Spend from current retail media network (RMN) advertisers is showing signs of cooling, forcing RMNs to look to non-endemic advertisers outside their existing ad networks for new ad dollars.

The key factor to non-endemic RMN growth for both RMNs and advertisers is understanding the customer. “Audiences on both sides need to be evaluated for overlap, looking for things like commonalities in demographics, interests or life stages, to ensure that the advertisements feel contextually relevant,” our analyst Sarah Marzano said on a recent EMARKETER Meet the Analyst webinar.

Retailers need to be able to communicate what they have to offer that’s unique from their peers, she said. For a small number of retailers like Walmart and Amazon, that value will be scale. But for most other retailers, factors like regional loyalty, demographic specificity, and the ability to offer unique insights via first-party data, will be differentiators. “It’s important to make sure that you’re ready to present that in a clearly articulated way,” Marzano said.

Advertisers need to take a comprehensive approach to evaluating RMNs where they consider not only the scale, but the specialized audience as well, said Marzano. Advertisers need to think creatively about where their core audience may be shopping and seek out those RMNs.

There are several reasons non-endemic RMN advertising is gaining attention.

1. It’s easy for advertisers to implement, Megan Harbold, vice president of product marketing at Skai said. “If you’ve got the expertise to do display and programmatic [ad] buys, this just falls in line with adding another line item to those things.”
2. It’s been tested by first movers. Amazon has offered non-endemic RMN advertising since October 2022, paving the way for The Home Depot, Walmart, and Albertsons to add non-endemic offerings this year.
3. RMNs need to keep growing. The best RMNs will still have trouble scaling if they don’t open up their inventory to new potential ad buyers.
4. Small, midsize, and specialty retailers need to find ways to stay competitive. “There are a handful of retailers that have a scale that’s very difficult to argue with when it comes to bringing value to non-endemic advertisers, but I would urge everyone not to count out specialty retailers who have very loyal audiences and a very deep understanding of specific cohorts and demographics,” said Marzano.
5. In-store offers more non-endemic opportunities. Stores are building out digital screens in places with high dwell times, said Marzano. These include pharmacy counters and checkout lines, where a shopper may not necessarily be open to endemic ads but will be thinking about the next activity they plan to do after exiting the store.

Non-endemic spend in retail media networks comes from complementary categories and industries. This is so advertisements don’t cannibalize a retailers’ sales.

• Complementary categories refer to adjacent categories not sold by a retailer. For example, a furniture brand may place ads with a grocery retailer, or an eyewear brand may serve ads with an apparel retailer.
• Complementary industries are industries and services that are completely separate from retail. A movie studio may offer ads on a footwear website, or an insurance company might serve ads to electronics consumers.

Watch the full webinar.

This was originally featured in the Retail Media Weekly newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.