Can the success of retail media translate into new arenas?

On the heels of explosive growth in spending on retail media networks (RMNs), nonretail verticals are adapting the media model in an effort to monetize their own first-party data.

Key stat: More than half of brands (58%) and agencies (51%) are interested in retail media-like offerings from verticals besides retail.

But advertiser appetite is yet to be tested, and the dynamics of different verticals present unique challenges, indicating an uncertain future for commerce media networks.

How is commerce media different from retail media? Commerce media is knit together by the use of first-party commerce data to power targeted advertising. But beyond that foundation, the strengths, use cases, and challenges can vary depending on the vertical.

Key differences include:

• Depth and breadth of purchase data. Retailers and commerce intermediaries are most likely to have access to granular, SKU-level data, which can unlock precise targeting capabilities—and attract the budgets of consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands that make up a significant share of digital ad spend. On the other hand, financial media networks (FMNs) are less likely to have access to SKU- or brand-level data but can tout their holistic view into consumers' cross-merchant purchase behavior. There is another benefit: visibility into information like mortgages and loans, casting a wider net for potential advertisers.
• Closed-loop attribution capabilities. Companies that directly facilitate transactions can offer endemic advertisers closed-loop attribution, painting a clear picture of an ad’s impact on conversion. New verticals entering the commerce media space include companies that do not directly sell the products they are advertising, which creates a more complex path for measuring campaign performance.
• Many companies that are launching media networks aren’t building digital advertising businesses from scratch. For many new players in commerce media, launching a media network is not their first foray into advertising. Instead, these companies are revamping existing advertising solutions by incorporating first-party purchase data, enabling more relevant targeted ads, and using that data for both on- and off-site advertising.

Go deeper: This was just a snapshot—for more, read our Commerce Media Explainer 2024.

This article is part of EMARKETER’s client-only subscription Briefings—daily newsletters authored by industry analysts who are experts in marketing, advertising, media, and tech trends. To help you finish 2024 strong, and start 2025 off on the right foot, articles like this one—delivering the latest news and insights—are completely free through January 31, 2025. If you want to learn how to get insights like these delivered to your inbox every day, and get access to our data-driven forecasts, reports, and industry benchmarks, schedule a demo with our sales team.