<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Retail media is rapidly evolving from a supplementary tactic to a strategic priority for grocery retailers and brands, emphasizing the integration of channels and data-driven personalization to enhance consumer engagement and measurable outcomes.</em></p><p>By: Margaret Core, Vice President, Marketing, FMI</p><h5>The Shift to Data-Driven Strategy</h5><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/inmar-rmn-webinar-blog.tmb-large-350-.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=78e19ad9_1" style="margin-bottom:10px;float:right;margin-left:15px;margin-top:10px;" class="-align-right" alt="mg-caption:Image courtesy of Inmar Intelligence" sf-size="100" /><p>I have always believed the best industry conversations happen when we step back from the day-to-day and take a wide-angle view of where we are headed. That was exactly the kind of conversation we had during FMI and Inmar’s <a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/store/ProductFormPublic/RetailMediaNetworksPart2">Activating Retail Media at Every Touchpoint</a> webinar. Hearing from leaders in retail media reminded me just how quickly this space is evolving and why grocery retailers and brands can no longer treat it as a "nice to have."</p><p>Retail media networks are moving from a side project to a strategic priority for brands. From this session, experts shared how integration is improving consumer engagement and delivering measurable results.</p><p>Doug Baker, FMI vice president of industry relations, opened with a pulse-check on channel strategies, highlighting the expanding relationship between on-site and social media channels to create meaningful, personalized consumer experiences.</p><p>Christine Foster of Kroger Precision Marketing shared how Kroger unified its retail media, consumer insights and loyalty marketing services into a single division to focus on building brands and deeply understanding consumer behavior.</p><h5>Evolving Through the Maturity Model</h5><p>The discussion explored the retail media maturity model, showing how retailers progress from static ad placements to AI-driven personalization, spanning simple display ads to predictive targeting that anticipates consumer needs.</p><blockquote>Retail media is no longer a side project. It is a strategic investment for brands. <footer>Doug Baker, Vice President, Industry Relations, FMI</footer></blockquote><p>Leah Logan of Inmar shared, "As we think about the Holy Grail, it really is getting more personalized and connected. So, it’s understanding how you connect the journey between the off-site and the on-site touchpoints. Leah views the main objective of retail media as building a seamless, personalized customer journey across channels, stressing the need for data integration and strategic understanding of interactions at various touchpoints.</p><h5>The Creator Content Advantage</h5><p>Creator-led marketing emerged as one of the most promising growth areas. Christine Foster noted, "The true opportunity lies in orchestrating channels together to maximize ROI." Social commerce is playing a pivotal role, with authentic, relatable content driving stronger consumer trust than traditional, polished campaigns.</p><p>"Personalization is more important than placement," Christine said. "People are not on a grocery retailer website to take in all the content. They are there to get a job done." Her point underscores the importance of relevance and consumer-first thinking.</p><h5>Measuring What Matters</h5><p>Measurement and incrementality were recurring themes. Retail media networks can prove their value by tracking actual sales lift and providing detailed insight to brands. This capability is increasingly vital as advertisers demand transparency and ROI validation.</p><h5>Orchestrating the Omnichannel Experience</h5><p>Perhaps the most important takeaway was that retail media success comes from orchestrating, not isolating, channels. True impact happens when on-site, off-site and social efforts work together to create a seamless, personalized shopper experience.</p><h5>The Future of Retail Marketing</h5><p>As AI, data analytics and consumer expectations emerge, retail media networks are positioned to be essential partners for brands.</p><p>For marketers, the message is clear: integrated retail media strategies will define competitive advantage in the digital marketplace. The opportunity lies in uniting technology, creativity and data to create experiences that resonate, convert and build long-term loyalty.</p><p>Don’t miss the third and final webinar in the series, Master Retail Media, Stages 5-6: Strategic Growth & Scale on Wednesday, September 10 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET.</p><p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/store/ProductFormPublic/RetailMediaNetworksPart2" class="button">Access the Recordings and Playbooks</a> <a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/meeting/MeetingFormPublic/view?id=DBC94300000001" class="button-secondary">Register for the third webinar in the series</a></p>
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