Survey data shows that the ascent of retail media has led to increasing frustration between brands and retailers. Credit: rvlsoft via Shutterstock.

In a comprehensive report released today (6 December), Turbyne, a pioneering solution for retailers, has shed light on the growing divide between retailers and brands within the retail media industry.

The report, titled ‘Retail Media Mirage: How the growing divide between retailers and brands threatens retail media’s potential,’ is based on an in-depth survey involving more than 300 decision-makers from both brands and retailers.

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According to the survey, a staggering 78% of brands find it challenging to justify increasing their investment in retail media.

Greg Stevens, founder and president of Turbyne, emphasises the seriousness of this issue, particularly since a significant portion of brands collaborate with only a handful of retail media networks.

The report highlights that 40% of brands work with fewer than three retail media networks, and another 42% work with four to six. The projected growth of the channel is contingent on brands diversifying their spending across various retail media networks.

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Massive gap: retailers versus brands’ perception of value delivery

One of the most significant revelations from the survey is the glaring gap between retailers’ perceptions of the value delivered by their retail media networks and brands’ actual satisfaction with these networks.

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While 65% of retailers anticipated their clients would give the retail media experience an A grade, only 6% of larger brands ($500m+) expressed satisfaction with their retail media experience.

Additionally, the report highlights that brands, on average, work with an extensive array of media partners, media agencies, and ad tech platforms, revealing the challenges associated with managing such complex networks.

Key to growth: simplifying the buying and selling process

Both brands and retailers unanimously agree on the solution to bridge this growing gap: simplifying the buying and selling process is crucial.

The report indicates that brands and retailers believe the key to growth lies in the ability to buy and execute retail media across multiple channels and tactics in a single location.

Among the key findings is the revelation that 47% of brands would allocate their budget to midsize retailers if they had the capability to buy and execute across multiple channels/tactics in a single location.

Furthermore, 70% of brands expressed a willingness to invest more in retail media if in-store tactics could be seamlessly combined with digital offerings within a single retail media platform.