A fully automated retail media platform like Particular Audience can dramatically transform AdOps and trading teams' day to day workload at agencies, brand advertisers and retailer adops functions alike. It is especially imperative for agencies when they are managing both demand (brands) and supply (retailers).

Here’s how:

1. Significantly Reduced Manual Work

• Eliminates manual keyword targeting and optimization through advanced AI-driven automation.
• Automates campaign execution, freeing up AdOps resources for strategic initiatives rather than operational tasks.

2. Improved Efficiency and Lower Operational Costs

• Reduces campaign setup time from days or weeks to hours or even minutes.
• Cuts overhead by automating repetitive tasks, reallocating resources to higher-value, strategic tasks like data-driven insights and client consultation.

3. Superior Campaign Performance

• Leverages multi-modal AI (such as sentence transformers and visual ML) to achieve hyper-personalization, delivering at least a 4x uplift compared to traditional keyword-based methods.
• Dramatically improves metrics like CTR and ROAS by matching products to consumer intent in real-time.

4. Enhanced Demand and Supply Integration

• Vacancy filling. Real-time visibility across supply-side inventory and demand-side budgets enables instantaneous optimization.
• Intent matching. Increases yield for retailers and significantly better outcomes for brands through highly precise targeting, satisfying both supply and demand simultaneously.

5. Data-Driven Decision-Making

• Real-time analytics and predictive insights replace retrospective and manual reporting.
• Enables proactive rather than reactive campaign management, driving better outcomes for clients and increasing the value of trading desks.

6. Scalability of AdOps Capabilities

• Agencies, buyers and advertising sales teams can manage a larger portfolio of campaigns simultaneously, without scaling headcount linearly.
• Automation allows rapid onboarding and efficient scaling of new clients or retailers.

7. Competitive Advantage

• Positions DiscoveryOS platform users as pioneering in automated, next-generation retail media technology.
• Allows them to win more business through clearly differentiated performance capabilities.

8. Flexible Monetization and Pricing Models

• Automation enables more dynamic pricing models, including CPC, CPM, CPA, and revenue-share agreements, aligning interests across the ecosystem.
• Fixed tenancy scheduling provides for 100% automated banner upload and takedowns from digital platforms in line with booked time on Particular Audience's scheduling system. As straight forward as booking a hotel room.
• Facilitates sophisticated yield management on the retailer side and optimized media spend on the advertiser side.

9. Simplified Cross-Channel and Omni-Channel Campaigns

• Streamlines the integration and management of retail media alongside other digital channels (search, social, display), enabling holistic optimization and unified insights.

10. Creative Process Automation

• Legacy platforms require static non-responsive banner picture files, requiring high quality design and lengthy approval processes. Particular Audience enables 100% responsive HTML5 banners.
• This is also a legal requirement from June 2025 with EU Accessibility Laws coming into effect.

In short, an automated retail media platform like Particular Audience empowers AdOps and trading teams to focus on strategic value creation rather than manual campaign administration, delivering transformative performance improvements and efficiencies that directly benefit both agency profitability and client satisfaction.

We explore:

• Case studies or real-world examples of agencies benefiting from automated retail media platforms.
• Competitive comparisons between Particular Audience and other leading retail media platforms.
• Detailed insights into how AI and automation impact retail media performance metrics (e.g., ROAS, CTR, operational efficiency).
• Financial or operational impact on agencies, including cost savings and increased revenue opportunities.

Transforming AdOps with Automated Retail Media Platforms

Retail media networks are booming – eMarketer estimates retail media ad spend will hit ~$60 billion in 2024 (one-fifth of all digital ad dollars) and nearly $110 billion by 2027 (Retail media networks: Grasping the opportunity) (Marketers Spending Significantly More on Retail Media Networks Despite Underlying Concerns: ANA Report | About the ANA | ANA). Agencies that manage both advertiser demand and retailer supply stand to gain immensely from fully automated retail media platforms. Solutions such as Particular Audience – an AI-driven retail media platform – promise to streamline AdOps, boost performance, and unlock new revenue. Below, we delve into real-world successes, compare leading platforms, and examine how AI automation lifts key metrics and financial outcomes.

