Aside from COVID-19, “retail media networks” is perhaps the phrase uttered most by grocery retailers in 2020. Amazon now claims one of the few growing ad businesses out there, and as the world’s third-largest digital media seller, it’s seriously challenging Google and Facebook’s dominance, primarily because of its consumer purchase data. As an unexpected consequence, retailers with their own trove of purchase data are suddenly finding themselves in an enviable position in the battle over the $129 billion U.S. digital ad market.
