A Permanent Shift Into Retail Media

According to Digiday, retail media — that is, ad inventory in retail and grocery media channels from Amazon, Walmart, Target, and others — is one of the big winners of the vast majority of consumers sheltering at home. And this shift, according to PMG’s Nick Drabicky, is a permanent one.

Prior to the crisis, advertisers were already leaning into retail media, though many were still in testing mode. Also, understandably, some advertisers were reluctant to commit too much into those channels because they didn’t want to lose control of customer data.

However, with the crisis forcing consumers who once relied only on brick and mortar shopping to buy online, retail sites have seen traffic increase, and advertisers follow. PMG saw a 45% increase in retail media investments over the past two weeks, according to Drabicky.

Heavier ad spending in retail media is going to be a part of the new normal, so marketers taking a test and learn approach now will be best positioned once the crisis recedes.