Looking to Real-World Success: Automation in Action

Agencies are already reaping the benefits of retail media automation through improved performance and efficiency:

• Dentsu’s 294% ROAS Boost with Automation: Global agency Dentsu managed retail media campaigns on Criteo across multiple European retailers. Faced with limited daily budgets, they tested automated dayparting using Skai (Kenshoo) to pause ads in low-performing hours (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai). The result was dramatic – Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) surged 294% for laptop ads and 163% for gaming consoles (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai). By using automated rules to optimize ad timing, the team stretched budgets and maintained ROAS goals at scale across regions (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai) (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai). This case shows how AI-driven optimizations (that would be tedious manually) can massively improve performance and keep large campaigns on track.
• Rip Curl’s 15× ROAS via AI-Powered Retail Media: Retailer Rip Curl (with agency support) feared that adding on-site sponsored products would simply cannibalize organic sales. However, by implementing Particular Audience’s platform, they measured true incremental sales and automated relevant ad placements, ensuring new revenue rather than “pay-to-play” cannibalization (Case Studies). The outcome was a whopping 15× ROAS versus a 4–5× target (Case Studies). Share-of-voice grew ~46%, and cost-per-click stayed low (avg. $0.11) (Case Studies). This real-world example highlights the business impact – an automated retail media solution drove significantly higher returns for the brand, proving its value in an agency’s trade marketing toolkit.
• Higher CTR and Conversion with AI Targeting: In one seasonal campaign, Particular Audience’s AI-driven “dynamic relevancy” targeting vastly outperformed manual keyword-based ads – capturing 93% of sponsored revenue with a 1.2% CTR and 37.8× ROAS (Case Studies). By contrast, keyword-only campaigns were inconsistent (one hit 66× ROAS, another only 9.9×) (Case Studies). The AI approach not only lifted click-through rates but also ensured those clicks converted better (one keyword campaign’s CTR fell to 0.32% vs. 1.2% with AI) (Case Studies). These cases illustrate that agencies using automated retail media tech can deliver more clicks and conversions for clients, with far more consistency than manual tactics.

Key takeaway: Automated retail media platforms have delivered double- and triple-digit performance improvements in real deployments. Whether it’s a media agency optimizing bids and budgets or a retailer’s network generating incremental sales, the business impact is clear – higher ROAS, CTR, and conversion, with less manual labor.

Competitive Landscape: Particular Audience vs. Other Platforms

The retail media tech space is evolving quickly. Here’s how Particular Audience compares to other leading retail media platforms and what unique advantages each offers:

