The Hidden Crisis in Retail Media: Why Your Ads Are Selling Products That Aren’t on Shelves | Ask An Expert

Retail Media Networks are booming—but there’s a catch. As major retailers like Walmart, Target, Albertsons, and Kroger rake in billions from retail media, a growing bottleneck is emerging: campaigns are being sold to brands that can’t get their products on the shelf. The result? Missed sales, empty shelves, and damaged shopper trust.

In the latest Omni Talk Retail Ask An Expert Series, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga welcome Director of Customer Success, Joy Spiotta, and Senior Product Marketing Manager, Jenya Lawson, of SPS Commerce to dive into performance-based media access—where supply chain readiness determines who gets premium ad placement, not just who’s willing to pay the most.

• 0:00 – Introduction to retail media bottleneck crisis
• 2:30 – Meet the experts: Joy Spiotta and Jenya Lawson from SPS Commerce
• 5:00 – What SPS Commerce does: Connecting retail supply chains
• 6:15 – The core problem: Ads running for out-of-stock products
• 8:45 – Why communication breaks down between media and supply chain teams
• 12:00 – Planning challenges and historical data limitations
• 14:50 – Real-world example: Sex and the City pearl necklace viral moment
• 16:30 – Store vs. digital inventory coordination challenges
• 19:00 – Automation and technological solutions for inventory management
• 21:30 – Measuring retail media ROI and transparency issues
• 24:00 – Actionable steps retailers and brands can take today
• 27:30 – Collaboration strategies and contingency planning
• 29:00 – Contact information and wrap-up

P.S. To see our full lineup of past Ask An Expert conversations, head here.

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#retailmedia #supplychain #inventorymanagement #retailtechnology #ecommerce #retailanalytics #merchandising #retailoperations #digitaladvertising

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