The grocery aisle isn’t just where consumers shop for their daily essentials; it’s where some of the most powerful retail media opportunities are unfolding. The grocery sector is reshaping the future of retail media. Today’s brands and retailers are reaching consumers through physical locations as well as online – and the grocery aisle holds insights into household demographics and buying behaviors that allow brands and retailers to personalize the shopping experience like never before.
That momentum and competition will continue to grow in 2025, according to Rithum’s Meghan Barden, director of global retail media. Brands and retailers have an opportunity to personalize ads and promote products consumers are interested in buying. The grocery category provides some of the most powerful and robust insights into household demographics and buying behaviors – and advertisers are taking notice. They are shifting more of their ad spend into the grocery category. Retailers can use first-party data to match advertisers with highly targeted audiences and create campaigns that resonate.
That data is invaluable as consumer behavior continues to evolve with one in three consumers doing some portion of their grocery shopping online, according to SmartCommerce data.
“The grocery sector of retail media has had significant longevity in the industry – however, it has also been the slowest to expand or innovate. I am excited to see more grocery retailers lean into their unique offerings and highlight their reward programs to attract advertisers who are hungry to tap into those 1P audiences.”
– Meghan Barden, director of global retail media, Rithum
How to use retail media as part of your omnichannel strategy
The grocery sector’s move toward digital links the physical and online shopping experience. While grocery sector consumers are more open than ever to shopping online, for some items, like alcoholic beverages, 64% of consumers said they are still shopping in store, according to SmartCommerce. For brands, this creates a two-fold opportunity: an understanding of how in-store and online shopping behaviors intersect. That information is key to engaging consumers throughout their shopping experience.
“Brands that can cross-functionally leverage important retailer data from in-store and online purchases can adjust their marketing strategies accordingly. Meet consumers where they are shopping – whether that’s the aisles of a physical grocery store or on an app,” Barden said.
A data-driven approach allows brands to work with retail media management partners like Rithum’s Retail Media Managed Services team, which helps retailers deliver precise, timely insights. Rithum’s team can provide accurate data as well as nuanced metrics, such as share of voice, tailored to the specific needs of the brand.
Grocery is expected to continue to be a juggernaut of consumer data in 2025. As a result, the competition to dominate retail media will only intensify. While grocery retailers have been some of the first to adopt retail media strategies hosted on their own platforms, other technology, such as delivery apps, will continue to compete as they are launching rapidly across the sector.
Ready to elevate your retail media strategy? Discover how Rithum can support your journey. Schedule a demo today.