• Particular Audience (PA): A next-gen, AI-driven retail media platform built to “democratize Amazon’s technology” for all retailers (About Us). PA uniquely powers both organic search/recommendations and sponsored ads in one system, using advanced AI (transformer-based search, computer vision, etc.) (Advanced Retail Media Technology). This means it can optimize the balance between organic and paid placements to maximize revenue without hurting user experience (Advanced Retail Media Technology). PA boasts hyper-personalization for every shopper, resulting in significantly higher engagement and ad performance – for example, its ads achieve ~1.1% CTR on average, vs. a 0.39% global retail media CTR benchmark (a 182% improvement) (Advanced Retail Media Technology). The platform’s AI automates optimal ad placement/timing across 99% of search queries and page views (Advanced Retail Media Technology), effectively doubling fill rates (ad coverage) within weeks of deployment (Particular Audience Announces Largest Ever Product Release—Reinforcing Market Leadership in Advanced AI-Powered Retail Media, Search & Personalization | Business Wire). Advantages: Cutting-edge AI that maximizes relevance, incremental sales measurement, easy integration (JS snippet or API) for quick launch (Advanced Retail Media Technology), and a unified approach to personalization and monetization. Drawbacks: As an emerging player, PA may not yet have the same market footprint or third-party integrations (e.g. off-site media networks) that more established rivals offer – though its AI-first approach is a major differentiator.
• CitrusAd (Publicis Epsilon): CitrusAd is a widely adopted retail media SaaS platform – it streamlines on-site ad serving and sales for over half of the top 20 global retailers (>$2 trillion in online sales) (Retail Media for Retailers - CitrusAd - Sponsored Product Ads). Publicis integrated CitrusAd with Epsilon’s data capabilities to create the industry’s first unified on-site and off-site retail media platform (Publicis Groupe Launches the Industry’s First Unified On-site and Off-site Retail Media Platform – CitrusAd, powered by Epsilon | Publicis Groupe). Through a single self-serve UI, retailers can sell sponsored product placements on their site and also allow brands to retarget those shoppers off-site across the open web (Publicis Groupe Launches the Industry’s First Unified On-site and Off-site Retail Media Platform – CitrusAd, powered by Epsilon | Publicis Groupe). It’s an identity-led platform with privacy-centric clean rooms for data sharing (Publicis Groupe Launches the Industry’s First Unified On-site and Off-site Retail Media Platform – CitrusAd, powered by Epsilon | Publicis Groupe), leveraging rich first-party data for audience targeting. Advantages: Proven at scale with many major retailers, quick to deploy as a white-label solution, and now offering omnichannel reach (site, off-site, even in-store) with closed-loop measurement back to sales (Publicis Groupe Launches the Industry’s First Unified On-site and Off-site Retail Media Platform – CitrusAd, powered by Epsilon | Publicis Groupe). For agencies, CitrusAd’s broad adoption means many retail media buys happen on its system. Potential drawbacks: Being owned by Publicis, competitor holding companies may approach it cautiously; also, its reliance on brand self-service bidding may mean less sophisticated personalization of content compared to AI-centric platforms like PA. The manual overhead is real, with manual keyword targeting still be dominant form of onsite advertising, and allegedly half of their retail media clients do not even offer advertisers suggested search terms, meaning advertising pros need to start from scratch or port from other (less applicable) platforms.
• Criteo Retail Media: Criteo is a pioneer in retail media and was named a Leader in IDC’s 2024 Retail Media Network evaluation (Criteo Named a Leader in IDC MarketScape's 2024 Worldwide ...). After acquiring HookLogic, Criteo built an integrated platform for on-site sponsored products and off-site display/retargeting using retailer data. It remains a market leader, reportedly powering ~40% of retailers’ on-site ad programs across many categories (List of 200+ Retail Media networks in the World (2025) - Mimbi). Criteo’s strength is in its programmatic infrastructure and scale – it connects retailers and brands via a large network, with API connections allowing agencies or brands to buy ads through their preferred tools ([PDF] Criteo Retail Media 101). Advantages: Huge existing advertiser pool, strong AI in bid optimization (honed from years of web retargeting), and access to open-web inventory beyond the retailer’s walls. Criteo also just partnered with Microsoft to expand retail media reach (Retail Media for retailers | Microsoft Advertising), indicating a focus on innovation. Drawbacks: Some retailers want more control than Criteo’s network model (leading a few to build in-house or choose white-label solutions). Also, Criteo’s roots in cookie-based off-site targeting mean it must continue evolving for a privacy-centric world – a challenge it’s addressing with first-party data alliances.

There are also cross-network campaign management tools (e.g. Skai, Pacvue) that agencies use to automate buying across multiple retail media networks – these complement the platforms above by aggregating demand-side operations for brands.

Bottom line: Agencies must navigate a competitive landscape. Particular Audience stands out for its AI-driven personalization and “organic + ad” integration, whereas CitrusAd and Criteo each excel in reach and capabilities (omnichannel reach, programmatic scale, or customization, respectively). Understanding these differences helps agencies choose the right platform or mix of tools to maximize performance for both their advertiser clients and any retailer partners.

