Blog | What’s In Store For Retail Media Networks

Strategy, simplicity and keeping the shopper at the center – these were the main themes that ran across the What’s in Store for Retail Media Networks – powered by Scala and presented in partnership with Retail Technology Show. 

The day was composed of nine sessions exploring the tensions, questions, opportunities and future of In-Store Retail Media Networks. Expert speakers representing retailers including Boots UK, Co-op Media Network and Tesco Media and Insight Platform as well brands such as Coty and Colgate-Palmolive, shared their experience in growing their retail media network, incorporating in-store opportunities into their marketing strategy, and what success looks like for their teams as well as their shoppers. 

The strategy behind employing and maximising any in-store retail media needs to be carefully considered. As demonstrated across many sessions, the majority of purchases are still made in-store. The incredible pressures on retail revenues mean that the monetization opportunities presented by in-store retail media networks may be reason enough to implement one. However, retailers should think hard about whether they want to operate a digital out of home system across their touchpoints or create a true retail media network. Across the sessions of the day, panelists recognised and illustrated the value of the latter. Jeffrey Bustos and his panelists looked at how best to measure the value of a RMN network as offline, onsite, and in-store channels work together for any marketing campaign. In a later session, Diana Abebrese and Katrina Smart explored how retailers and brands can work together to build in-store capabilities to ensure that any in-store network is truly optimized. 

The importance of knowing your audience, the shopper – who they are and their mission as they navigate a website or move through a store, was a point made across the day. Offering the shopper a convenient and relevant experience is key as is ensuring that any use of shared information or marketing activation sincerely adds value to their experience. Access to data is key to knowing your customer base and there is a lot of data out there. The opportunity to obtain analytics across retail media touchpoints is immense but, as suggested by Bianca Hall and Naomi Yonge, keep things simple by being clear about what you need to know to achieve your goal and start from there. As Colin Lewis’ panel with Darren Groucutt and Vanessa Henry showed, it was the in-store activations that kept their shopper at the center of their design that were the most successful. 

What’s In Store for Retail Media Networks was a day rich in insights and experience. Sessions from the day will be posted in the coming weeks. If you are curious about how Scala solutions can help your business elevate customer experience, collect crucial metrics and open up new revenue streams. 

Scala will be presenting an immersive in-store retail media network experience at Shoptalk Europe. Try Scala solutions first-hand and talk to the team at stand G30, Fira Gran Via, Barcelona,  from 3-5 June 2024,