As the retail media boom continues, the relationship between the retailer and the brands they carry is going through a significant transformation. While brands have always had to strategize, plan, negotiate and spend with retailers to get their products distributed across stores to reach new and existing customers, their commitments are evolving once again. With limited shelf space and a well-developed profile of their shoppers, retailers have developed processes, commitment requirements and even sophisticated tools in support of their ‘negotiation’ with the brands – i.e. the JBP (joint business planning).
In a dynamic – and increasingly complex – environment, retailers and brands need a new playbook to balance out their dual roles and successfully compete as more ad spend flows to retail media. Here are a few key strategies designed for both sides to realize their full potential in the retail media space:
Foster Collaboration Between Buyers and Sellers as Their Roles Converge
So, what makes retail media different from other disruptors to the JBP in past years? It brought ‘sellers’ into retail and ‘buyers’ into brands, where traditionally, it had only been the opposite. While the industry has long lived by the classic adage, “whoever has the gold makes the rules,” the rise of retail media has completely flipped the script for both sides.
As retailers transition into media sellers through retail media networks, this role reversal presents a unique challenge for both retailers and brands, and while this is the catalyst to the transformation, both sides are grappling with how to adapt.
Advertisement
According to a recent survey from the Path to Purchase Institute, 75% of brands and retailers agree that retail media improves their relationships and encourages collaboration. This suggests that retail media can be a unifying force, bringing both parties closer together. By working together in support of their shared goals, retailers and brands can build stronger relationships and drive mutual benefits.
Invest in New Skills that Reflect the Dynamics of the Current Landscape
As both sides traverse this brand new world, retailers are facing a critical test to level up their skills in order to maintain their ability to sell media effectively. Brands are looking for the business case from retailers, which requires providing high fidelity audience targeting, campaign optimization and strong analytics, allowing brands to reach their target audiences more effectively. In fact, 80% of CPG brands rank data and insight quality, scale, reach and reporting capabilities as the most influential considerations impacting retail media investments.
Retailers that make it easy for brands to engage and offer comprehensive insights in support of results will attract more brand engagement. By providing value to brands, retailers can build rapport and drive mutual benefits, such as increased data sharing, joint marketing efforts and shared insights. For example, 60% of brand budgets and 46% of trade budgets are shifting to retail media, indicating a significant increase in investment in this area.
Stay Nimble to Optimize Results and Boost Efficiency
As the lines blur between buyers and sellers, it’s crucial for brands to be open to new approaches and prioritize flexibility. According to the same study, 75% of brands are willing to experiment with new retail media formats, such as in-store displays and digital signage. By being more open to new approaches, brands can increase their reach and engagement with customers, while also driving sales and revenue.
In addition, retailers and brands must work together to develop more sophisticated measurement and analytics capabilities. In fact, 80% of brands are looking for more advanced analytics and measurement capabilities to track the effectiveness of their retail media campaigns. By teaming up to develop these capabilities, retailers and brands can gain a better understanding of the impact of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions to optimize their strategies.
Collaboration is Key: Meeting the Moment and Moving the Industry Forward
Ultimately, the growth of retail media has spawned a prime opportunity for both retailers and brands to rethink their approach and make moves in support of their shared goals.
By prioritizing collaboration, investing in new skills and staying nimble, both sides can drive growth and success in the retail media landscape while also building stronger relationships with each other. When both the retailer and the brand focus on exploiting the benefits of their new roles within the current landscape, true synergy can happen that will ultimately impact their most important, shared objective: customer value.
Brands and retailers have the power to meet this moment and move the industry forward — but they can only do it together.
Angela Myers, currently serving as SVP of Retail Media for G-Comm, a division of Goodway Group, brings over 20 years of experience across retail and ad tech, with former leadership roles at Oracle, Datalogix and A&P. With a strong background in insights, analytics, data monetization and retail media coupled with a customer-first approach, Myers now leads G-Comm, Goodway Group’s retail media accelerator, expertly navigating brand marketers and retailers through the evolving retail media landscape.
