In addition, advertisers’ spending in retail media comes at the expense of budgets for shopper marketing, brand marketing and trade spending, the report found. Two-thirds of those brands surveyed said their most important objective for retail media was as a sales driver, while only 12% said their most important objective for retail media was brand growth. Just over half of marketers, or 52%, said they expect retail media will become a “valuable marketing tool” in the next two years, compared to the 31% of marketers who say it is currently such a tool.
That increase in expectation will come as the trend continues to grow. Ad revenue from retail media is expected to reach $52 billion this year and $61 billion in 2024, the ANA said, citing data from eMarketer. Last year, many retailers expanded their offerings into other media channels such as connected TV and product sampling.
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As retail media continues to evolve, some players are streamlining operating partners by taking more ownership in-house—a trend experts expect to continue as they try to capture greater profits. For example, Lowe’s is bringing the advertising sales and operations department of its One Roof Media Network in-house as of Tuesday, dissolving its deal with Epsilon-owned CitrusAd, the home improvement retailer announced earlier this month.