A match for the future: Retail Media and News Publishing

It is always interesting to consider how far news publishing has come. From kids selling newspapers at the corner store and TV news anchors giving us daily news, we've come to social media and personalized news recommendations. While we cannot say for sure what the future of new publishing will be like, it is safe to assume that retail media will play a significant role. So, let's explore the relationship between retail media and news publishing and see whether it will be a long-term entanglement or a one-time fling.

Understanding retail media

To start, let's first establish what retail media is. Retail media refers to advertising strategies and platforms where brands advertise their products directly. This can happen on websites, apps, in-store digital displays, or other owned media channels. Now retail media wouldn't be that effective if it wasn't personalized. So, what retailers try to do is leverage their shopper data and audience insights. By doing so, they can better target customers at or near the point of purchase.

For example, if you ever received an ad that recommends an item that is related to the one you are checking out in an online store, that was retail media. If you've received a notification about a discount that encompasses an item you checked out, but never bought, again retail media.

This reliance on first-party data (collected from shoppers) is essential for retailers. By relying on it stores can enable precise targeting based on shoppers' behavior, preferences, and purchase history. Their primary goal is to ensure that their retail media is relevant to the shopper. Thus, the shopper won't see it as intrusive or annoying, but helpful.

Brands that take retail media seriously tend to invest in creating an entire ecosystem. Amazon, Walmart, and Target have built their own advertising networks to allow brands to promote products on their platforms. This allows a natural integration with smaller brands while maintaining their online presence.

Benefits of retail media

As we can see, some brands a willing to invest substantial resources into retail media. Well, there are good reasons for this. The first is the so-called point-of-purchase impact. Namely, one of the more effective strategies that use retail media is to target customers while they are shopping. As the customers are already in the spending mood, this greatly increases the chances of extra purchases.

The second is conversion rates. By knowing what the customers like to buy and how often they like to make their purchases it is far easier to target them. In this regard, retail media does wonders as it creates a compelling story for a product that the customers are likely to need. Lastly, retail media helps brands stand out. Brands that manage to properly integrate retail and news publishing tend to stand out among the competition. With the development of AI, retail media will likely become far more widespread. But, as of writing this article, it is still a rare, well-received novelty.

How retail media and news publishing can work together

Let's now return to the beginning of our article and look at news publishers. One would think that social media, where everyone can share their content and comment opinions on various subjects, would bring the number of publishers down. But, the truth is the opposite. According to Statista, the number of private publishers in the US in 2001 was 36,525. In 2011 this number slightly dropped to 34,468. But, in 2021 (the latest year available) the number grew to a staggering 74,578. This clearly shows that modern content platforms (social media, YouTube, etc.) have only increased the number of publishers.

This means that news publishers need to work harder than ever to make their content stand out and to make their brand unique. So, is there a place for retail media in all that news publishing? We feel there is. And quite a natural one at that. This convergence of retail media and news publishing is further driven by the need for publishers to diversify revenue streams and the desire of retailers to expand their advertising reach.

Retail media in publishing

The easiest way for publishers to incorporate retail media is to partner up with a retailer. By doing so, they can look to integrate shoppable content (e.g., product recommendations within articles) or host retail media ads on their platforms.

An example would be a fashion magazine that includes links to purchase featured clothing items directly from a retailer’s website. Or a martial arts magazine selling martial arts gear. The main difficulty here is what shoppable content to integrate and where to integrate it. An obnoxious ad that has little connection with what the person is reading is only going to deter them from making a purchase. While a well-placed, and personalized product recommendation can be a godsend. So.

Content about commerce

Another option is for publishers to leverage their editorial expertise to create content that drives purchasing decisions. such as product reviews, gift guides, or "best of" lists. The closer you look at it, the blurrier the line is between editorial content and advertising. After all, some products are simply interesting enough to talk about on their own accord. Even we've written about Stanley Cups as a phenomenon in UGC marketing.

Writing about products can even be a part of the deal between publishers and retailers. Namely, retailers can pay publishers to review their products. And publishers can offer to more favorably present what they are writing about. The key difficulty here is for publishers to retain their credibility. Unless their content is already built around product reviews, publishers can seem like sell-outs if they suddenly turn to it. But, if every once in a while a fashion news publisher chooses to review a new collection from a retailer, all the better. The trick is finding the right balance where the product-focused content is often enough to help the retailer, yet rare enough to not hurt the publisher.

