Retail media networks: Co-op advertising gets smarter

While retail media is the natural evolution of co-op advertising, it's crucial for retailers to recognize they are not the same.

Here's why.

Traditionally, retailers relied on disconnected tech stacks and identity systems to power their enterprise-level co-op advertising programs. This looked like retailers building tech stacks by selecting partners across various specializations: utilizing one partner for onboarding, another for activation, yet another for measurement, and so on.

The problem with this, today, is that each tech partner has their own understanding of a customer that may not properly resolve across the whole tech stack. This can create gaps that erode retailers' ability to see shoppers across the full shopper journey, as well as deliver accurate reporting and actionable insights to their advertising partners.

The success of retail media for retailers in an ever-increasingly crowded and competitive market relies on seamless collaboration and transparency across every piece of the puzzle—especially the ability to maintain shopper visibility throughout the entire customer journey.

In this blog, we'll explore why connected identity should be at the core of your retail media strategy.

The risk of disconnected identity in retail media

When your tech stack lacks a unified identity system—that is, a system for understanding a single individual across every stage in their journey and the tech steps you need to take to reach them in those moments—you risk losing visibility into the shopper journey at all touchpoints. It’s not just about data loss between phases; it’s about the inability to track individual shoppers as they move through different channels and stages.

Here are some examples of what this looks like:

• If a shopper interacts with an onsite ad, adds an item to their cart but doesn't check out, and later completes the purchase in store, can you confidently report on the impact of your brand partners' media?
• Without connected identity, measurement partners may fail to identify that these actions belong to the same person, resulting in no credit for the tactic that contributed to the sale.

The implications are significant. Inaccurate measurement undermines your value to advertisers and your position as a retail media network. Fragmented identity systems lead to inefficiencies, including over-serving shoppers with redundant ads and misallocating budgets, ultimately hurting the performance of your brands' media programs.

The promise of retail media lies in the shopper

Retail media's power comes from its focus not on the aggregate audience, like typical media, but instead on the granularity of data available for each individual shopper.

But delivering on this promise requires more than repackaging traditional co-op or partner marketing programs. It means innovating how retailers and brands collaborate.

Advertising partners are seeking:

• Transparent, accurate reporting that tracks the shopper’s journey from first touch to final purchase, whether online or offline.
• Feedback loops that integrate data from purchases back into audience strategies in real time, enabling continuous improvement in flight, not 8-12 weeks after the campaign ends.
• Insights that show the effectiveness of different media touchpoints, guiding brands to refine their strategies.

Without these capabilities, your retail media programs risk failing to meet advertiser expectations. The ability to map out the shopper’s full journey—onsite and offsite—is critical to ensuring campaigns perform as intended.

Retailers who prioritize a connected identity strategy will be best positioned to:

• Offer the most honest and complete solutions to their brand partners.
• Gain a deeper understanding of shopper behavior, enabling more precise targeting and measurement.
• Lead the charge in redefining how retailers and brands interact through retail media.

Retailers must also consider the broader implications of their approach. Disconnected tech stacks and siloed data don’t just impact reporting—they limit your ability to innovate and adapt to changing shopper behaviors. By integrating all elements of your retail media tech stack, you’ll provide advertisers with the insights they need to succeed while building a stronger foundation for your own growth.

Building a purpose-built retail media solution

To truly unlock the potential of retail media, your technology and partners must be able to:

1. Connect the dots: Ensure identity resolution across all platforms to follow the shopper’s journey seamlessly. This connection allows for better tracking of ad exposure, conversions and other key interactions.
2. Maximize media efficiency: Use insights to guide budget allocation across onsite and offsite channels, optimizing for the most impactful outcomes. For example, knowing that a shopper typically requires an average of, say, seven ad exposures (including one display ad before adding an item to their cart) enables more targeted campaigns.
3. Drive innovation: Go beyond traditional advertising models by leveraging the unique aspects of retail media. Retailers can provide brands with granular insights, such as how audiences respond to specific campaigns and where to allocate budgets for the best ROI.

The feedback loop advantage

An ideal retail media tech stack doesn’t just support reporting; it actively creates a feedback loop that enhances performance over time. For example:

• Purchase data feeds back into audience platforms, ensuring that shopper purchases automatically update within the targeting profiles to maximize delivery to in-market audiences, not shoppers who just purchased the featured item.
• Measurement partners integrate seamlessly with activation platforms, so you can identify when a shopper’s journey includes multiple touchpoints.
• Advertisers can see a complete picture of how media dollars drive sales across channels, allowing them to refine their strategies for future campaigns.

Consider the importance of tying together all shopper touchpoints. If your systems can’t confirm that the same shopper who was served an onsite ad later converted in-store, you’re left with incomplete data. A unified identity system ensures you’re delivering complete, actionable insights.

Delivering on the promise of retail media

At its heart, retail media is about the shopper. It’s about understanding who they are, what motivates their behavior and how to engage them effectively.

By focusing on connected identity across all journey touchpoints, retailers can:

• Build more cohesive campaigns that resonate with shoppers.
• Provide advertisers with a clear view of the shopper journey, enhancing trust and collaboration.
• Unlock the full potential of their media programs, driving better results for everyone involved.

In short, your tech stack should be purpose-built for retail media, not merely adapted from legacy co-op or enterprise advertising models. By prioritizing connected identity across a unified retail marketing platform, you’ll deliver the value that shoppers and advertisers expect while positioning your retail media programs as industry leaders in a rapidly evolving landscape.