However, key beacons of hope like the relaxation of pandemic restrictions and the gradual return to normalcy for many businesses facilitated growth in several sectors. With the rearview mirror now squarely fixed on 2023, the latest advertising data and trends point to new opportunities across industries in 2024, from travel and hospitality to financial services and beyond. 

Over the next 12 days, we will report on 12 key markets. Through MediaRadar’s data we’ll recap what each industry has experienced over the past year and what to watch in 2024. Learn key advertising insights from the following categories during the “12 for ’24” blog series:

1. Retail Media Networks (RMNs)
2. Retail 
3. Travel
4. Non-Alcoholic Beverages
5. Technology
6. Food
7. Beauty
8. Automotive
9. Alcohol
10. Baby & Kids
11. Gambling & Casinos
12. Fitness & Weight Loss

With MediaRadar, get a look at crucial advertising intelligence and emerging trends across various industries. Whether these sectors are rapidly advancing or gradually rebounding, you’ll gain the knowledge to create strategic proposals and make informed media planning decisions for your clients. 

Read on for our exclusive analysis of the categories poised to take flight in 2024 based on the latest national advertising insights.

For more updates like this, stay tuned. Subscribe to our blog for more.

Retail Media Ad Spend is Expanding

Retail media is an increasingly popular form of digital advertising due to its highly targeted audience of shoppers ready to buy and their ability to provide closed-loop attribution. New analysis from MediaRadar shows ad spending on retail media grew by 22% year-over-year (YoY) through November 2023, reaching $5.09 billion. As retailers build robust ad platforms, marketers see retail media providing valuable audiences and a clear return on their investment (ROI).

MediaRadar studied ad investments across over 20 top retail media networks (RMN) by analyzing leading general merchandise, pharmacy, electronics, home goods, grocery, and other e-commerce sites. Ad spend increased each quarter, with 31% year-over-year growth in Q1 accelerating to 25% in Q2 and 17% in Q3 2023. Holiday marketing pushes ad investments even higher in Q4.

Five Categories Driving the Retail Media Ad Spend

Growth in retail media ad spend comes across key categories like technology, home furnishings, food and beverage, beauty, and apparel. These top five segments contributed over $3.8 billion, representing 76% of all retail media ad investments this year.

All five categories increased ad spending compared to 2022 levels. Beauty and apparel brands saw the largest gains, with ad spend jumping over 45% YoY.

Growth within the technology category was a result of increased ad spend by consumer tech brands. They invested $770 million across electronics and devices. As customers research big-ticket items, brands like HP, Apple, and Samsung prominently advertise everything from laptops to tablets to capture interest.

Food brands increased spend by 14% this year, reaching $717 million through to November. As consumers turn to grocery e-commerce sites to fulfill their shopping lists and recipe inspiration, snacks & desserts, dairy, and breakfast food brands utilize retail media to turn their products into must-have impulse buys for consumers.

Amazon and Walmart Control Majority of Retail Media

Where are retail media ad investments going? Primarily to the two category leaders – Amazon and Walmart.

According to MediaRadar’s analysis, Amazon captured 37% of total retail media ad spend so far in 2023. Walmart took another 25%, combining to account for over $3.1 billion in ad revenue this year.

The influence is even more pronounced among the top advertising categories:

• 70% of all technology retail media went to Amazon and Walmart
• 60% of home goods ads targeted Amazon and Walmart sites
• 58% of food retail media focused on Amazon and Walmart

This concentration demonstrates the consolidation of e-commerce power under two retail giants. As more shopping shifts online, gaining product visibility on Amazon and Walmart virtually necessitates significant ad investment.

However, niche and specialty retail media networks still play an important role – especially for beauty advertisers that have products that appeal to very targeted audiences. Brands seem to embrace a portfolio approach, embracing Amazon and Walmart’s mass reach with focused channels matching product positioning.

Brands to Watch Investing in Retail Media

Here are 12 brands that made up the top retail media advertisers so far this year. Each invested more than $9.5 million through November, exceeding a combined $136 million. 

Finish decreased its overall spending by 30% YoY through November 2023, yet still invested more than $35 million. All media was down seeing print outlets taking the steepest YoY decline with 83%, resulting in less than $100k invested in the media. Digital spend topped $21mm, followed by TV capturing $14mm. The dishwashing detergent dedicated nearly 50% toward native advertising, resulting in the brand being a top RMN spender this year. 

