AI, physical stores and marketing strategy: the trends that are shaping retail media

Retail media is now one of the most dynamic growth drivers in digital marketing. In a context where investments are being structured, where technologies are evolving at an unprecedented speed and where consumer expectations are being renewed, this market is continuing to change and is entering a new phase of maturity. Focus on three trends to follow in the ecosystem.

AI agents: accelerating innovation without giving in to a wait-and-see attitude

Google's ads on AI agents have shone the spotlight on the promise of transforming the complexity of buying journeys into a simplified experience where the consumer could thus get personalized recommendations and make a purchase directly from their interaction with the virtual agent.

While this promise of a break raises high expectations, it also generates uncertainty. The real risk for the ecosystem would be a widespread wait-and-see attitude, where market players would suspend their innovation efforts while waiting for announcements from industry leaders to “pave the way.”

However, the evolution of retail media shows it: value is built on concrete solutions that create utility for shoppers as well as for brands. Retail media in France has shown that French players are capable of innovating without waiting for American giants, placing the country today as a reference market in this field. For example, we can mention the case of the announced end of third-party cookies, which has shaken the digital advertising sector, while leaving room for new initiatives developed by emerging players. As such, AI agents must also be considered as a strategic lever for the future to be exploited, without hampering the current dynamic of experimentation and creativity in the sector.

CMOs at the heart of retail media transformation

Retail media is logically continuing to grow and is now reaching a phase of maturity on the French market. The associated growing budgets and the standardization of devices make it a subject that goes beyond commercial activation to become a pillar of global marketing strategies.

Retail media is becoming a brand subject, and Chief Marketing Officers are becoming the main players in this new landscape. They make it possible to integrate retail media into a brand and storytelling logic, by bringing a dimension of branding and creativity. Discussions no longer focus only on volumes or operational performance, but also on the construction of value, the coherence of messages and the quality of the relationship built over the long term with consumers.

In a sense, we can see good news in this natural market evolution. Instead of becoming an argument for commercial negotiation between players, retail media is becoming a strategic marketing pillar at the service of the sustainable growth of brands, making it possible to make the link between brand history and the animation of the product catalog.

The rise of screens in stores: towards a convergence of measures and experiences

Today, 85 to 90% of sales still take place in physical stores, and the latter maintains a central place in the strategies of retailers. Contrary to what one might think, the subject of measurement was not born with e-commerce: we have always measured the performance of points of sale.

With digital technology, the importance of measurement has been highlighted and the indicators to be measured have multiplied. As a result, a need to homogenize and converge KPIs is emerging, for the sake of comparability. The rise of digital screens and interactive devices in stores reflects this desire to align sales channels with the subject of measurement.

While omnichannel marketing made it possible to have global consistency between all channels, we go even further by converging the KPIs themselves. Thus, KPIs from e-commerce are now on the shelves, making it possible to unify impact measures between retail media, traditional media and in-store devices. Ultimately, this convergence will promote a finer and personalized understanding of consumer behavior, creating new opportunities for brands and retailers. The first tests conducted by major retailers show that the horizon is no longer so far away: tomorrow, the in-store experience could become as targeted and measurable as the online experience.

{{citation}}