Have you wondered why giants like Amazon or Carrefour are investing millions in digital advertising? Or why more and more brands are shifting their traditional media budgets to e-commerce platforms? The answer lies in one phrase: Retail Media.
This new channel is revolutionizing how brands impact consumers at the exact moment they’re ready to buy. In this article, we’ll tell you what Retail Media is, why it has become one of the biggest bets for 2025, and how you can leverage it within your programmatic strategy.
What is Retail Media?
In Retail Media, retailers themselves (physical stores or e-commerce) are responsible for selling advertising space on their websites, apps, or even in physical stores. In other words, they become media outlets. Platforms like Amazon, Carrefour, and El Corte Inglés are already doing this.
These ads appear directly in the consumer’s journey, when they are already Browse to buy, which means the conversion intent is very high.
Why is it Growing So Much?
There are several key reasons that explain the boom in Retail Media:
- The disappearance of cookies: Retailers have extremely valuable first-party data, making them an ideal alternative for cookieless strategies.
- High conversion: Ads are closer to the point of purchase than ever before.
- Environment control: The retailer controls the inventory, data, and results, which offers greater transparency.
- Omnichannel trend: Retail Media also includes in-store formats (screens, digital signage) or retargeting outside the retailer’s environment.
Main Retail Media Platforms
Among the most relevant globally, we find:
- Amazon Ads
- Walmart Connect
- Carrefour Links
- Criteo Retail Media
In Europe and Spain, we also see big players like El Corte Inglés, MediaMarkt, and FNAC embracing this model.
What are the Benefits for Brands?
- Greater precision in segmentation thanks to real purchase data.
- More reliable measurement closer to the business result (direct sale).
- Synergies with programmatic or search campaigns.
- Flexibility in formats: display, search, video, audio, in-store, etc.
And for Retailers?
- New revenue source (monetization of digital inventory).
- Greater control over the messages that appear on their properties.
- Opportunity to create a closed and highly optimizable ecosystem.
Furthermore, they can build their own media network, as Carrefour is doing with Carrefour Links.
How to Integrate Retail Media into Your Programmatic Strategy
Retail Media is not an isolated form of advertising. It can and should be integrated within a complete digital strategy:
- Using DSPs like Amazon DSP or Criteo to activate audiences in secure environments.
- Performing omnichannel measurement, connecting online and offline purchase data.
- Coordinating creatives with flexibility, depending on the retailer.
- Applying CDPs and DMPs to cross-reference your own data with the retailer’s.
Retail Media is not a passing fad; it’s a real transformation in how brands, platforms, and consumers interact. In 2025, it will be a key channel in the media mix, especially in a cookieless environment with more demanding results.
Are you ready to take your media strategy to the next level? The time to explore Retail Media is now.
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