DoubleVerify has released a report on the state of retail media, ‘The Rise of Retail Media: What to Expect in 2024’. It’s a result of a survey of over 400 advertisers and agency executives globally about retail media networks (RMNs). The report explores the rapidly expanding retail media market, which includes RMNs provided by retailers or e-commerce platforms.
Key takeaways from the survey include:
- Increase in Spending: Respondents, especially in the US (87%) are using retail media networks, and plan to increase their RMN spend, leading all other markets. While the intention to increase spending is high, the pace of retail media adoption differs between regions, showcasing the need for retailers to drive adoption and growth with region-specific goals in mind.
- The Importance of Trust and Transparency: An overwhelming 91% of respondents buying RMN inventory are working with an ad verification partner today. Additionally, more than half of respondents surveyed said that “ensuring ad quality within retail media networks is important”.
- Brand and Agency Benefits: When asked about the biggest benefits of using retail media networks, 37% of brands cited “reaching target audience” as their top advantage, whereas 32% of agencies highlighted “increased brand awareness”. When evaluating RMN effectiveness, brands predominantly measured success by an “increase in in-store or online sales” (50%), whereas agencies focused on “impressions/reach” (43%).
- Big E-commerce Representation: A majority surveyed primarily work with Amazon Advertising. Amazon was ranked the #1 most adopted RMN across the markets polled.
- Reasons for Choosing RMNs: Nearly half of the survey respondents (45%) said their primary goal of advertising with RMNs is to “attract first-time customers,” followed by “targeting specific demographics and product interests” (40%), and “reaching consumers at the point of purchase” (37%).
- Adoption Challenges: When survey respondents were asked to identify the primary challenges in using RMNs, four issues emerged as top concerns, each cited by 30% of participants: limited targeting options, constrained on-site ad space, high costs, and the absence of ad quality verification by third parties.
- RMNs Garner High Spend But Strong Return: Among all respondents, nearly half (48%) felt that RMN cost-per-mille (CPM) rates are higher than other channels, with this sentiment being particularly strong among agency executives, as 58% echoed this view. However, when asked about the return on ad spend (ROAS) of retail media, 61% of buyers said they believe RMNs perform better than other channels.
DoubleVerify’s study explored several critical areas of RMN advertising investments:
- Growth: How high is advertiser demand for RMNs and where is it focused globally?
- Value: Why are advertisers seeking out RMNs and which KPIs are they focusing on?
- Challenges: What barriers are limiting future RMN adoption?
- Verification: How can RMNs and advertisers bridge the ad quality measurement gap?
For the analysis, DoubleVerify partnered with Sapio Research, focusing on RMN engagement levels, emerging trends, and industry sentiment.
Fill out the form to download the report:
