Developing a Cross-Marketplace Prioritization Strategy

It seems too obvious to say these days, but digital marketing moves incredibly quickly. One of the fastest-growing areas for e-commerce businesses is retail media networks. In fact, they are expected to grow over 65% since 2021 to a whopping $52.1 billion in ad revenue. 

Hold on, what is a retail media network? A retail media network (RMN) is created when retail stores offer advertising space on their own platforms — website, app, etc. Some popular retail media networks include Amazon, Walmart, The Home Depot, and Target.

At Rise, we champion an integrated, audience-first approach to paid media. Consumers don’t silo themselves into only visiting one online location, so why would marketers? With so many choices in the retail media landscape, it can be hard to tackle all of them simultaneously. The key to maximizing reach and return is a holistic strategy centered around effective cross-marketplace prioritization tactics. 

By setting the right priorities, you can enhance your brand's visibility, increase sales, and achieve a higher return on investment (ROI). Below, we'll go over how to prioritize between networks and products to create a cohesive paid media approach. 

Understand the Retail Media Network Landscape

First things first, you need to understand the different retail media networks available. The goal is to identify the networks that align with your business goals and target audiences. By analyzing the strengths, features, and audience demographics of each RMN, you can start implementing a cross-marketplace prioritization plan.

Using the table below as a guide, develop or find a benchmark for each category. Evaluate each category to determine if you are exceeding (green), sustaining (yellow), or missing (red) that goal on each RMN.

Sample Keyword: "queen mattresses"

Imagine we are in Q3 next year, this type of model can be used to determine where the opportunity lies for your next dollar.

• Monthly Spend: How much is your average monthly spend on each retailer by product or keyword?
• Share of Shelf: How much market share/share of voice do you own for that keyword or product?
• Optimized PDPs: Ensure your landing pages provide a seamless user experience from ad click to purchase. Each retailer has different capabilities from hidden keywords to Enhanced/A+ content and the number of images allowed. Are your PDPs optimized ON each retailer, FOR each retailer? 
• Query Demand: How much opportunity is there for a given keyword? Consider overlap rate, impression share, and other related provided data.
• Inventory Levels: Keep a pulse on inventory while your SKU specific strategies ebb and flow.

Align Networks to Target Audiences

Understanding who you want to reach is next. Based on that, we review how those audiences index against demographic and psychographic data related to the marketplaces themselves. This helps inform messaging and targeting within each RMN as we look to align the right products and consumer expectations within those marketplaces.  

Navigating Your Product Options

Effective RMN prioritizing also includes products and product promotion. Think like a consumer. Would you expect the same exact shopping experience at two different retailers? Probably not, so take that same thinking into your RMN approach. Consider questions such as:

• Will you sell the same products on all networks? 
• Will you support all products with paid ad spend, or just select ones?
• Which products are your hero products?
• Which products have a strong organic revenue velocity?
• What products are most elastic?

Not all products will perform consistently well on each retailer. Evaluating opportunities to test new products and analyzing the incrementality of your paid spend by product will enable you to prioritize where to push and drive better profitability.

Ongoing Testing & Optimization

Now that we have a foundation for which RMNs to advertise with and which products to feature on each, it is time to optimize your paid media across networks. Continuous testing and analysis are crucial for improving the performance of your cross-marketplace campaigns. Based on the results, you can make data-driven decisions and adjust your strategy accordingly.

• Implement A/B testing for ad variations, landing page elements, targeting tactics, and bidding strategies. 
• Do you have any products with both a low return on ad spend (ROAS) and a low tACOS (total revenue from ad spend)? This signals an opportunity to test new products.
• Based on recent performance, have the opportunity scores in the above table changed?

There are many ways to prioritize your time and money across retail media networks. The key is always having an eye toward profitability and incrementality of your ad dollars. Find where you have a right to win, and prioritize those areas first! 

If you have any questions or want to hear more about our RMN approach, contact Rise.

Note: This blog was originally published in July 2021. It was refreshed and expanded in May 2023.