Planters increased spending by 70% YoY to over $41 million, partly thanks to its participation in the big game this year. Cable ads were 38% of the total ad spend after a 226% YoY increase. Native advertising was over $15mm with nearly a 50% increase from the same period last year. Interestingly, 80% of its digital spend was direct buys. MediaRadar’s analysis shows Planters placed retail media ads with Kroger Precision Marketing, Amazon, and Target – all receiving over $2mm each from the brand.

HP Printers increased by 3% YoY to over $25 million spent to reach its consumers so far this year. TV and print both decreased by 72% and 7% YoY respectively, while digital media increased by 32% YoY to $23mm. Over 400 properties showcased digital ads, showing peak spending in July with 73% placed directly. Native ad spend increased by 18% from last year to nearly $14 million, which was 55% of the ads. Amazon and Best Buy captured nearly $8mm of the RMN spend.

Graco Car Seats upped its spending to date by almost 200% YoY to over $13.6 million, with native capturing $13.3mm (97%) of the investment. Peak spending occurred in January and 99% of the digital ads were direct buys. The longest ad duration was two months with Amazon and Walmart capturing the majority of placements with $11.7mm combined.

Ritz (Brand) invested over $107 million to advertise its cracker after a 90% YoY increase with peak spending in May and November. Digital media was up by over 150% YoY, while TV decreased by 34% YoY. There was around $60k dedicated to magazine ads. Online video was 69% of the ad spend thanks to a 392% YoY increase in the format. Still, the brand invested over $11 million in native advertising with a 13% YoY decrease from last year. Amazon captured over $4.2mm from Ritz.

Nanit increased ad investment for its baby monitor by 195% YoY to over $11 million, which was spent through November 2023. The brand’s native ad spend was $10.7mm after a 236% increase from the same period in 2022. June and July were peak spending months with 98% of the buys placed directly. Amazon snagged over $7.6mm of Nanit’s RMN spend. Magazine ads placed in United Hemispheres saw peak spending in November with the creative touting its award accolades in the market.

Xgody GPS Navigator increased by 535% to over $9.8 million with 100% native advertising. Diving into retail media sites, Walmart captured over 99% of the brand’s ad spend with over a 1000%  YoY increase. There was still investment in Amazon, albeit less than $35,000, after a 97% YoY increase. Monthly spending was fairly consistent around $1mm until a dip in September to less than $600k. November’s spending closed around $565 thousand.

Adidas increased ad spend for its athletic wear by 31% YoY to more than $45.5 million. Digital media increased by nearly 150% YoY, while TV and print were both down by 49% YoY and 76% YoY respectively. Its ad mix was fairly diverse, with native ads capturing the majority at 27% of the investment. Adidas placed direct buys with nine out of the 51 outlets that had native ads. Additionally, the brand dedicated nearly $9mm towards digital display ads so far this year.

HP Laptop, another Hewlett Packard brand, invested $18 million with a 35% YoY increase. Digital media increased by 41% YoY to over $17.6 million. Overall native spend was 67% with nearly $12mm spent towards the media. Costco, Walmart, and Target together captured 71% of the $9.8 million dedicated to retail media sites – that’s $7mm from these three RMN brands alone.

Samsung Tablets  had over $14 million invested after a 111% YoY increase this year. Digital spending jumped by over 215% compared to the same period in 2022 and was 100% of the brand spend. Native ad spend increased by nearly 200% YoY to over $9.2mm. The $9.6mm dedicated to RMN had Walmart (53%) and Best Buy (19%) as the top sites capturing 72% of the retail media ads. Additionally, Samsung Tablets increased online video investment by over 1000% YoY.

Lenovo Laptops scaled back its overall ad spend by close to 50% YoY to $16.7mm. Digital media was down by 50% YoY while TV also dipped by 19% YoY. However, some formats were increasing such as native and display – both up by over 58% YoY. The brand’s RMN advertising was a Best Buy (37%), Walmart (23%), and Costco (19%) mix for a combined $7.5mm spent to advertise with these sites.

Roving Cove increased by 438% YoY to more than $9.5 million spent through November 2023. The “baby proofing essentials” brand also went 100% (almost, less than $30k in display) with native advertising and 100% were Amazon ads. Spending in April hit $1mm, which has been maintained every month.

