Decoding the 2025 RTIH Awards: What’s Next for Retail Media?
The 2025 Retail Tech Innovation Hub (RTIH) Innovation Awards highlight emerging technologies driving retail transformation. For retail media professionals, these awards provide a lens into innovations shaping the future of retail media networks and strategies. This article analyzes key finalists whose solutions are set to impact retail media growth, focusing on dedicated platforms, AI-driven personalization, data analytics, and in-store digital touchpoints.
Dedicated Platforms Accelerating Retail Media Networks
Finalists such as Kevel are empowering retailers to build tailored retail media networks by offering flexible, API-first ad infrastructure. This allows brands and retailers to efficiently launch, scale, and optimize ad placements within their digital ecosystems. Additionally, Cust2Mate’s smart cart technology opens new revenue streams by turning carts into interactive ad channels, blending e-commerce convenience with media engagement in physical stores.
Data & AI: The Engines of Personalized Retail Media
Data and AI stand at the heart of retail media’s evolution. Trust Retail’s platform democratizes access to real-time data analytics, enabling retailers and brands to create highly segmented, personalized campaigns. Riskified leverages AI-powered fraud prevention tools, securing transaction data and boosting consumer trust, which is vital for retail media conversion rates. Post-purchase engagement is also innovating, with Yocuda utilizing digital receipts as personalized marketing touchpoints that extend customer interaction beyond the checkout.
Physical Store Tech as New Media Frontiers
Physical retail spaces are incorporating advanced media channels. Hanshow’s NFC-enabled Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) provide dynamic, interactive content tailored to shoppers in real time. These ESLs serve as media displays enhancing the in-store experience and supporting targeted promotions, essentially converting store infrastructure into smart advertising platforms.
The Strategic Implications for Retail Media Insiders
The RTIH Innovation Awards finalists reveal critical trajectories for retail media. Dedicated platforms like Kevel and Cust2Mate enable the creation and monetization of proprietary media networks. AI and data technologies from Trust Retail and Riskified fuel precise targeting and operational security, increasing campaign effectiveness. Innovations like Hanshow’s ESLs broaden media reach into physical retail environments, presenting omnichannel engagement opportunities. Collectively, these developments signal a more integrated, data-driven, and interactive retail media landscape, offering retail media professionals insights to shape future strategies and maximize revenue potential.
