蘑菇AV

It may be a new year, but 2023 shopping habits aren鈥檛 going anywhere, according to Barbara Connors, vice president of strategy and acceleration at 84.51, a retail data company under The Kroger Co. Customers are still motivated by price and value, still expecting the shopping experience to seamlessly shift between online and offline channels, and still interested in buying private label goods.

Cara Pratt, SVP of Kroger Precision Media, is right when she says that 鈥渞etail media is media.鈥� While the fast-rising ad format may draw its unique power from retail鈥攕pecifically the first-party consumer purchase data used for high-octane targeting and closed-loop measurement鈥攊t鈥檚 not a physical product sold on store shelves and shouldn鈥檛 be treated as such.

While Trump鈥檚 presidency will undoubtedly be friendlier to large mergers like the Kroger-Albertsons deal, that doesn鈥檛 mean retailers should expect a cakewalk given some of his more aggressive stances on antitrust during his first term and Vance鈥檚 potential influence on policy.

Leaning into value: Beyond private labels, Kroger has tried to beat back Walmart and others by leaning into value via loyalty discounts, personalized offers, and fuel rewards. The number of digital offer clips is up 5% this year, which has reportedly saved customers an additional 14%.

That trend hasn鈥檛 gone unnoticed as Kroger, Amazon, Target, and Albertsons have expanded their private label offerings to appeal to value-focused shoppers. Still, the shift isn鈥檛 evenly distributed across categories.

Google put ads in its Search Generative Experience. YouTube has a new unskippable 30-second ad spot. HBO Max relaunched as Max. And The Kroger Co. is paving the way with in-store retail media. Here are what updates from these companies and more mean for advertisers.

Our take: Should the case be allowed to continue, it could have significant repercussions for the way large retailers like Walmart, Kroger, and Costco operate. If the FTC prevails, those retailers would no longer be able to negotiate heavy discounts on account of their scale, which in turn would reduce their price advantage relative to independent operators.

Sales in the category grew 28% between June 2023 and May 2024, per 84.51掳, a retail data company under The Kroger Co. Serving a need: Nonalcoholic beverages have carved out a niche by serving a need that, until recently, wasn鈥檛 met with high-quality options.

Amazon is second with $49.77 billion in US grocery ecommerce sales, followed by Instacart ($35.35 billion) and The Kroger Co. ($19.07 billion). In response to losing grocery share to other retailers, discount retailers may focus on other categories, like beauty, apparel, or toys, to maintain sales. Which leads us to our last prediction.

Apparently the Asian communities in these specific towns have been growing in the past few years, so I think it's just a really great way to get them to shop at Kroger rather than another store that is in town. Suzy Davidkhanian (11:18):. Arielle, do you know if it's in a Kroger, an existing Kroger, or it's a standalone experience? Arielle Feger (11:23):. Yes, these will be standalone stores.

Retailers that aimed to be media giants are hitting headwinds as ad growth slows. To stay competitive, retail media networks must rethink org structure, sharpen media skills, and plan smartly to thrive in a more challenging landscape.

Amazon and Walmart dominate the landscape, but the other half of US ecommerce sales is still up for grabs.

Retail media鈥檚 rapid growth has spurred nonretail verticals to harness their first-party data to fuel their own commerce media networks. Retail media spending still dominates the commerce media landscape, but distinct challenger cohorts are finding their footing.

Growth rates will decline, but digital grocery will remain a key focus for retailers looking to drive incremental sales dollars in ecommerce.

In 2024, Kroger also expanded its premium pet food offering, launching six new products. Department stores are looking to private label brands to help revive their fortunes. In March, Macy鈥檚 and Kohl鈥檚 each announced new brands for home goods in kitchenware, bedding, and housewares鈥攑art of their broader merchandising strategies to update their owned brands.

Kroger supermarkets with in-store clinics, for example, saw 43% more foot traffic in H1 2024 versus those without, Placer.ai research found. These types of integrations create a retail environment that drives more transactions, creates a better experience for the customer experience, and creates lasting lifetime value and loyalty. Watch the full 蘑菇AV Summit session with Placer.ai.

Many patients grew comfortable with getting other types of medical care at places such as CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Kroger. But demand has waned post-pandemic, and many consumers are ditching drugstores altogether in favor of online retailers. For example, CVS is closing about 10% of its locations. We forecast that CVS retail clinic patients will decline 4.6% next year and 7.9% in 2026.

In addition to a proposed ban on price gouging, the vice president said she would require greater scrutiny of mergers like Kroger-Albertsons and Mars-Kellanova that could result in higher grocery prices. Companies like Amazon would also likely face continued scrutiny over their business practices.

Dozens of other retailers鈥攊ncluding Walmart, Target, The Kroger Co., Instacart, DoorDash, and Costco Wholesale鈥攁re also monetizing consumers鈥� search activity with ads. Retail media search ads are a critical lower-funnel tactic for advertisers. Although display is growing faster, search will still account for nearly two-thirds of retail media ad spending this year, per our forecast.