MediaRadar Equips You with Ad Intelligence

As a leader in advertising intelligence, MediaRadar’s granular insights equip both advertisers and publishers with the knowledge to capitalize on retail media’s exponential growth. For ad sales professionals, this analysis spotlights the necessity of retail media within modern marketing strategies. Counsel clients to allocate greater portions of budgets to dominant retail media titans like Amazon and Walmart as well as specialized niche platforms.

For publishers seeking revenue opportunities, develop custom ad products and tailored channel partnerships to meet accelerating demand, particularly from high-growth categories like technology, CPG, and apparel. Prioritize retail e-commerce giants boasting vast shopper audiences while crafting attractive inventory offers for emerging retail media networks.

The retail media surge shows no signs of slowing down. By leveraging the right advertising data and intelligence, advertisers can optimize retail media placements driving performance and publishers can monetize this surging ad spend. MediaRadar equips you with actionable insights to stay ahead of rapid retail media developments reshaping the advertising landscape’s competitive edge.

In 2012, Amazon generated just over $600mm in revenue. At that time, retail media wasn’t even retail media. It was just advertising on Amazon.

Fast forward a decade and retail media is firmly entrenched in advertising budgets. In 2022, advertisers spent more than $40b on retail media.
 

To better understand this rapidly evolving category and identify patterns and trends, we analyzed a sample of just under $5b in retail media campaigns in 2022.

Here’s what we found. 

It’s Amazon’s World

The retail media world has had no shortage of new entrants and shake ups over the past few years. In 2016, Target launched Target Media Network (rebranded to Roundel in 2019). Home Depot opened its media doors. Walmart even launched its demand-side platform, Walmart DSP, in 2021.

Despite the growth of retail media and the endless stream of new options, many advertisers are finding it difficult to part ways with their first love: Amazon.

In 2022, Amazon captured nearly 40% (37%) of the investment in retail media. Overall, 14.2k companies promoted more than 17k brands on Amazon.

“Amazon has such a tight grip on the digital space that they really sit in a category of their own,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO & co-founder of MediaRadar. “Other players are growing quickly, but it will be difficult for legacy brick and mortar retailers to beat Amazon on its own terrain.” 

It’s hard to blame them. 

Other retailers are walking on Amazon’s once unencumbered ground, but the retail media OG still has what most retailers can only dream of: $356b in sales. Those sales give Amazon the most valuable first-party data goldmine out there. Combine that data with the most mature ad tools in retail media, and it’s impossible to blame advertisers for sticking to what they know. 

Krizelman continued, “Retailers should explore other opportunities to extend retail media – such as in-store digital experiences or other channels like email newsletters, where Amazon doesn’t have as much traction.”

Retailers are finding one of those opportunities in their brick-and-mortar locations via in-store retail media, which gives advertisers the chance to engage consumers at the point of purchase. 

Walmart and Target are doing fine

We’re not dealing with a David- and Goliath-type story. Amazon is certainly Goliath, but so are Walmart and Target. 

General/mass retailers, both online (excluding Amazon) and legacy brick-and-mortar, including Walmart and Target, ranked a close second in ad spending (36%). 

In 2022, Walmart generated $2.7b in ad revenue as it enticed brands with its scaling ad tech, which now includes Intentwise, Perpetua, Quartile, and Sellozo as new API partners.

On an end-of-the-year call, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, said, “We’re driving a lot of change in our company. We’ll keep shaping the business model by scaling our newer, mutually reinforcing businesses in areas like marketplace, fulfillment services and advertising.”

Last year wasn’t quite as kind to Target, but the Minneapolis-based retailer still has plenty to be optimistic about as it plans to scale its retail media network to $2b in business over the next few years.   

Overall, Amazon, Target, Walmart, and other general retailers seized nearly three-quarters (73%) of the total retail media ad investment in 2022.

Apple, HP, and Samsung Take Big Bites

Advertisers from every corner of the consumer world are taking a bite out of retail media, including houseware (6% of spend), snacks & desserts (6%), household maintenance products (5%), and furniture/decor (5%). 

The biggest bite, however, came from advertisers promoting consumer electronics, who accounted for 15% of the total retail media spending in 2022.

In 2022, consumer electronics advertisers invested more than $720mm in retail media; advertisers for Apple, HP, and Samsung were responsible for 11% of that investment.

