Is Retail Media Kidding Itself?

Are retail media networks trying too hard to become media companies? In this episode, I’m sharing a thought-provoking piece from Mike Shields of Next in Media that asks whether the industry’s push toward off-site, full-funnel media is actually the right strategy for most retailers. Plus the tension between putting the “retail” back into retail media and chasing bigger brand budgets through CTV, DSPs and the open web.

I also share some of my own thoughts on where retail media is heading, including the very different economics of on-site versus off-site advertising, why brands are demanding more measurement than the industry may be able to provide, and whether closed-loop attribution is sometimes creating more problems than it solves. If you’re thinking about the future of retail media networks, this is a debate worth paying attention to.

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop

Timeline

[00:43] - Why retail media’s off-platform push is really about accessing bigger brand budgets

[02:00] - The debate over whether retail media networks should become full-fledged media companies

[03:15] - Why “putting the retail back in retail media” is such a provocative idea

[04:20] - The case for making specialist retailer data actionable beyond the retailer’s own ecosystem

[06:24] - My thoughts on the different economics of on-site and off-site retail media

[08:06] - Why the industry’s obsession with measurement may be creating a prison of its own making

[09:18] - The attribution problem: when retail media sales add up to more than the brand’s actual P&L

Links & Resources