Episode 103: Andrew Lipsman on retail media trends, Walmart, and more
Dec 20, 2024
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Andrew Lipsman, an independent analyst and former expert at eMarketer and Comscore, dives into the fast-changing world of retail media. He discusses how giants like Amazon and Walmart are reshaping the landscape, while smaller retailers face significant challenges. Lipsman highlights the evolution of in-store advertising, emphasizing the potential of short-form video content. He also addresses key regulatory issues affecting the tech industry, including antitrust scrutiny and the implications of digital advertising scandals. It's an insightful exploration of trends reshaping commerce!
Major retail media growth is led by Amazon and Walmart, with smaller retailers struggling to compete due to resource limitations.
The transition towards performance-driven advertising in retail media poses challenges for brand awareness, emphasizing the need for innovative strategies.
Deep dives
The Growth of Retail Media
Retail media is currently experiencing substantial growth, driven predominantly by major players like Amazon and Walmart, which command a significant share of the market. Amazon holds approximately 75% of the retail media landscape, while Walmart accounts for around 10%, with both reporting impressive year-over-year growth rates. Meanwhile, smaller retailers are experiencing mixed results, with many struggling to keep pace and showing signs of stagnant or negative growth. This uneven performance highlights Amazon's established dominance in the sector, which benefits from its long history and extensive data capabilities to attract advertising dollars.
Opportunities and Challenges for Smaller Retailers
Smaller retailers recognize the potential of retail media as a supplementary revenue source, but they often lack the scale and resources to fully capitalize on it. The discussion highlights the importance of aggregation for mid-tier players, illustrating that regional c-stores and smaller retailers could band together to monetize their combined inventory more effectively. Companies like Instacart aim to create aggregated retail media networks (RMNs) that enable smaller retailers to tap into the advertising potential by pooling resources and leveraging data. However, establishing a successful media network requires a significant investment in capabilities and talent that many smaller retailers currently lack.
The Impact of Retail Media on Traditional Advertising
The shift towards performance-driven advertising in retail media is poised to transform traditional advertising models, particularly in the context of television and in-store advertising. Retail media's close proximity to the point of purchase presents an opportunity for brands to capture consumer attention and drive sales effectively. However, there are concerns regarding the trade-off between performance metrics and branding effectiveness, with fears that over-focusing on direct response advertising could undermine brand-building efforts. As companies explore innovative advertising formats, particularly in-store digital ads, the potential for substantial growth in this sector remains largely untapped.
The Future of Attribution and Retail Media Networks
The evolving landscape of retail media is increasingly influenced by advancements in attribution models, which are crucial for measuring campaign effectiveness. There is a concern that as retailers adopt performance-based metrics, the importance of brand awareness and traditional marketing principles may diminish. Emerging players in the retail media space are uniquely positioned to capitalize on this shift, particularly by harnessing first-party data to enhance targeting and attribution. As this market matures, the blending of media and commerce will likely lead to the creation of new business models and opportunities for retailers and advertisers alike.
Andrew Lipsman is an Independent analyst, formerly eMarketer, NPD, Comscore. We talk retail media trends, Walmart-Vizio, etc.
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