How to Choose a Retail Media Platform: Criteria for Retailers | Particular Audience
The questions to ask when choosing a retail media platform: relevance, formats, brand buying tools, measurement, billing and ownership.
How should a retailer choose a retail media platform?
Choose a retail media platform on five tests: does it rank ads and organic products together on relevance; which onsite formats does it support; how do brands plan and buy; can it prove incremental sales with holdouts; and does the retailer keep control of data, pricing and the shopper experience. Catalogue and team fit matter more than feature count.
Relevance and shopper experience
Ask how sponsored products are ranked and what stops irrelevant ads appearing. Ad revenue that costs conversion is not a good trade.
Formats and buying
Sponsored products and search are the foundation; brand pages, rich media, retargeting and supplier-funded offers extend it. Check how brands plan, book and report.
Measurement and money
Incrementality testing, brand halo reporting, billing and reconciliation. Ask to see a real report.
Try before you commit
Model the opportunity with your own traffic and start with one category.
How Particular Audience does it
In production
- Intersport Austria: Intersport launched onsite retail media — and proved brand growth in five weeks (17.3× Brand-halo ROAS)
- The Warehouse Group (TWG): 5 weeks from signature to live across The Warehouse and Noel Leeming (+126.1% Sponsored Product CTR (NL + TW))
Frequently asked questions
Should we build or buy?
Building the ad engine, buying tools and billing is a multi-year effort. Most retailers buy the platform and keep control of data and policy.
Related guides
- What is a retail media network?: A retail media network lets brands advertise on a retailer's own site and channels using the retailer's shopper data. How it works and what it needs.
- How to launch a retail media network: Steps to launch onsite retail media: size the opportunity, choose formats, set relevance rules, onboard brands and prove results.
- How to measure retail media incrementality: Use holdout groups to separate sales caused by retail media from sales that would have happened anyway, and report brand halo.