Top 5 Takeaways from IAB’s Retail Media Summit

I had the pleasure of speaking at the second annual IAB Connected Commerce Summit in NYC this week. It was such a privilege to connect with some of the greatest minds in retail. With an event theme like, “Retail Reimagined,” it was clear that retail business leaders are rethinking their customer experience (CX) and experiential retail has set the stage for the future. 

The event buzz was all around the rapid evolution of retail media. There were clear thought leaders who are paving the way. Major retailers like Walmart, Albertsons, CVS, Kroger, and Tesco, are driving retail experiences to the next level. They are utilizing rich shopper intelligence, adopting new technologies, and quickly evolving in real time to impact their bottom line and enhance partnership opportunities. Many of them spoke about the importance, and urgency of, maximizing every customer visit. 

The staggering growth of retail media was front and center at the event. eMarketer predicts ad spending to grow from $54 billion to nearly $130 billion in 2028. Despite physical stores generating over 80% of retail sales, they receive less than 1% of ad spend, indicating significant untapped potential.

Surprisingly, even while economic pressures loom, convenience premiums do not wane. Consumers are willing to pay for convenience. Yet another opportunity for brands and retailers to tap into this consumer behavioral shift to drive loyalty.

Below are my top 5 takeaways from the incredible panel and event discussions:

1. Consistency Across Channels: A seamless and reliable experience between online and in-store is essential for building shopper trust. Whether engaging through signage, audio, or digital, ensuring consistency in messaging and execution helps create a unified experience. Multi-channel campaign planning cross-departmentally is essential to influence customers when and where it matters most, which can enable retailers to optimize their monetization efforts as well. 
   
   
2. Curated Shopper Experiences: Every store brand should feel unique. Retailers are focusing on curation, not just to sell more, but to foster deeper connections with their shoppers. Bridging the gap between online and in-store interactions is critical to achieving this. A Harvard Business Review study emphasizes that businesses must cultivate unique connections with customers to ensure their own long-term economic vitality in this Experience Economy.
   
   
3. Personalization Meets Localization: Before personalization, there’s localization. Retailers are learning to tailor campaigns to local events and preferences. This level of nuance helps brands resonate more deeply with their audience. No question that AI is playing a major role in shaping experiential dynamic creative experiences, as well as, brands leaning in on leveraging influencers to drive high engagement.
   
   
4. DOOH Impact: Digital out-of-home (DOOH) is not just about volume – it's about being contextually relevant. In-store media acts as an extension of merchandising, elevating both customer engagement and brand performance. Most retailers already have some or all of the elements they need to deploy effective in-store retail media campaigns — they just lack the ability to bring these fragmented components out of internal silos and into an omnichannel format.
   
   
5. Measurement Redefined: A monumental opportunity to reinvent measurement exists to drive growth in this new era. 90% of conversions still happen offline – a reminder that in-store experiences are a growth lever and play a crucial role in driving results. Tesco spoke specifically about how their retail media offering is playing a more expansive role in their marketing plans and how they are establishing new measurement parameters.

The Future of Retail Media

I walked away from the event invigorated – the next generation of retail media is here. We are seeing a significant shift from legacy technology to unified media platforms. Built with your retail brand at the center, businesses are now able to realize their ideal in-store media experience. Those retail leaders who are reimagining the people, process and technology needed to orchestrate the holistic store experience are winning.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to one goal: improving the CX. Whether it’s through new technology, personalized content, or seamless offline-to-online integration, the future of commerce is all about putting our customer first.

Check out our latest report “Retail Media Unleashed” to discover how Mercedes Benz, Neiman Marcus, Tilly’s, Sam’s Club and Walmart, trust Rockbot to power their CX.