Retail media: what’s the outlook for compliance?

We’ve recently published our new report Retail media: resetting for triple wins in which we set out the CLOVER model for assessing whether retail media or shopper marketing activations deliver for three key stakeholders: retailers, brands and shoppers. In fairness, there could be a case for including a fourth group of stakeholders: in-store colleagues who often carry the burden of execution, compliance and replenishment on top of their already creaking to-do lists.  

This is often overlooked by both retailers and brands. A promotional display can be logged on the system as delivered and both brand and retailer can lean back full of satisfaction that the job has been done. It might not be until a fortnight later that a sales rep or field sales colleague discovers the display in the back of the warehouse being frequently bumped into by a pallet truck.  

Similarly, displays can be left languishing empty meaning that conversion is zero or – in a world where colleagues are measured by their ability to empty the warehouse as fast as humanly possible – grotesquely overfilled, meaning that the key message of the display is obscured. In our monthly reports on retail media and shopper marketing, overfilling of off-fixture displays has become a more frequent observation across several major retailers.   

Location is important too. There have been several recent campaigns where location and context have been vital to the campaign’s success, but a number of stores have not been compliant. Campaigns where soft drinks should have been sited within produce or adjacent to chilled pizzas or where cooking sauces should have been at the end of the poultry aisle have all been undermined by poor execution.  

What does the future hold for measuring compliance and execution? As things stand, there are several existing and emerging routes open to brands:  

• Field sales reps: although many brands are outsourcing this to agencies, some of the more successful brands have continued to keep field sales on the payroll. Committed long-term employees who buy into a brand’s objectives and are empowered by the right technology can make a huge difference.  

• Field sales agencies: a lower-cost (no overheads) alternative to in-house teams, agencies can be successful, although carry the risk of a lack of focus (often working for multiple suppliers), the lack of dedicated tech and a lack of access to store-by-store sales data.  

• Crowdsourcing: even lower cost one-off or periodic in-store checks that can be commissioned to monitor availability or execution. This approach is very cost-effective although can often lack the authorisation or permission to undertake any remedial measures if availability or execution is substandard.  

• Technology: although some tech is in its infancy, there is hope that inventory cameras, inventory robots and even standard CCTV might be harnessed to ensure better compliance of on-shelf and off-fixture activations. For the foreseeable future, though, shoe leather seems to be the most reliable and commonly available technology.      

As we make clear in the report, retail media is at a crossroads. With more retailers increasingly reliant on retail media income to balance the books and with more brands shifting marketing spend closer to the point of purchase, retailers need to make sure they are holding up their end of the bargain and suppliers need to ensure their investment is not wasted.