Data collaboration

The underlying assumption behind connecting retail media and news publishing is that the publishers and retailers share an audience. The same people who like fashion are likely to shop for fashion items. Just like the same people who like martial arts will likely shop martial arts equipement. What publishers and retailers can do is create data-sharing agreements to enhance targeting capabilities while respecting privacy regulations.

For example, a retailer’s first-party data could be used to target ads on a publisher’s platform, creating a more personalized experience for readers. Meanwhile, publisher's first-party data can help retailers better orient their products and product recommendations.

More creative solutions

The more you interweave news content and retail media the more options open up. Long-term campaigns can have you going back and forth between product recommendations, product reviews, shopper input, review of the shopper input, new product recommendations, etc...

Retailers can even give users info that doesn't really relate to the product in question. For example, if a person is shopping for hiking shoes, the retailer can bring forth an article about the best hiking spots in their area. Or they can provide advice on how to prepare for the hike (both physically and mentally). Once the person reads the article they can get further product recommendations (like hiking shirts or water flasks). The idea is to make the shopping experience indistinguishable from the reading experience.

What the future holds

While it is hard to make exact predictions, we do feel that the ongoing trends paint a bright future for retail media and news publishing. What is truly going to shape it are several key trends and technological advancements.

Increased personalization

Before long AI will advance enough for us to see the next level in both shopping and search for online content. Even now we can see the use of AI in both product and content recommendations. And as the time goes by, these will be far more personalized. We can expect that AI will not only recognize what we want to see and when, but also how we want both the content and the products to be presented.

In all likelihood, retail media will continue to leverage data analytics and artificial intelligence to deliver highly personalized advertising experiences. For instance, we might not only get a product recommendation but also a quick comparison with other products and a reasoning as to why the product we've been recommended is the best option.

Seamlessness between shopping and reading

It has become quite obvious that the transitions from ad exposure to purchase need to be seamless. Therefore, what we will likely see is an even greater integration between content and e-commerce platforms. This could include features like shoppable ads and instant checkout options. But it can also include purchasing specific credit that the stores can automatically take out, thus avoiding the checkout altogether.

Augmented reality (AR) and Virtual reality (VR)

Even now we have AR and VR technologies that enhance both our shopping experience and our content consumption. But, this is currently seen as more of a rare novelty. Well, it is our view that this rare novelty is likely to take hold in the near future. Right now consumers can visualize products in their own environment or in a virtual store. Now imagine if consumers can visualize news correspondence or travel articles. This gives publishers far more room to embellish their content and really make an impression on the viewer. And, by the same token, it gives retailers another way to naturally offer their products.

For example, say that a travel publisher offers a VR experience of a short hike through the Amazon jungle. Let's then say that they partner up with a retailer that gives you the option to put on their hiking shoes, which will allow you to walk faster in the VR jungle. Ideas like these make the transition between shopping and experiencing content seamless, which is what the future will be like.

Voice and Visual Search

With the rise of smart speakers and visual search technologies, retail media will need to optimize for voice and image-based queries. This will change how consumers discover products and interact with brands. And it will change how readers (or in this case listeners) interact with news. It is not unthinkable that shopping will become a hands-free experience where you can walk around your home and have the store read out what they have on offer. Add to this a high degree of personalization and shopping will become as easy as telling our partner what we need them to buy in the local grocery.

Sustainability and ethical advertising

As technologies advance our concerns about sustainability and ethical practices should follow. Fortunately, consumers have become more conscious of sustainability and ethical practices. And if retailers want to keep up, their brands will need to align with these values. This could involve promoting eco-friendly products and transparent supply chains. It also entails providing information that is transparent and factual.

This goes even more for new publishers. The AI development makes it especially easy to create false claims and statements. Therefore, people are likely to turn even more to reputable journalists to get their views and facts. This will be crucial for maintaining credibility and trust with audiences.

Lastly, since both publishers and retailers will gather vast amounts of customer data, data privacy concerns will grow. Retail media will need to navigate stricter regulations and consumer expectations around data usage. This could lead to more transparent data practices and the development of privacy-first advertising solutions.

Final thoughts

As of writing this article, combining retail media and news publishing is an exciting and novel idea. But, it would surprise us that by the time some of you end up reading this article, it will become common practice. So, whenever it is that you are reading our article, our advice is to keep close tabs on technological advancements. The only way for both publishers and retailers to stay ahead of the curve is to keep track and align their brands with the ongoing trends. And if at any point you need help with creating visually appealing content, know that StorifyMe is here to help.