How AI & Automation Elevate Key Performance Metrics

Automation and AI aren’t just buzzwords – they directly improve retail media KPIs that agencies care about:

• Higher ROAS and Revenue: AI optimization drives more efficient use of ad spend. By learning when and where ads perform best, automated platforms can allocate budgets to yield far greater returns. The Dentsu case showed ROAS nearly quadrupling after implementing automated dayparting (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai). Similarly, Particular Audience cites that AI-driven campaigns expanded ad revenue potential by ~10× for some retailers, compared to manual keyword-based setups (Advanced Retail Media Technology). In fact, manual keyword targeting might capture <10% of possible ad sales, leaving 90% uncaptured – a gap AI can fill (Advanced Retail Media Technology). When PA’s algorithms autonomously decide optimal placements and timing, one retailer saw a +177% lift in ROAS and +566% increase in ad spend from brand partners (Case Studies) (Case Studies). The data is clear: automation unlocks far more revenue and return by optimizing what humans simply can’t scale.
• Improved CTR and Conversion Rates: Relevance is king in retail media. AI uses vast signals (search queries, browsing behavior, purchase history, etc.) to serve ads shoppers are truly interested in – boosting engagement. Particular Audience’s hyper-personalization led to an average 1.1% CTR, far exceeding the ~0.39% industry benchmark (Advanced Retail Media Technology). That ~3× higher click-through means ads are resonating more with consumers. More importantly, those clicks are converting: in PA’s Black Friday example, dynamically targeted ads drove the majority of sponsored sales with a healthy conversion rate, whereas poorly targeted ones saw very low CTR and ROI (Case Studies). By continuously A/B testing and learning (e.g. PA’s platform tests when to insert an ad vs. show an organic product (Innovative Retail Media Applications of Particular Audience APIs)), AI can ensure ads don’t cannibalize organic sales or harm the user experience. The result is incremental conversions – additional sales that wouldn’t have happened without the ad. One global CPG saw share-of-voice jump +92% using cross-channel retail media AI, translating to real sales growth (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai). For agencies, every point increase in CTR or conversion means better campaign outcomes for their clients.
• Real-Time Optimization & Efficiency: AI drives continuous, real-time optimization that a human team could never match at scale. For example, Skai’s platform enabled Dentsu to identify which hours of the day drove the best performance and automatically adjust campaigns hour-by-hour (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai) (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai). This kind of granular bid/budget optimization kept campaigns within ROAS targets globally without constant manual monitoring. Likewise, AI algorithms can react to inventory changes or new trends instantly – if a product goes out of stock, the system stops promoting it and pivots to alternatives in real time (Innovative Retail Media Applications of Particular Audience APIs) (Innovative Retail Media Applications of Particular Audience APIs). Automation also reduces errors (e.g. overspending budgets or missing an opportunity window) by executing rules precisely. All of this boosts operational efficiency: campaigns perform better with fewer firefights. An executive at Starcom noted the “growing wave of automated capabilities” in retail media, from Instacart’s optimized bidding to Amazon’s automated product campaigns, and emphasized that mastering these will be key for success (Retail Media in 2025: Predictions From Industry Leaders). In short, AI not only lifts metrics like CTR/ROAS, but ensures consistent optimization, giving trading teams confidence that performance is always being maximized.
• Unified Data & Attribution: Automated retail media platforms also help consolidate data for better attribution and insights. Many use unified dashboards that tie ad spend to actual sales (online and offline) using first-party data (Publicis Groupe Launches the Industry’s First Unified On-site and Off-site Retail Media Platform – CitrusAd, powered by Epsilon | Publicis Groupe). This means agencies can clearly see Return on Ad Spend in terms of real revenue, and AI can optimize towards true sales, not just clicks. Unified measurement across on-site and off-site campaigns (as in CitrusAd/Epsilon’s case) helps in crediting the right touchpoints (Publicis Groupe Launches the Industry’s First Unified On-site and Off-site Retail Media Platform – CitrusAd, powered by Epsilon | Publicis Groupe). Over time, these systems’ machine learning models get smarter, predicting which ad placements drive the highest lifetime value customers or higher basket sizes, further refining metrics like ROAS and conversion rates. For agencies, the ability to prove and improve performance via automation creates a virtuous cycle – better results justify more investment into retail media by clients, which in turn drives more revenue managed by the agency.

