Retail media networks — digital advertising businesses run by retailers on their websites, apps, and digital screens — are quickly gaining traction. Ad spend in this category is expected to exceed $51B in the US this year, or 18% of total digital ad spend, according to eMarketer.
Rising e-commerce adoption and increased focus on consumer data privacy are driving this growth. Retailers from Walmart to Doordash are building their digital advertising capabilities to attract advertisers and improve operating margins.
Looking ahead, advertisers will likely focus on building brand awareness to reach new customers, as opposed to tapping shoppers already close to purchase.
But this exciting new category comes with challenges, including working across multiple platforms. Fifty-six percent of respondents in a brand survey by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) said they are working with 5 or more retail media networks. Emerging technology could help advertisers optimize their retail media planning and execution.
Using CB Insights data, we identified 139 companies helping advertisers tap into the growing retail media network opportunity.
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