Best Buy and CNET debut new retail media model

The news: Best Buy and CNET are teaming up for what they say is a unique proposition in retail media.

• The two companies are combining their ad inventories so that advertisers can reach larger audiences and measure whether ads on either site drove sales.
• Content from CNET—including product reviews and expert picks—will show up on Best Buy channels, including its stores, website, and mobile app.

Why it matters: The partnership is mutually beneficial—not least because it gives both sides (and advertisers) access to over 50 million unique users per month.

• Best Buy gets the opportunity to connect with shoppers early on in the research process and learn more about their behaviors and preferences, as well as give its ad business a significant boost.
• CNET’s credibility could also help win over customers at crucial moments in the customer journey. A monthlong, nationwide experiment where CNET content was displayed on Best Buy’s in-store TV walls resulted in a 25% lift in purchase intent, while 86% of surveyed shoppers felt the information made them more confident in their purchases, per Adweek.
• For CNET, gaining a foothold in the lucrative retail media space could help boost ad revenues at a time when digital publishers are struggling to find solutions to serious headwinds like cookie deprecation and generative AI-powered search.

The big takeaway: There’s no question that retail media is a lucrative business, but with 77% of budgets going into Amazon’s coffers and a growing number of retailers fighting for the remainder, companies need to find creative ways to differentiate themselves from the competition.

• While the partnership between Best Buy and CNET is the first of its kind, more may quickly follow suit as retailers look for new opportunities to demonstrate value to advertisers, and publishers search for ways to shore up ad revenues.

Go further: Check out our “Digital Ad Spending Forecast and Trends Q1 2024” report, or explore the rest of our retail media coverage.