The retail landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. As e-commerce continues to surge, retailers are facing mounting pressure on margins, driven by rising fulfillment costs, increased returns, and shifting consumer expectations. In response, a powerful new revenue stream has emerged: retail media networks. By leveraging their digital real estate and rich first-party data, retailers are now able to monetize site traffic in ways that extend far beyond the traditional transaction—especially during high-traffic periods like the holidays.
Retail media networks are not just a trend—they represent a fundamental shift in how retailers think about digital monetization, customer experience, and their relationships with brands. This page explores the business case, technology requirements, and organizational changes needed to succeed, with examples from both grocery and non-grocery sectors.
Retailers have long invested in driving traffic to their digital platforms, but until recently, the primary goal was conversion. Now, with the rise of retail media networks, every visit—whether it results in a purchase or not—becomes an opportunity to generate incremental revenue. By offering brands the ability to advertise directly to shoppers at the point of consideration, retailers can unlock new value from their digital audiences.
This is particularly impactful during peak periods such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the broader holiday season, when site traffic reaches its annual high. Retailers with significant digital reach—often those with 10 million or more monthly unique visitors—are seeing retail media networks deliver millions in incremental revenue, often with attractive margins that help offset the costs and margin erosion associated with e-commerce and returns.
Several factors are converging to make retail media networks a top priority for retail leaders:
Launching a successful retail media network requires more than just ad placements on a website. It demands a robust, flexible technology stack that can support:
Many leading retailers are partnering with technology providers specializing in retail media, enabling rapid deployment and access to advanced features such as programmatic buying, dynamic creative optimization, and cross-channel attribution.
The shift to retail media networks is not just a technology play—it requires a new way of working. Retailers must break down traditional silos between merchandising, marketing, e-commerce, and IT to create integrated teams focused on digital monetization.
Key organizational changes include:
Retailers are also rethinking their relationships with suppliers, moving from transactional negotiations to strategic partnerships that focus on shared growth and data-driven insights.
Retail media networks offer a rare combination of high-margin, scalable revenue that can materially improve a retailer’s bottom line. For some, retail media is already delivering 50 to 150 basis points of incremental revenue—enough to offset much of the margin pressure from e-commerce and returns. This is especially valuable in categories with high return rates or low product margins.
Done well, retail media enhances the customer experience by making product discovery more relevant and personalized. Advanced targeting ensures that shoppers see offers and products that match their interests, while integrated loyalty and e-commerce data enable seamless, omnichannel journeys. However, retailers must balance monetization with user experience, ensuring that ads are non-intrusive and add value rather than friction.
Grocery retailers have been early adopters of retail media networks, leveraging their high-frequency traffic and rich loyalty data. In markets like Europe and North America, leading grocers are using retail media to:
The result is a win-win: brands gain direct access to high-intent shoppers, while grocers unlock new revenue streams that help fund digital innovation and supply chain modernization.
Big box, specialty, and department store retailers are also embracing retail media, though with different dynamics. For these retailers, retail media networks are enabling:
Retailers like Target have demonstrated how a robust retail media business can complement core retail operations, driving both profitability and customer loyalty.
For retailers looking to launch or scale a retail media network, success depends on:
Retail media networks are redefining what it means to be a retailer in the digital age. By monetizing e-commerce traffic beyond the transaction, retailers can unlock new growth, improve profitability, and deliver richer, more relevant experiences for customers and brands alike. As the holiday season and other peak periods approach, the time to act is now.
Publicis Sapient partners with retailers across grocery and non-grocery sectors to design, build, and scale retail media networks that drive measurable business impact. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to accelerate your digital monetization journey, our team brings the strategy, technology, and organizational expertise to help you succeed in this new era of retail.