How Will Retail Media Networks Reshape Demand Gen?
Retail media networks (RMNs) are shifting demand generation from broad, impression-based campaigns to closed-loop, shopper-led programs. By combining retailers’ first-party data with on-site, in-app, and off-site media, RMNs let brands reach buyers close to the point of purchase and prove revenue impact with transaction-level reporting.
As retail media networks expand, demand gen is moving from “reach and impressions” to audience, context, and verified sales. Brand and retail teams can now base demand gen decisions on which audiences saw which messages, in which channels, and how that exposure changed sales, category share, and lifetime value.
How Retail Media Networks Are Changing Demand Gen
The Retail Media Demand Gen Playbook
A practical path for brands and retailers to turn retail media networks into a revenue marketing system, not just another ad channel.
Align → Activate → Attribute → Optimize → Scale
- Align demand gen goals with retail outcomes: Define what success looks like in RMNs: category growth, new-to-brand acquisition, share of wallet, or loyalty lift—and align brand, shopper, and trade teams on shared KPIs.
- Activate audience-led, full-funnel programs: Use retail audiences to run awareness, consideration, and conversion tactics that combine onsite search, offsite media, and in-app experiences around the same shoppers.
- Attribute demand to media and experiences: Connect impressions and clicks to SKU sales, baskets, stores, and time windows. Compare demand gen performance by audience, creative, and channel mix.
- Optimize with incrementality testing: Run geo tests, audience holdouts, and creative experiments to isolate net-new demand and avoid over-crediting always-on spend.
- Scale proven plays across retailers: Standardize target audiences, creative frameworks, and measurement templates so your best-performing demand gen plays can be reused across multiple RMNs.
- Connect RMNs to your revenue marketing architecture: Integrate retail media data with CRM, marketing automation, and analytics so RMNs support your broader revenue marketing and ABM efforts.
Retail Media Demand Gen Maturity Matrix
| Dimension | Stage 1 — Experimental | Stage 2 — Integrated | Stage 3 — Revenue-Orchestrated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use of RMNs | Isolated campaigns; test budgets; limited coordination. | RMNs built into annual demand gen plans for priority retailers. | RMNs are core to demand gen strategy and joint business planning. |
| Audience Strategy | Broad targeting; basic demographics. | Standard retailer audiences (loyal, lapsing, new-to-brand). | Custom, outcome-based audiences aligned to revenue goals and lifecycle. |
| Measurement & Attribution | Impressions, CTR, ROAS only. | Sales lift by campaign and audience; some incrementality testing. | Always-on incrementality, CLV, and share-of-category reporting across RMNs. |
| Integration with Martech | RMN data sits in silos. | Data partially integrated with analytics and dashboards. | Fully integrated with CRM, MA, and BI for cross-channel demand gen insights. |
| Ways of Working | Brand and retail teams operate separately. | Regular joint planning between shopper, media, and retail teams. | Unified revenue team across brand, retailer, and agency partners using shared scorecards. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a retail media network?
A retail media network is a media and data platform owned by a retailer that allows brands to run ads using the retailer’s first-party shopper data across onsite, in-app, and offsite channels, with closed-loop sales measurement.
How do retail media networks change demand gen?
RMNs move demand gen from broad awareness buys to audience-led programs tied to real transactions. Brands can see exactly how retail media exposure changed sales, basket size, and category share.
Where should RMNs sit in the media mix?
Most brands treat retail media as a core mid-to-lower funnel channel that bridges brand media and trade, with clear connections back to awareness and upper-funnel programs.
How do we prove incrementality in retail media?
Use holdout audiences, geo tests, and matched control groups to compare exposed vs. non-exposed shoppers, and focus on net-new sales, new-to-brand buyers, and CLV.
Turn Retail Media into a Revenue Marketing Engine
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