Retail media: The next walled gardens?
Can retail media avoid the traps that have befuddled the digital media ecosystem? Involved Media’s Dan Hojnik argues there is a real opportunity for the sector to come together now and learn from the mistakes of the past.
It’s no secret that in the space of just a few years retail media has become a dominant force in the Australian advertising landscape.
The rapid expansion of the space has clearly been driven by the supermarket duopoly in the form of Cartology (Woolworths) and Coles 360. But the new year has already witnessed an explosion in the space, with Bunnings, Officeworks via Ooh Media’s Reo, and now Petbarn also via Reo all announcing they are building their own ad networks.
This opens up fresh opportunities for brands to engage consumers at the moment of purchase. However, as retailers develop their media businesses, the industry must ask: Are we merely swapping one set of closed ecosystems for another?
I would also be wary of someone that spreads fear when they stand to make money off the solution.