Financial & Operational Impact on Agencies

For an agency which straddles both the demand side (brand advertisers) and supply side (retail media sellers), adopting a fully automated retail media platform can be transformative:

• Operational Efficiency & Cost Savings: Automation dramatically reduces the manual workload on AdOps and trading teams. Routine tasks – trafficking ads across dozens of retailer systems, adjusting bids, budgeting, generating reports – can be handled by the platform’s algorithms and workflows. For instance, rather than an optimizer spending hours tweaking bids, an AI algorithm can auto-tune bids 24/7 to hit target ROAS. Dentsu’s team found the workflow much more scalable across regions once automated tools were in place (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai). In general, agencies report that a single strategist can manage far more campaigns when leveraging AI optimizations, freeing up human time for higher-level strategy. Particular Audience notes that its ease-of-use and automated campaign deployment increase advertiser participation by ~60% (Advanced Retail Media Technology) – indicating how much friction is removed from the process. Fewer manual touchpoints also mean fewer human errors and delays, ultimately saving labor costs and allowing agencies to operate leaner. In a world where speed to market is critical, being able to launch campaigns “in less than an hour” on a retail site (as CitrusAd enables) is a huge advantage (Retail Media for Retailers - CitrusAd - Sponsored Product Ads). This agility translates to cost savings (less overtime, fewer resources needed per account) and lets teams focus on optimizing strategy instead of pushing buttons.
• Scalability and New Revenue Streams: With efficiency comes scalability. An automated platform enables an agency to take on more retail media business without a linear increase in headcount. The agency could manage campaigns for more brands across more retail networks simultaneously, since much of the heavy lifting (targeting, bidding, personalization) is handled by AI. Moreover, agencies can expand their services – for example, offering to run a retailer’s media network as a managed service. If an agency helps a retailer implement a platform like Particular Audience, the retailer can unlock a high-margin revenue stream (retail media yields 50–70% operating margins for retailers) (Marketers Spending Significantly More on Retail Media Networks Despite Underlying Concerns: ANA Report | About the ANA | ANA). The agency could earn consulting or revenue-sharing fees for facilitating this, effectively tapping into supply-side income. Even on the demand side, better performance means brands will invest more – if an agency demonstrates it can consistently get, say, 10× ROAS via retail media, CPG clients will shift bigger budgets into those campaigns. That directly grows the agency’s billings and fee potential. With retail media expected to grow ~25% YoY and reach $100B+ in a few years (Retail media networks: Grasping the opportunity), agencies positioned to capture this spend via automation stand to see substantial revenue growth. In short, automated platforms let agencies scale up and ride the retail media wave without being bottlenecked by talent resources.
