Over the last 12 months, the RMN space saw recent in-store standards and solid growth. This is probably going to continue. Here are a couple of ways we expect to see this dynamic space continue to mature.
Growing in-store networks
“While retail media networks have gained some attention [in 2024], I imagine their full potential stays largely untapped,” said Melanie Babcock, Vice President, Orange Apron Media and monetization at The Home Depot.
Orange Apron Media, Home Depot’s RMN, launched a self-service platform for advertisers last October called Orange Access. Improving this experience, especially for non-endemic brands, will continue to be a priority for 2025. Home Depot hosted its first-ever “InFronts” advertiser event last 12 months.
“In-store networks continue to be a hot trend, but are still very much in development for many retail media networks,” Babcock said. “The store represents significant reach and opportunity to introduce ads at the purpose of customer purchase decision. They are sometimes ignored because in-store networks are unique to each retailer and depending on store environments.”
AI powering connected RMN experiences
The goal of successful RMNs is to improve the shopping experience for patrons. If it doesn’t, the ads will alienate customers. So, in some ways, RMNs are leading the charge in bringing together different online and in-store channels. This unified experience helps customers get service whether or not they’re on mobile, in-store or viewing ads on TV. In 2025, search for AI to help automate the processes and workflows behind these experiences.
“The implementation of interconnected shopping experiences has transformed customer expectations — they need more personalized experiences, diverse delivery options, and easy returns,” said Babcock. “As we glance ahead, AI will further enhance this interconnected experience by making project planning and residential management significantly easier to initiate and attain, which is able to in turn transform the retail industry by raising the bar for customer experience and operational efficiency.”
Dig deeper: Retail media networks: What you would like to know
Hybrid retail media programs
As more retailers plan to start and improve media programs in 2025, many will want hybrid models. These models mix in-house technology with third-party solutions.
“Rather than overburdening IT teams with full platform builds, retailers will adopt frameworks that support custom program design while leveraging existing infrastructure,” said Aran Hamilton, CEO of RMN orchestration technology company Vantage. “This approach will enable faster launches, scalable growth, and strategic control, leading to accelerated adoption and innovation across the industry.”
Non-retail media networks surge
As the RMN space matures and it becomes easier for brands to launch RMNs, more non-retail brands will get in on the act. Terms like “commerce media” and “connected commerce” will gain wider acceptance to include these non-retail brands.
“In 2025, we will expect a surge in non-retail firms leveraging their first-party data to create robust ‘commerce media’ ecosystems,” said Daniel Aks, President of digital promoting company Undertone. “Building on the approaches taken by firms like Chase and United Airlines, industries comparable to financial services, transportation and hospitality are likely to follow suit. These firms, while not traditional retail sellers, possess vast troves of useful consumer data — spanning purchase behaviors, travel habits, and lifestyle preferences — that might be monetized for targeted promoting.”
Clean rooms and data collaboration
Data platforms and data collaborations will probably be an enormous a part of the growing RMN space in 2025. That’s because customer data connects these multi-channel experiences and digital ads, and it has to be managed in a privacy-compliant way.
“Retailers will need to prioritize data collaboration frameworks that maintain customer privacy while optimizing for results, especially as privacy regulations evolve,” said Regina Ye, CEO and co-founder of retail media technology company Topsort. “Solutions comparable to privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) and clean rooms will develop into the norm, allowing brands and retailers to securely collaborate and construct trust.“
Data isn’t only essential for delivering effective ad experiences but in addition for measuring them. To ensure privacy, clean rooms will probably be used more widely.
“Advertisers continue to face challenges when it comes to assessing ad effectiveness across different ‘walled gardens’,” said Matt Spiegel, EVP of TruAudience growth strategy for TransUnion. “Clean rooms are resurging as an answer to this problem, by allowing multiple parties to mix data in a secure, shared environment — without transferring ownership or movement of the information.”
Dig deeper: Data clean rooms: A beginner’s guide
Full-funnel measurement
Return on ad spend (ROAS) measures the revenue (sales) generated by a campaign against the fee of the campaign. By definition, it focuses on lower-funnel purchases that result from the campaign. However, due to the growing reach of RMNs, customers might be influenced by advertisers higher up within the funnel. Expect RMN advertisers to shift focus to these upper-funnel gains in the brand new 12 months.
“Despite each retail media platform having different benefits, the overwhelming majority prioritize ROAS, specifically generated from conversion as essentially the most critical metric,” said Harvey Ma, VP and general manager of Sam’s Club Member Access Platform. “While I feel it’s a vital metric, it shouldn’t be the just one. Effective promoting and experiences should display attributable conversion, but in addition longitudinal engagement and value over time. More specifically, the aspects contributing to success should be paired with suitable metrics that may best be measured against those aspects.”
Ma added: “Purchase cycle, frequency, household penetration and audience propensity are amongst the numerous available metrics that needs to be considered and modeled in a longer-term, lifetime value measurement KPI which may be higher fitted to brands taking a look at sustainable growth vs. short-term share shifting. In 2025, I foresee advertisers aligning retail media measurement with their business objectives beyond ROAS.”
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