Retail media is an explosive and growing advertising sector that is worth billions of dollars. With monumental retailers like Walmart, Target, and even Amazon finding ways to advertise and monetize their products for consumers, the digital and physical landscapes are quickly showing the value of such an endeavor.
Retail media has quickly become one of the fastest-growing segments of advertising, and it is projected to keep growing higher and higher. For out-of-home (OOH) buyers, this growth is an indicator of new opportunities but also some pitfalls to watch out for.
The rise of retail media is, all in all, not replacing OOH, but it is carving new avenues and pathways on how out-of-home can integrate itself into omnichannel strategies, such as mixing both digital and physical ads for maximum impact.
For Starters, What Is Retail Media?
At the base of it, retail media refers to advertising avenues that are offered directly by retailers via their own platforms, such as their website.
Other platforms include:
- Digital spheres: E-commerce sites, apps, and loyalty areas.
- In-store media: Endcaps, digital displays, activations near POS, and even shelf screens.
- Thirty-party networks: Retail media networks that connect advertisers with shoppers among physical and digital ads and activations.
Retail media has a clear power as it reaches consumers in high-intent key decision moments and is further influenced by the purchase-ready environments they are in. This is an essential part of brand strategy, and it has profitable effects.
Why Retail Media Matters to OOH
The rise of retail media means that traditional and digital OOH buyers are working with an ad format that is becoming more culturally relevant and associated with huge-name retail brands. By combining both retail media and OOH, a perfect storm is created.
Retail media targets customers who are near the point of conversion due to their placement and environments, while OOH hits audiences that are still in the awareness phase. Together, they are able to create a direct path from awareness to conversion.
As retail media continues to grow, it is sitting at the direct center of many omnichannel strategy campaigns. OOH buyers who combine their ads with retail media will allow their messaging to serve as an extension of it, and therefore will be able to deliver awareness before consumers enter the retail environment.
Concluding Thoughts
OOH and retail media are not competing sectors; they are complementary partners in the same journey to capture consumer conversion. OOH can ensure its placements remain unbeatable in the age of retail media; all they have to do is lean into the omnichannel mix of success.