• Improved Collaboration & Transparency: Agencies managing both demand and supply benefit from a unified platform where retailers, brands, and the agency can collaborate. Many automated retail media solutions provide self-service portals with approval workflows (Particular Audience Announces Largest Ever Product Release—Reinforcing Market Leadership in Advanced AI-Powered Retail Media, Search & Personalization | Business Wire) – e.g. a brand can submit a campaign, the retailer (or agency acting for them) approves it with one click. This reduces back-and-forth emails and speeds up execution. To boot, the true Relevance and Hybrid sponsored product and sponsored search campaigns do not need any approval step at all. For an agency group that might represent a brand and also consult for a retailer, having a common system can ensure transparency and fair allocation. Tools like clean rooms and secure data sharing mean the agency can use retailer first-party data for targeting without privacy risks (Publicis Groupe Launches the Industry’s First Unified On-site and Off-site Retail Media Platform – CitrusAd, powered by Epsilon | Publicis Groupe), enhancing campaign effectiveness for the brand. At the same time, they can assure the retailer of incremental sales through robust measurement. Unified reporting across on-site and off-site campaigns helps trading teams quickly optimize across channels and prove the full-funnel value of retail media to clients (Retail Media for retailers | Microsoft Advertising). All of this strengthens the agency’s role as a strategic partner, not just an executor. Internally, less siloed data and automation also break down silos in the team – folks can focus on insights and creative optimization rather than crunching spreadsheets.
• Cost Avoidance and Client Retention: From a financial perspective, investing in an automated platform can be far cheaper than the opportunity cost of falling behind. If an agency didn’t have cutting-edge retail media capabilities, it might lose clients to competitors or have to spend significantly on manual labor to keep up. Automation ensures consistent performance that meets advertisers’ goals, which helps in client retention and satisfaction. Also, agencies often operate on thin margins – any efficiency gain (doing the same work in 20% less time, for instance) can improve profitability. By automating internal workflows (even using AI to create ad creatives at scale (Retail Media for retailers | Microsoft Advertising) or to auto-generate reports), agencies save on operational costs in the long run. There may be an upfront investment in training and integration, but the ROI is clear when campaigns managed with fewer staff start delivering double-digit improvements in outcomes.
• Compliance and Creative Velocity: An HTML5-responsive banner builder, such as Particular Audience's, significantly outperforms legacy static-banner upload systems by enabling real-time personalization, dynamic creative optimization, and seamless responsiveness across all devices. Rather than manually producing multiple static banners sized individually for various devices and formats, agencies using responsive HTML5 builders can instantly generate fully adaptable creatives that automatically adjust dimensions, content, and messaging based on viewer context. Furthermore, Particular Audience's system offers built-in scheduling capabilities, allowing AdOps teams to automate ad rotations and timely updates without manual uploads or takedowns. This reduces the traditional burden of logging into various ad servers to upload, schedule, or deactivate static banners—tasks previously requiring dedicated hourly resources that could cost upwards of $50–$100 per hour. By replacing cumbersome manual workflows with automated scheduling and dynamic creative adjustments, agencies drastically reduce operational expenses and human error, improve creative agility, and free resources to focus on strategy rather than routine maintenance.

