The explosive growth of RMNs over the past two years demonstrates that innovative companies have already recognized retail media networks (RMNs) as a vital component of their marketing strategy to create new revenue streams, take more control over the customer experience, and gain better visibility into their customer data. The most forward-thinking brands and retailers however are going one step further and listening to the needs of consumer packaged goods (CPGs) by bolstering their RMN offerings and delivering powerful solutions like access to at-scale shopper data, better audience-building, and more.
What do CPGs truly need when it comes to RMNs, and how can retailers meet their demands?
According to LiveRamp’s survey of 500 CPG executives with annual U.S. advertising spends of $100 million or more, conducted by Wakefield Research, CPG executives currently invest about one-fifth of their marketing budgets in RMNs, and 64% predict an increase in their RMN spend in the coming year.
As their expenditures grow, so do their expectations for a return on these investments. While 53% look for as wide an audience as possible, 47% seek as targeted an audience as possible. Over half of those with plans for increased spending on RMNs in the coming year (52%) seek this more targeted audience, suggesting CPGs looking to grow their investments recognize the increased ROI greater specificity can provide.
Yet CPGs do not want specificity to come at the cost of size, as a full 99% agree that investment in an RMN requires access to a minimum audience of six million or more. The need for scale doesn’t mean CPGs are ruling out smaller RMNs though. An overwhelming 97% of CPG executives agree they would invest more in smaller RMNs if they were interoperable with other networks—a powerful reminder of how technology allows RMNs to deliver a best-of-both-worlds solution to selective CPGs.
Now is the time for RMNs to look to solutions that can make the most of their audience and data and capitalize on this rapidly growing advertising segment—solutions that include not just interoperability, but packaged insights and support to allow CPGs to make the most of RMNs’ offerings.
Read the full Wakefield report, sponsored by LiveRamp, for valuable findings from leading CPG executives, like the critical raw data retailers can use to stand out from their competition, what ROI RMNs need to deliver to (and how to deliver it), and the importance that data interoperability and consortia will play in the future.
Check out the benefits of building a retail media network, and contact us to learn how LiveRamp can help your retail media journey.