Kroger moves toward self-service advertising, focuses on good CX for in-store

Since bringing its retail media capabilities in-house, grocery giant Kroger continues to develop its self-service strategy for advertisers, Cara Pratt, SVP, Kroger Precision Marketing at 84.51°, recently told EMARKETER.

“What we’ve focused on is moving off-site from more of a managed way to a system that gives advertisers more flexibility and transparency into what’s being bought, how it’s being bought, and the rates that they buy it at,” she said.

The move is part of a larger push to give its retail media advertisers more control and flexibility. For example, last fall the company partnered with demand-side platform (DSP) The Trade Desk, and it plans to partner with other DSPs, Pratt said.

“We’re going to create the opportunity for brands to tap into our audience and transact in their preferred DSP,” she said.

Pratt said the company is also testing new ways to segment audiences.

• By leveraging its consumer insights, Kroger is able to create highly curated audiences, which help advertisers reach the right audiences and maximize their investments.
• “We’ve run tests of using our curated audiences versus brands using their traditional tactics to identify target audiences and we’ve been able to execute 50% fewer impressions and deliver the same sales impact,” said Pratt.

The measurement challenge: In order for retail media to grow as a channel, the industry needs to agree about how to measure success. “It’s difficult for any organization to perform to their highest standard when there’s such inconsistency on measurement approaches,” Pratt said.

• Kroger hopes that the Retail Media Measurement Guidelines developed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Media Rating Council, which were finalized last month, will help bring everyone to the table to implement a baseline standard for retail media measurement.
• “We fundamentally believe that retail media is media,” she said. “Yes, retailers have their own publishing ecosystem, but if you compete on the same playing field as a media company, you will be expected to show up in the right way, which means setting a bar for measuring real business outcomes.”

Putting customers at the center: Kroger is also exploring in-store retail media, prioritizing the customer experience above all else. “We want to focus on how we make a customer’s life easier as they’re navigating the store,” said Pratt. “We know people are curious and want to find new things. So we want to create those experiences in a way that is engaging but not overwhelming or confusing.”

• That could include in-store formats like digital screens and using its mobile app to engage customers while they shop, said Pratt.
• “We want to be mindful of both the technology components as well as the operational ones, considering how it fits into a consumer’s walk through a store,” she said.

This was originally featured in the Retail Media Weekly newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.