Retail Media On The Rise
The rise of digital advertising is stunning – Walmart Connect posted 41% growth versus last year in the 4th quarter. Remember the days, early in the pandemic, when digital sales began to really accelerate?
Here we are again. A seismic shift is happening/has happened. National media companies have recognized that retail advertising is now in the game. Retailers are vying for national dollars. Budgets are shifting. Many are trying to catch up, some are ahead of the trend. Most are reevaluating their ’23 digital advertising strategy to shift dollars to retail media.
Think Before You Spend
The temptation is to run. Dramatically increase digital marketing spending to keep up with the competition, the headlines, and the news.
Take a breath. Increase spending, yes. But, spend wisely.
Increasing your retail media spend in an advertising/marketing silo will not pay out. Your retail media strategy should be connected to your greater goals – leveraging your ad dollars towards growing your total brand.
Consider how your ad spend at the retailer might impact the conversation in your next in-store line review or incentivize a buyer to email you back. Could showing Kroger an increase in paid search translate to an end cap in-store or help you sell in new innovation? Could a strategic Roundel investment help in securing a JBP invite at Target?
Increasing your retail media spend in an advertising/marketing silo will not pay out. Your retail media strategy should be connected to your greater goals – leveraging your ad dollars towards growing your total brand.
A great ROAS does not necessarily equal a great spend. This ubiquitous digital advertising KPI is certainly a measure of success, but not where you should stop. The connection between retail media and your total omnichannel business means you must expand your focus from just ROAS to total ROI. You must move from direct measurement to indirect measurement.
Beware of the company that circles ROAS as the only measurement to be concerned with in an omnichannel world.
Taking a “Connected Retail” Approach
“Connected” retail seems to be the new buzzword, full of different definitions.
Some say “Connect digital data”. Connecting your digital assortment and performance across your top retail eCommerce sites is fundamental to measuring your digital success and penetration.
Some say “Connect retail media”. Connecting advertising performance metrics across all the available retail media channels, for example, Walmart Connect, Target Roundel, and Amazon Advertising is imperative to helping brands determine where to spend their next dollar.
Some say “Connect all digital media”. Connecting full-funnel digital media platforms (ie. search, digital displays, and connected TV) is important in connecting with a consumer along their shopping journey.
We call this speaking “trilingual retail”. An approach to managing retail that works for the total success of your business across in-store, digital, and retail media.
Questions to Explore When Reporting Omnichannel ROI
So, invest in digital advertising with an understanding of ROAS. However, pay most attention to omnichannel ROI. Some questions to explore:
- Was your investment in digital advertising connected to driving incremental in-store distribution?
- Is your merchant partnering with you on your digital advertising strategy with in-store feature activity?
- Are you analyzing the impact of in-store POS associated with your digital advertising investments?
- How are my advertising efforts on Amazon impacting multi-retailer store sales?
How Can You Know If Your Digital Advertising Strategy Is Working?
To understand if your digital advertising strategy is working, one must analyze the total picture. Not digital or brick & mortar, not ROAS in a vacuum, but total ominchannel sales.
We activate across all of the top retail media platforms. Harvest Group has developed strategic partnerships as a Walmart Platform Partner, Amazon Advertising Partner, and KPM/84.51° Partner with seats at Amazon’s DSP and The Trade Desk. In addition, we have established connections across Roundel, CitrusAds, Criteo, and Instacart.
Harvest Group is uniquely positioned to analyze omnichannel ROI, which is greater than ROAS.
If you’re interested in learning more about Harvest Group’s full-service retail media and digital advertising services fill out our Contact Us form or email us at hello@harvestgroup.com.
You can learn more about Harvest Group’s Retail Media capabilities here.