Key Takeaways for Agencies Adopting Automated Retail Media

Automating retail media management is becoming essential for agencies aiming to excel in this fast-growing channel. Agencies can dramatically improve their AdOps and trading outcomes by embracing AI-powered retail media platforms:

• Proven Performance Uplift: Case studies show that automation drives superior results – from higher ROAS (up to 15×) (Case Studies) and CTR (+182% vs. industry average) (Advanced Retail Media Technology) to more conversions and revenue. These gains are difficult to achieve with manual optimizations alone. Agencies can confidently pitch retail media to clients knowing automated platforms deliver measurable business impact (sales, ROI) (Case Studies) (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai).
• Efficiency and Scale: A fully automated platform offloads repetitive tasks and optimizes in real-time, enabling one team to manage many campaigns across markets without quality loss (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai). This scalability means agencies can grow their retail media practice (and profits) without being constrained by hiring. It also frees existing experts to focus on strategy and creative tactics, rather than micromanaging bids or placements.
• Competitive Edge Through AI: In a fragmented retail media landscape (100+ networks), having advanced AI tools is a competitive differentiator. Platforms like Particular Audience bring unique AI capabilities (personalized search + ads, transformer models) that can set an agency’s offering apart. As retail media networks roll out more self-serve automation (Retail Media in 2025: Predictions From Industry Leaders), agencies must stay ahead by mastering these tools – turning automation from a threat (e.g. retailers selling direct to brands) into an advantage (the agency becomes the expert operator of these complex systems).
• Holistic Supply-Demand Benefits: Agencies managing both supply and demand can leverage automation to benefit all sides. They can help retailers launch high-margin media programs quickly (via white-label platforms) (Retail Media for Retailers - CitrusAd - Sponsored Product Ads), while simultaneously using those platforms to drive brand outcomes (closing the loop with sales data). This dual knowledge can make the agency an indispensable partner orchestrating the ecosystem. The result is new revenue streams (consulting fees, profit-shares) and stronger client relationships built on delivering value through technology.
• Future-Ready Operations: Lastly, automated retail media prepares agencies for the future of marketing. As third-party cookies wane and first-party data rises, retail media sits at the nexus of data-driven advertising. Investing in these platforms now positions an agency to navigate a world of walled gardens and high-ROI closed-loop marketing. It’s an area growing ~30% year-on-year and set to be over a quarter of all ad spend in a few years (Marketers Spending Significantly More on Retail Media Networks Despite Underlying Concerns: ANA Report | About the ANA | ANA) – a pie too large to ignore. Agencies that adopt AI-driven retail media will have the infrastructure, expertise, and credibility to capture this growth, whereas those clinging to manual processes risk being left behind.

In conclusion, a fully automated retail media platform like Particular Audience can be a game-changer for agency AdOps and trading teams. The technology delivers stronger performance metrics, streamlined operations, and expanded revenue opportunities. By studying the successes of peers and understanding the competitive landscape, agencies can make informed choices on retail media solutions. The overarching trend is clear: AI and automation are elevating retail media from a nascent channel to a core pillar of advertising (Retail Media in 2025: Predictions From Industry Leaders). Agencies that harness these tools effectively will drive better outcomes for clients and themselves – achieving more with less effort, at a scale never before possible in shopper marketing. The time to embrace automated retail media is now, and the rewards (in efficiency, growth, and client success) are well worth the journey.

Sources:

1. Dentsu + Skai case – automated dayparting yields +294% ROAS (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai); multi-country scalability (Automated Actions Boosts Criteo ROAS for Dentsu | Skai).
2. Particular Audience case – AI relevancy vs. manual keywords (CTR, ROAS) (Case Studies); Rip Curl 15× ROAS example (Case Studies).
3. Particular Audience – 1.1% CTR vs 0.39% benchmark (+182%) (Advanced Retail Media Technology); fill-rate doubled with AI search (Particular Audience Announces Largest Ever Product Release—Reinforcing Market Leadership in Advanced AI-Powered Retail Media, Search & Personalization | Business Wire); 10× revenue upside via automation (Advanced Retail Media Technology).
4. CitrusAd (Publicis) – used by 50% of top 20 retailers (Retail Media for Retailers - CitrusAd - Sponsored Product Ads); unified on-site/off-site platform launch (Publicis Groupe Launches the Industry’s First Unified On-site and Off-site Retail Media Platform – CitrusAd, powered by Epsilon | Publicis Groupe).
5. Criteo – market leader, ~40% of retailers’ networks (List of 200+ Retail Media networks in the World (2025) - Mimbi); IDC MarketScape Leader (Criteo Named a Leader in IDC MarketScape's 2024 Worldwide ...).
6. Microsoft PromoteIQ – AI-driven optimization and customization (Retail Media for retailers | Microsoft Advertising) (Retail Media for retailers | Microsoft Advertising).
7. Industry trends – Starcom expert on automation wave (Retail Media in 2025: Predictions From Industry Leaders); Retail media spend $60B→$110B (2024–2027) (Retail media networks: Grasping the opportunity); High margins 50–70% for retail media (Marketers Spending Significantly More on Retail Media Networks Despite Underlying Concerns: ANA Report | About the ANA | ANA).