The Digital Marketing Exposition and Conference (DMEXCO) recently wrapped up in Cologne, Germany, and teams from the whole STRATACACHE family, including Walkbase, were on hand to discuss all things in-store retail and the biggest revenue-generating opportunity — in-store retail media networks.
The trade show booth was led by Scala, part of the STRATACACHE family of technology companies, and featured a wide range of in-store technology aimed at personalizing and improving the customer experience while giving deep real-time insights — through STRATACACHE’s in-house sensor tech platform Walkbase — into what’s happening in your store.
Walkbase VP of Business Development, Ben Reynolds, was on hand to moderate two masterclasses as part of Scala’s full day event, “What’s in Store for Retail Media” and to discuss sensor tech and in-store retail media in the booth. We sat down with Ben to get his reactions on the show and share his takeaways.
You moderated two masterclasses during Scala’s “What’s in Store for Retail Media Networks” event at DMEXCO. Can you describe that experience?
I was impressed with the DMEXCO show overall. It’s a well attended show, focused on in-store and online digital marketing, with an emphasis on retail media this year. The Scala “What’s In Store for Retail Media” was a great event with participation from highly respected industry veterans representing retailers, agencies and solution providers. We heard a wide range of perspectives on how the EMEA market is approaching in-store media. Earlier this year, STRATACACHE hosted a one-day in-store retail media network event in New York, as well as two more events in London and France. We’re giving retailers an important global view of how measurement, monetization, strategies and challenges are being tackled.
What were your top three takeaways related to in-store retail media from the masterclasses you moderated and attended?
My three:
1) I was surprised how historically retailers have partnered with DOOH providers to power their in-store retail media networks. It provides an upper limit to their revenue models as it lacks the data, conversion and return on ad spend (ROAS) metrics that North American retailers go to market with. There is a big opportunity for retailers to do more with in-store networks in Europe.
2) Privacy regulation can drive innovation. From a data perspective, we tend to think of privacy legislation as restrictive. On the loyalty panel I moderated, we talked a lot about how companies can innovate to provide privacy-friendly solutions and create a competitive advantage.
3) Customer loyalty, while behind the U.S. in terms of adoption by customers, is growing in Europe and a huge opportunity for retailers to leverage their first-party data for upper funnel marketing opportunities.
How do Walkbase’s solutions complement what was being discussed in the masterclasses?
Retail media is growing rapidly in Europe. Measuring the store, as you would other digital properties such as on-site and mobile, is imperative for obtaining the growth objectives. How do you know what improvements to make if you don’t have the data? Walkbase is the perfect in-store measurement platform.
Were there specific solutions or capabilities that resonated with booth visitors?
Walkbase’s new Retail Media Dashboard — the dashboard showing impressions by ad and impressions by screen throughout the store resonated really well. It goes to show that data is increasingly top of mind for retailers, both online, where it is most commonly known to be gathered, and in the store.
What types of organizations and industries did this year’s booth attendees represent? Any surprises?
Mainly solution providers and agencies — not a ton of retailers or brands.
As an expert in retail analytics, what excited you most about this year’s show?
This was my first DMEXCO show. The entire market seems to be leaning into the retail media space. In addition to the very positive feedback we received around Scala’s “What’s In-Store for Retail Media” day, I sat in on several other retail media presentations that were well attended with quality content and Q&A. It’s energizing to see that the conversation around the importance of in-store retail media is rapidly growing. We’ve spent years developing the platform and tools that are successfully delivering networks to major brands. I’m excited to see that now, the opportunity is piquing the interest of brands in all areas of in-store retail, in all regions.
What were some of the main challenges or topics of conversation that kept coming up in the booth?
Three topics were part of frequent discussion. Data privacy is always at the forefront. It’s a key consideration for any retailer collecting customer data and an important part to the conversation. Any provider who can’t confidently discuss privacy shouldn’t be operating in the space.
Overcoming the history of treating in-store as DOOH was the second topic. The debate centered around the fundamentals of defining what digital out-of-home means in the world of digital signage. The third was again around retail media, specifically the use of in-store sensors to customize the network content. We had some great discussions about the opportunity to create customer-centric media that leverages store signals to deliver a more relevant customer experience and enhance retail media revenue opportunities.
As someone who attends multiple industry trade shows a year around the world, including DMEXCO and NRF’s Big Show, what themes and trends do you see keep resurfacing?
1) Retail media is media. The data collected by retailers today enables measurement and activation across the entire customer journey — on-site, offline (including CTV), mobile and in-store. Data provides the opportunity to move up the funnel, via social and CTV, that has never existed before.
2) In-store will continue to be a focus the next 12 to 24 months. The cost curve for implementing a measurable in-store solution is coming down. This is happening while the margins on owned retail media continue to be high, making the investment more attractive than it was three to five years ago.
Dive Deeper into In-Store Retail Media
Videos of Ben’s masterclasses and the rest from our DMEXCO What’s in Store for Retail Media event will be available online in the coming weeks. Register your interest in receiving the videos here.
The next retail media event, “NRF and STRATACACHE Present: What’s In-Store for Retail Media Networks,” will take place January 11 in New York.
About the Author
Erik Adams is the marketing manager for Walkbase. With more than 12 years of marketing experience across industries, including automotive, local government and retail, he brings a unique perspective on how organizations can leverage technology to optimize operations and enhance the customer experience.
