Algolia’s Retail Media Networks: Insights and Emerging Trends report highlights the key factors that shape retail media purchasing decisions. It provides valuable thought leadership for business leaders, digital marketers, and tech experts.

The report is based on a study conducted by Algolia's Research & Insights team. Participants from around the globe were asked to share how they purchase retail media and choose retail media solutions.

Read the full report

Strategy and solutions

Retail media are targeted advertisements on retailer platforms within search results, product listings, and ad banners. It can open important new spaces for digital marketing spend and ultimately, drive higher sales and conversions.

In Algolia’s research report, Retail Media Networks: Insights and Emerging Trends, our Research & Insights team asked participants from around the globe to share how they purchase choose retail media solutions.

Our study found that strategic marketing considerations drive specific retail media choices. For instance, paying for sponsored listings on search results or category pages to generate a quick sales boost is a popular strategy for ecommerce retail businesses. In contrast, longer-term brand awareness strategies or Black Friday campaigns often rely more heavily on display banners.

Brands are increasingly adding retail media to their larger marketing campaigns to capitalize on its revenue potential. To help you make informed strategic decisions, we identified the most popular retail media solutions.

Most popular retail media solutions

• 76%: Sponsored listings on search result pages
• 45%: Branded storefronts within a marketplace (e.g., Amazon brand page)
• 56%: Sponsored listings on pages (e.g., category pages, homepages)
• 40%: Sponsored recommendations
• 60%: Display banners

Sponsored listings on search results page

Sponsored listings are cost-per-click (CPC) ads that promote products, content, or services.

Sponsored listings on search pages are the most popular retail media advertising solution. It is the most effective strategy to drive customers to specific products and inventory.

• 90%: Sponsored listings are displayed in the first positions of the search results
• 77%: Sponsored result items are combined/grouped with corresponding multimedia (e.g. banners, videos)
• 72%: Sponsored listings that are spread throughout the search results dynamically (e.g., based on sales ranking or relevance)
• 60%: Sponsored listings are spread out throughout the search results in specific positions
• 57%: Selecting a maximum number of sponsored listings that can be displayed in search results
• 52%: Sponsored listings are displayed within a carousel on the search results page; items are chosen manually or automatically
• 52%: Sponsored brands are displayed within a carousel on the search results page; items are chosen manually or automatically

Display banners

Display banners offer a unique opportunity to present a strong brand identity. They are the second most popular retail media solution.

With a combination of campaign visuals, decorative text, and sponsored video, display banners have visual appeal that isn’t possible with other solutions.

• 83%: Banners are for specific products or keywords
• 81%: Banners are personalized for the user
• 77%: Banners are grouped with corresponding results (e.g. right before the corresponding products or content result items related to the banner)
• 74%: Banners are displayed within the search results or category page
• 72%: Banners are displayed above the search results or category page
• 72%: Banners are displayed on product detail pages
• 66%: Banners are for specific brands
• 57%: Video content for banners

Sponsored listings on specific pages

The third most popular retail media solution is sponsored listings for specific pages such as category pages or the homepage.

The key advantage of sponsored search listings is that it captures the customer's attention at a crucial moment – while the user is actually searching.

• 89%: Sponsored items are displayed in the first positions of the page
• 86%: Sponsored items that are spread out throughout the page in dynamic positions (e.g., based on sales ranking or relevance)
• 75%: Sponsored items that are spread out throughout the page in specific positions
• 57%: Sponsored items displayed within a carousel on the page; items are chosen manually or automatically
• 50%: Selecting a maximum number of sponsored listings that can be displayed in search results

Branded storefront within a marketplace

Branded storefronts make it easy to showcase recommended and highly relevant products at the head of listings.

The most common approach adopted by marketers involves creating a branded storefront on a retail media network like Amazon or Target.

• 94%: Recommended products are listed first
• 89%: Personalized products are listed first
• 89%: Most relevant and highest converting products are listed first
• 78%: Tracking store-specific KPIs such as page views and traffic sources
• 78%: Marketing campaigns and banners are incorporated into the storefront (e.g., Back to School Sale)
• 50%: Buying guides and other content is included in the storefront

Sponsored recommendations

Sponsored recommendations are another popular retail media solution.

Recommended listings are most valuable when located on product display pages (PDPs) and checkout pages.

• 81%: Sponsored items are displayed in a “Recommended” carousel on product description pages
• 78%: Recommended items are personalized for individual users
• 75%: Sponsored items are displayed in a “Recommended” carousel in product carts or checkout screens
• 75%: Sponsored items are displayed in a “Recommended” carousel on category pages

About Algolia

Algolia is a leading provider of AI search solutions, serving over 18,000 businesses and 500,000 developers globally. Renowned for its user-friendly API-first platform and the fastest AI search technology, Algolia is the largest hosted search engine, trusted by businesses and developers for 1.75 trillion searches per year. Backed by a decade of innovation, expertise, and growth, Algolia continuously redefines the search landscape with its commitment to user-friendly solutions, significant scalability, and unmatched speed.

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