Why Amazon is Trying to Downplay its Retail Media Dominance

Next in Media spoke with Kepler's head of retail media Zach Ricchiuti about the state of eCommerce 2024, whether Cyber Monday still matters, and why Amazon is changing its story as it plays the long game.

Takeaways:

• Retail Media Trends: The shift in retail media is moving beyond Black Friday and Cyber Monday into a two-week "Cyber Week marathon," transforming the way brands approach seasonal e-commerce strategies​.

• Evolving Media Investments: Retailers are extending ad spend into "off-site" platforms, leveraging programmatic web, social media, and connected TV to expand their advertising reach beyond owned properties​.

• Amazon Dominance: Amazon leads the retail media space by offering robust ad tech and measurement tools that enable brands to evaluate campaign success and connect upper and lower funnel strategies​.

• Importance of Off-Platform Advertising: Off-platform solutions are growing as retailers partner with platforms like Roku and TikTok, ensuring their ads align with changing consumer habits and media landscapes​.

• Holiday Shopping Dynamics: Retailers like Amazon and Walmart capitalize on late-shipping capabilities and post-holiday "fifth quarter" shopping trends, maximizing revenue opportunities through last-minute gifting and gift card redemptions​.

• Future of Retail Media: Social media emerges as a key opportunity for retail media growth, with platforms facilitating direct connections to retail networks and enabling marketers to optimize campaigns seamless.

Guest: Zach Ricchiuti

Host: Mike Shields

Sponsor: Epsilon

Producer: FEL Creative