The retail media market is shifting beyond on-site placements as brands and agencies chase broader reach, better use of first-party purchase signals and full-funnel impact. Below is a concise executive summary of what matters now and what to act on.
Retail Media’s Off-Site Expansion & Growth Drivers
Shifting Budgets to Broader Reach
Marketers are allocating more spend to off-platform channels to reach audiences outside retailer sites. Top destinations are programmatic display, social media and CTV, often activated via RMNs or through retail-powered programmatic deals. The driver is simple: extend the value of first-party data to channels where attention and scale live.
Full-Funnel Impact Beyond Point-of-Sale
Off-site placements support awareness and consideration at scale, while maintaining conversion efficiency through purchase-based retargeting. Combining on-site commerce signals with social and CTV creatives raises upper-funnel metrics without sacrificing measurable downstream sales.
Strategic Leverage: Data, Targeting & ROI
The Power of Purchase-Based Targeting
Targeting built from actual transactions delivers higher intent and better ROAS than inferred audiences. RMNs can segment buyers, lapsed shoppers and lookalikes from first-party pools, enabling campaigns that map directly to assortment and margin goals.
Off-Site’s Measurable Returns
Measurement is evolving beyond last-click. Incrementality testing, blended ROAS, and cross-channel attribution tied to purchase lift are emerging as standard. Smart teams track engagement and CAC in addition to immediate sales to prove full-funnel value.
Overcoming Fragmentation & Looking Ahead
Managing a Complex Ecosystem
Fragmentation is the primary pain point: multiple RMNs, inconsistent metrics and privacy constraints complicate activation. Practical steps: consolidate reporting, run standardized lift tests, and form measurement partnerships that preserve first-party signals.
The Future Role of AI and Integration
AI will optimize audiences, bidding and creative at scale, and predict lifetime value from purchase data. The next wave is tighter integration between RMNs, DSPs and social/CTV partners so teams can operate one strategy across channels. For decision-makers: pilot off-site channels with strong incrementality frameworks, protect first-party assets, and align KPIs to full-funnel outcomes.
Action items: prioritize purchase-based targeting, test CTV and social through retail-enabled deals, and invest in measurement that ties creative exposure to real sales lift.