For Apple, HP, Samsung, and other consumer electronics advertisers, retail media offers a straight line to consumers using transactional data. It also offers an equally, if not more, effective avenue for their ad dollars in the wake of other ecosystems embracing privacy. 

Apple has even strengthened its stance on privacy, releasing App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature that allows iPhone users to decide if apps can track their activity across other companies’ apps and websites. 

As Apple, Google, and other major advertising ecosystems strike tried-and-true technologies from their ad tech—Google plans to sunset third-party cookies in 2024—advertisers will seek alternatives. There’s no question that retail media will be one of them. 

While consumer electronics advertisers have a particular fondness for retail media, advertisers in other industries are keen to allocate their budgets to these first-party data havens. 

Koch Enterprises and Kimberly-Clark (houseware category) combined to spend more than $35mm or 12% of the $294mm from houseware advertisers. 

Meanwhile, five major snacks & dessert advertisers—Mondelez, Campbell Soup, PepsiCo, Kellogg, and Blue Diamond—each invested over $15mm in retail media last year.

Walmart > Target

Target continues to invest in its retail media network, which has paid off. According to company executives, revenue has jumped by 60% over the past two years.

“To us, Roundel is more than a digital advertising platform or another revenue source on the P&L,” said Target’s Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington. “The goal is for our guests to have a tailored, relevant experience while helping our vendors reach the guests who are most likely to be interested in their products. Said simply, Roundel makes us better merchants, more consistently serving our guests with the products they want. This is why our approach to digital advertising looks different than others.”

Despite that investment, Target still trails Walmart. According to our analysis, 

Walmart dominates Target in the general retail category. 

Walmart isn’t just separating itself from Target; it’s gaining ground on Amazon—at least regarding return on ad spend (ROAS). In Q2 2022, Walmart’s ROAS increased by nearly 83% YoY, thanks mainly to its sponsored product ads’ improved reach and relevance.

While Amazon still commands the lion’s share of retail media spending—eMarketer predicted that Amazon would receive more than two-thirds of retail media spending in 2022—the clear performance gains inside Walmart’s walls will undoubtedly push advertisers its way.

Many of those advertisers will be promoting consumer packaged goods (CPG).

“Our data shows CPG brands are spending heavily on Amazon, as well as general retailers like Walmart and Target, and on grocery stores,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO & co-founder, MediaRadar. “This increase in spending could be attributed to Amazon’s vast selection, competitive prices, and convenient delivery options. As the retail industry continues to evolve, retail media networks will become an essential part of the marketing mix for both advertisers and retailers.”

Top CPG advertisers in 2022 included Kellogg, PepsiCo, L’Oreal, Unilever, and P&G. 

From Shiny Object to Utter Dominance

We tend to avoid hyperbole when talking about our data, but retail media’s rise has been astounding—and it’s far from over.

By 2027, some predict retail media spending will account for 60% of total digital ad spending. 

Nikhil Lai, Senior Analyst, Performance Marketing at Forrester, says, “Advertisers’ use of RMNs [retail media networks] encompasses the entire purchase funnel from awareness to point of purchase. Essentially, retail media holds the entire funnel accountable to delivering a verifiable revenue impact.”

Lai’s statement perfectly encapsulates a dream that’s eluded advertisers for decades. 

Retail media is making it a reality.

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

The shifting economy has advertisers searching for efficiencies and ways to maximize their budgets, and retail media data does just that. 

These forces are pushing more advertisers toward the walls of retail, evidenced by the fact that retail media ad spending is expected to surpass $40b this year—more than triple its pre-pandemic total. Globally, retail media ad spending is expected to reach $101b in 2022. 

There’s no doubt that retail media spending will continue its upward trend and become a mainstay tactic.

The question is: How high will it go, and what path will it take to get there? 

Current trends and spending habits give us a pretty good idea.

Here are four trends on the current state of retail media spending and what they mean for ad strategies moving forward.

1. What Recession? 

Lingering pandemic concerns, widespread layoffs, rampant inflation and a recession are putting brands, consumers and advertisers in a tough spot. 

Retail media networks have thus far gone unscathed as spending has remained relatively stable.

Between Q3 2021 and Q2 2022, the number of companies investing in retail media hovered around 9k, while spending stuck to roughly $1b. 

The only increases came during the holiday surge, but that’s par for the course. 

Overall, this 12-month period saw more than 22k companies shell out more than $4b on retail media ads.

