DMEXCO Column: Retail Media – 5 key takeaways from DMEXCO 2024 you can’t miss

Retail Media: Growth Driver and Innovation Engine of Digital Advertising

Retail media is considered one of the most important growth drivers in digital advertising. It is, to a certain extent, a driving force behind advertising innovations. 94 per cent of media experts are certain that retail media will still be an ‘important or very important’ advertising form in five years. That’s according to the latest Trendmonitor by the association of the German Media Agencies and the German Media Agencies within the BVDW.

Also at this year’s DMEXCO in Cologne Retail media was one of the dominant topics. It is clear that this form of advertising is and remains a strong driver of the digital advertising industry.

Brands benefit from being able to address customers with a high purchase intention directly at the point of sale, while retailers can benefit from additional revenue and the use of valuable first-party data. Ideally, this leads to a more precise targeting, higher conversion rates and a measurable return on advertising spend.

5 Retail media trends from DMEXCO you should know:

However, it is also clear that there is a strong desire for standardisation and harmonisation of metrics and measurement methods. Retail media must become more transparent and comparable. We at the German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW) are taking this demand into account and have already introduced additional standard metrics in January 2024 – with our lab ‘Market Transparency and Standards’ within the Retail Media Circle (RMC) – which aim to serve as a new basis for the industry.

Given the long-running debate about third-party cookies, it is clear that first-party data will become even more relevant. Thanks to this data, companies can place their advertising directly at the point of sale with precise targeting and achieve high visibility on the ‘digital shelf’. A major advantage is that advertisers can track the impact of their measures on sales in real time.

An important mechanism for this is closed-loop measurement, which allows the effect of advertising measures to be tracked throughout the entire purchase process – from initial contact to the point of sale. This provides companies with clear insights into how their ad spend contributes to specific sales uplifts.

Another trend highlighted at DMEXCO 2024 is the growing importance of retail media in the upper funnel. Until recently, companies used retail media primarily as a sales tool. However, it is now increasingly being used for branding and to raise brand awareness. For example, companies are investing more in onsite and offsite measures to accompany consumers along their entire customer journey – from the early phases of brand and product discovery until the actual purchase.

Consumers today shop across a wide range of channels – and often switch between them multiple times before making a purchase. This also increases the relevance of omnichannel strategies. In the context of retail media, this means that omnichannel attribution is becoming more relevant in order to be able to view measures holistically and ensure comparability between pure players and multichannel providers.

In-store measures such as digital displays or interactive kiosks also offer new ways to reach and engage customers directly at the point of sale. Companies are increasingly positioning themselves with corresponding offers that better support the integration of the online and offline world.

The dynamic development of retail media is also reflected in the rapid adaptation of the agency landscape. Many agencies have responded by creating new, specialised units and teams that focus exclusively on retail media and e-commerce. With this in-depth expertise and expansion of their service portfolios, they are not only addressing the growing demand, but also taking on a key role when it comes to offering companies even more targeted and data-driven advice.

Retail media – an indispensable part of the world of digital advertising

DMEXCO 2024 has once again proven that retail media is one of the most exciting and dynamic areas of digital advertising and will play a central role in the digital marketing mix of many companies in the years to come. At BVDW, we will continue to drive this change forward and shape it in Europe from a German perspective.