In this episode of The Middlemen Podcast, Tom Limongello and Todd Sawicki conclude their three-part series on retail media by exploring the future of the industry amid rapid change. They discuss the recent shutdown of Oracle’s advertising business, highlighting how the shift from third-party to first-party data is transforming retail media and leaving legacy players behind. The conversation delves into the growing importance of logged-in, first-party data environments, with retailers leveraging loyalty programs and credit card tokenization to build robust data pipelines.

Tom and Todd also examine the evolving relationship between retailers and content publishers, noting partnerships like Best Buy and CNET as examples of how retail media is expanding beyond traditional boundaries. They touch on new technologies, such as e-ink price screens and generative AI search, and consider how these innovations are reshaping in-store and online experiences.

However, the hosts point out ongoing challenges: network fragmentation, brands’ reluctance to lower post-pandemic prices, and the lack of media pricing transparency, which keeps national advertising budgets at bay. They also discuss the internal competition between trade marketing and retail media teams, the rise of programmatic advertising, and the increasing fragmentation brought on by independent brands and platforms like Shopify.

Ultimately, the episode underscores that while retail media is gaining momentum, brands and retailers must navigate a complex, evolving landscape to unlock its full potential.

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