Staking a claim in $61.15bn in digital ad spend

Tech, retail, and streaming giants alike are serious about advertising. While these businesses aren’t traditional publishers, they’ve identified a tremendous opportunity in their audience and rich troves of first-party data and are charging full steam ahead. 

Retail media, in particular, has boomed and shows no signs of slowing down. Twenty-five percent of retailers are generating more than $100 million in revenue from their media networks. And as the industry looks to 2023 and beyond, eMarketer predicts that Walmart, Instacart, and Amazon will capture the majority of digital retail media ad budgets ($61.15bn by the end of 2024) — a significant departure from years past when tech behemoths Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, claimed most advertising budgets. However, this change presents a valuable opportunity for small-to-medium-sized retailers because as demand for performant retail media inventory surges, so does the need for addressable retail inventory. 

Retailers and eCommerce brands can claim a piece of the retail media pie by capitalizing on a valuable and likely-already-available source of first-party data and audience attention: email.

The power of email

Like the Walmarts, Instacarts, and Amazons of the world, small-to-medium-sized retailers and eCommerce brands can also transform into publishers by including media in their business portfolios. With technology like LiveIntent’s, retailers can place display and native ad slots into their emails — like newsletters and transactional emails — to unlock revenue and expand and activate their first-party data. Further, email allows retailers and their advertiser partners to tap into intent-driven, performant audiences in a logged-in, addressable, and measurable channel. 

Monetization aside, by including ad slots in their email newsletters and transactional emails, retailers can use their inventory to promote their products and offerings and drive audiences back to their digital properties. This approach helps retailers grow their first-party footprint by collecting user feedback that points to engagement, interest, and intent on websites and apps. And since emails like newsletters are opt-in and typically curated to subscriber interest or preference, they provide a layer of relevancy and personalization that you can’t find anywhere else.

Control your destiny

There’s tremendous uncertainty in today’s digital landscape. Retailers must act quickly to capitalize on opportunities that drive revenue, lessen cookie reliance, and bridge the gap between a world with third-party cookies and one without. 

“Retailers must drive growth to meet today’s demands while also building for tomorrow,” said Mike Pisula, LiveIntent’s VP of Product Development. “LiveIntent can provide retailers with the necessary tools and technology to activate their email newsletters and first-party data, drive tremendous growth while maintaining data security and privacy, and make their businesses stronger — even in the face of disruption. Because LiveIntent sits at the intersection of marketing and media, we can help deliver on the next generation of needs for retailers and eCommerce brands.”

Retail media isn’t going away. Stake your claim today to secure your business’s future success.