Ian Gibbs
Insight and Planning Director, DMA; Director of Data Leadership and Learning, JICMAIL
Where would you place retail media in the Gartner Hype Cycle? Are we at the ‘Peak of Inflated Expectations’ or lost in a ‘Trough of Disillusionment’ …or perhaps even heading to the ‘Slope of Enlightenment?’
It’s hard to say, but with a recent article in The Drum claiming that while retail media budgets are up, conversion rates are flat, you might be more inclined to the former than the latter.
While retail media might have enviable reach and treasure troves of valuable shopper data, there’s undeniably an incrementality issue at play. Are advertisers targeting shoppers who would have bought from them anyway? Furthermore, if advertisers optimise and re-optimise campaigns for the heaviest shopping-intent buyers, then aren’t they targeting ads in ever-decreasing circles?
Invest in best practice measurement
As the DMA’s Value of Measurement report tells us, there’s no use flying blind with our marketing budgets. We must test, learn and link marketing spend to incremental business effects if we’re to optimise towards truly effective outcomes.
But part of the answer is also acknowledging that no channel exists in isolation, and it’s through an integrated channel approach that brands will derive maximum benefit from the retail media opportunity. The recently released Value of Super Touchpoint Planning report from the DMA and JICMAIL advocates for a “More is More” approach in acquiring new customers. The more channels you layer into your acquisition campaigns, the more effective they’ll be, right up to 10+ channels.
Think multi-channel and don’t default to the digital norm
Think multi-channel, not digital-only
What channels might work well with retail media? In-store display, posters and billboards have been around for years.
Additionally, the largest retailers in the UK, like Tesco and Boots, have vast amounts of customer data through which direct mail can be targeted. As a super touchpoint channel that, according to JICMAIL, has seen its effectiveness grow throughout the last year, seasoned marketers would advocate for direct mail being an essential component of any testing and learning programme involving retail media.
Want to make the most of retail media in 2026? Think multi-channel and don’t default to the digital norm.
