advertisers and enhancing their network business growth.
Meanwhile, for brands that have not investigated the opportunity of commerce media outside of that provided by retailers, the time to act is now. With increasing emphasis on outcomes and better measurement of what is performing, commerce media networks deliver clear incremental return on ad spend insight to clarify what is driving customer growth and lifetime value.
Retailers may have written the rulebook, but the next chapter belongs to every brand with first-party data. From Amazon to Zoopla, the Commerce Media Age is here – placing customers at the centre of the advertising experience and reshaping how brands and their partners can collaborate to improve business outcomes across the funnel.
*LiveRamp is a client of Bluestripe Communications, owned by Bluestripe Group, publisher of RMA
