73% of marketers planning to up RMN spend

In yet another sign of retail media networks (RMNs) growing importance, 73% of marketers say they intend to invest more in them over the next 12 months, according to a new survey from digital marketing platform LiveIntent. And 43% of the 200 marketers surveyed said they’d already invested in RMNs and found their campaigns successful.

Why we care. Customers using a retailer’s app or participating in a retailer’s loyalty program have a robust, measurable digital trail. That makes RMNs an unrivaled source of first-party data.

Close connections. As retailers continue to build out their RMNs, they should prioritize specific channels that brands prefer — many of them logged-in channels.

Sixty-one percent of advertisers want inventory that requires a customer to log in, according to the survey. This includes email newsletters and other promotional emails, video streaming services and social media.

Here’s a breakdown of the top channels that marketers are demanding more of:

• Video (64%)
• Connected TV (CTV)/streaming services (57%)
• Off-site media (56%)
• Email-based newsletters, promotions and receipts (54%)

Bumps in the road. When those retailer channels are available, marketers are more likely to try them out. Marketers see two main challenges to further growth in RMNs.

First, 52% of marketers said RMNs are facing a lack of awareness among brands and retailers.

Additionally, 44% of advertisers pointed to difficulties in measuring campaign effectiveness. A big part of that is each RMN has different measurement methods, making it impossible for advertisers to make meaningful comparisons.

Dig deeper: IAB releases new guidelines as retail media networks mature

RMN education. How big is the challenge to educating marketers and getting them to adopt? RMNs appear to have momentum on their side.

For instance, 60% of marketers have a general understanding of RMNs, while 40% have a detailed understanding, according to the survey.

And, in terms of how marketers view the RMN space, 84% said they anticipate increased RMN adoption in the upcoming 12 months.

If marketers think it’s likely that competitors are adopting RMNs, they probably feel the pressure to jump in themselves.

RMN effectiveness. But RMN adoption isn’t just based on marketers’ fear of missing out. A majority (54%) said they saw “significant improvement” in sales or customer engagement from their RMN campaigns.

A full 63% of marketers believe RMNs are more effective than other forms of digital marketing.