By Amy Andrews, Mars United Commerce
One of the most beneficial aspects of industry events like Groceryshop is the opportunity to hear the perspectives of experts and executives from all facets of the commerce industry. For the work we do at Mars United, it’s always especially interesting to hear points of view from both sides of the brand-retailer relationship and better understand the similarities and differences between them.
I had that opportunity in back-to-back sessions about retail media networks on Groceryshop’s first full day. Our own Michele Roney first led an informative panel of retail media network partners from Ahold Delhaize USA, Kroger, and Walgreens, which was followed by an equally insightful panel of executives from Coca-Cola, Bayer, and Ferraro discussing their retail media strategies.
One common topic across the two sessions was the fluid definition of retail media that exists from one organization to the next. Although that might sound counterproductive at first, it’s actually understandable — and manageable — as this space continues to evolve significantly.
The Coca-Cola Company, for one, is less concerned about defining retail media and more focused on harnessing its power. “Retail media is becoming more about influence, about omnichannel integration, so it really has to move into places where consumers are going,” explained Katie Neil, the company’s Head of Connected Commerce. “How do we leverage that first-party data in a way that delivers a seamless, fluid experience to build brands but also drive [conversion]?”
Having a more flexible definition also facilitates greater collaboration, which was another topic discussed in both sessions. As Kroger Precision Marketing continues to evolve its platform, the key question being asked is, “How can we meet brands where they are in a better way? That allowed us to … think about the definition of retail media and what we need to do differently” to foster stronger collaboration, explained Christine Foster, SVP-Commercial Strategy & Operations.
Strong brand-retailer collaboration is becoming increasingly important due to another key topic explored at these two sessions and almost everywhere else at Groceryshop: AI. As they begin to examine how shoppers are using agentic AI, brands will need to work closely with their retail media partners to understand the rules and regulations that must be addressed and identify the best ways to show up together on the new AI-driven search platforms that are emerging.
Speaking of collaboration, a potential new partner that brands and agencies should consider from a retail media perspective is TikTok. While there was plenty of conversation at Groceryshop about the dominance of Amazon and Walmart in the retail media marketplace (more than 84% of U.S. ad spending, according to eMarketer), I heard one provocative discussion suggesting that TikTok Shop may be the third largest network — if not already, then sometime soon.
About the Author
As President of Mars United Commerce, Amy Andrews leads the commerce marketing company’s day-to-day operations in North America. In her nearly 15 years of tenure at the company, she has co-founded an in-house strategic consultancy, helped launch the first international business in London, and opened the company’s first Seattle office. Most recently, she served as Chief Business Strategy Officer, overseeing activity for all North American brand clients as well as the Strategy & Analytics discipline. She also has experience on the client-facing side at the helm of business partnerships with The Campbell’s Company and other leading consumer product manufacturers.
