New Merkle Report Predicts Significant Growth for Retail Media Networks Despite Conservative Consumer Spending Projections

Merkle’s latest survey found 91% of retail media networks are expecting to grow over the next three years, but only the ones who leverage data to improve shopper experiences will thrive.

Merkle, dentsu’s leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company, released its annual Retail Media Research Report, incorporating survey findings from retail media networks (RMNs) and brands. The report focuses on the growing RMN landscape and how brands are approaching an increasingly crowded ecommerce market. It also highlights some of the dynamics related to shifting consumer habits driven by inflation and rising expectations.

There is currently a substantial number of RMNs of varying tenures, sizes, and offerings, and most of them anticipate up to 25 percent growth over the next three years. This projected growth is due to the shifts that brands have made in their marketing strategies to combat a challenging economy, including an increased presence on RMNs – oftentimes more than one.

“It’s no secret that RMNs are growing in popularity. In the past year alone, we’ve seen the investment from brands into RMNs spike exponentially, something we can attribute to changing consumer buying habits and expectations,” said Megan Cameron, SVP, Retail Media Network at Merkle. “What’s interesting beyond that is how brands will continue to choose which RMNs they want to work with and how that will impact the overall trajectory of the space. Right now, we’re seeing a boom in the number of RMN options that brands can work with, but the ones that rise to the top will be those who continue to innovate and deliver what brands actually want.”

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According to the report, while almost all RMNs are expecting high levels of growth in the next few years, the most successful ones will help brands leverage data, omnichannel offerings, and partnerships to establish CX and brand loyalty among consumers. As the space becomes more crowded, ensuring RMNs are helping brands to hit those three areas will be crucial. The report also discusses recommendations for both RMNs and brands as they continue laying the foundation for their 2024 marketing strategies.

Additional key findings from the report include:

• Forty-seven percent of brands want data and insights without media.
• Four of the top five monetization investment areas for RMNs this year fell outside of onsite media.
• Onsite media used to reign supreme, but the split between onsite and offsite campaigns in 2023 was almost 50/50.
• Twenty-five percent of RMNs offered dynamic creative optimization (DCO) to brands as a monetization program in 2023, up from 15 percent in 2022.

The Retail Media Research Report aims to help both RMNs and brands get the best understanding possible of the space to make strategic, informed marketing decisions moving forward. As 2023 comes to a close and plans are made for the year ahead, knowledge, insights, and data are the tools marketers need to drive success in the future.

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