Retail Media On The Rise

According to eMarketer predictions for 2025, US retail media ad spend is expected to reach over $62 billion — an increase of more than $10 billion compared to 2024. Such a substantial growth will come with it’s own legislative challenges, like standardization and measurement.  

But what is Retail Media? 

Retail Media is when retailers and e-commerce sites (like Amazon, Tesco, Lidl) offer advertising capabilities and services within their platforms. Think Amazon Prime introducing ads within their platform for a ‘freemium’ subscription model. Similar to what media outlets such as publishers and television networks have done for years. 

This offers various advantages to advertisers. It provides an efficient, large-scale way to drive measurable sales while offering privacy-compliant data to target customers who are considering a purchase. 

As a result, most advertisers plan to keep spending on retail media, in the US. Ebiquity found through their Media Budgets Annual Survey that about 75% of advertisers say they’ll increase their spending on Retail Media in 2025, with nearly a third expecting a double-digit increase. 

In a UK context, Amazon prime video introduced ads over a year ago and has since maintained the top spot for retail media ad spend. This has resulted in more ad tier subscriptions coming to market with Netflix and Disney+ launching similar options. Kantar’s quarterly Entertainment on Demand reports, one-third of new paid subscribers to TV streaming services opted for ad-supported tiers in Q4, up from one in 10 in 2024. 

What does this mean for Irish Advertisers? 

Amazon.ie is expected to launch in Q1 2025 in Ireland, which will result in a sudden rise in investment in Retail Media locally. While this presents an exciting opportunity, here at Core we are prepared to test and learn and create strategies to introduce Retail Media in our marketing strategy, where relevant.  We will share information on this when ready.  

Sources: 

 Retail Media Forecast Report Update - EMARKETER Trends, Forecasts & Statistics 

https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/topics/digital-marketing/retail-media-explained  

https://ebiquity.com/news-insights/research/2024-media-budgets-survey-results/ https://uk.themedialeader.com/ad-tier-growth-slows-as-total-svod-market-stagnates/