Why’s this important?

Because spending should be falling. 

During a time when most consumers are tightening their belts, conventional wisdom would have it that they’d spend less, giving advertisers fewer opportunities to boost their bottom line with ads. 

The fact that advertisers aren’t overreacting underscores retail media’s staying power and why the strategy will stick. 

As long as retail media remains (arguably) the most efficient and effective way for retail-aligned advertisers to get in front of consumers, they’ll shrug off the economic uncertainty—and any other curveballs—and spend more on these networks.

2. Come One, Come All 

There’s always something catching the eyes of advertisers. 

In recent memory, that was OTT and CTV as advertisers fled the rising ad loads on other channels and looked to take advantage of the popularity of streaming services.

Right now, that shiny object is retail media, attracting advertisers old and new alike. 

More than 40% of advertisers were new to retail media each quarter between Q3 2021 and Q2 2022 as companies like GMB Golf (athletics), KOOTION (technology), Unique Moments (jewelry) and Carlo’s Bakery (retail) collectively spent millions.

The steady stream of new advertisers makes it clear that any apprehension around retail media is waning. That said, the fact that most advertisers are spending less than $50k (77% of advertisers) indicates that they are still testing the waters. 

As more retail media networks open their doors, including Home Depot and Wayfair, a more diverse subset of advertisers will shift their budgets accordingly. 

For those dipping their toes in right now, time will translate to growing budgets and a larger group of “big spenders” that already includes 360 Lighting, Acer and Kimberly-Clark.

3. The Regulars

As new networks and advertisers continue to migrate to retail media, they’ll be met by a handful of advertisers who are already there.

These retail media “regulars” from the Technology, Home Goods, Food, Beauty and Apparel industries accounted for 76% of ad spending on these sites. 

For example, Technology advertisers invested an average of nearly $230mm each quarter while Home Goods advertisers spent $786mm.

Meanwhile, Apparel advertisers collectively increased their spending by an average of 8% quarter-over-quarter between July 2021 and July 2022. 

That said, the commonalities stop at the industry level. 

When it comes to strategy, Amazon had little ad spend difference between its top categories, an apparent result of its widespread appeal. 

Meanwhile, competitors Walmart and Target are trying to differentiate themselves. Walmart attracted a flock of Tech advertisers, and Target saw more Food advertisers.

For Walmart, Target, and frankly, every other retail media network, long-term success may rely on carving out a niche and becoming the preferred destination for a smaller group of advertisers. 

4. Amazon, Target and Walmart Remain on Top

Everyone is vying for a slice of the retail media pie—and with the continued growth of online shopping, it’s hard to blame them. 

• In 2017, Kroger launched Kroger Precision Marketing to allow advertisers to deliver personalized communications to customers. A recent update saw the company add CTV to that offering.
• Sam’s Club overhauled its retail media network earlier this year so advertisers could buy sponsored product ads through a self-service platform called the Membership Access Platform (MAP).
• Best Buy is fresh off its launch, unveiling Best Buy Ads in January. 

Despite new entrants giving advertisers more avenues for their ad dollars, the OGs—Amazon, Target and Walmart—are still on top.

Of the $4.1b invested in retail media between July 1, 2021, and July 31, 2022, 78% went to Amazon, Target and Walmart. 

Unsurprisingly, nearly half went to Amazon (45%), with Walmart and Target capturing 22% and 11%, respectively. 

Here’s the surprise: Walmart was the only network that saw spending increase quarter-over-quarter (18%).

While Amazon and Target saw minimal decreases—1% for Amazon and 5% for Target—the shift is telling.

Amazon isn’t necessarily losing its luster, but other options are gaining appeal.

As the retail media world grows and other players strengthen their offerings, this trend will continue (but don’t expect Amazon to fall too far).

What’s Next for Retail Media?

The digital advertising world is notoriously unpredictable.

What’s not in question, however, is the future state of retail media: up and to the right. 

That’s the only direction retail media can go. Spending increases are all but guaranteed for the foreseeable future, especially as new networks emerge, and existing ones take theirs to the next level. 

That’s good news for advertisers. But for retail media networks, it’s time to innovate.

Does Amazon have a firm grip on retail media budgets? Yes. 

Will that continue? More than likely.

But the shift is underway, and advertisers have made it clear they’re willing to spread the love. 

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.