Some 71% of US retail decision-makers have invested in data and AI-enabled content for personalization, according to an August 2023 survey by Coresight Research. As more brands adopt AI to scale tailored content, they’re also confronted with the challenge of protecting—and respecting—their audience’s privacy. Here are three ways—and real-world examples—retailers can implement AI without overstepping customer boundaries.

It may be a new year, but 2023 shopping habits aren’t going anywhere, according to Barbara Connors, vice president of strategy and acceleration at 84.51, a retail data company under The Kroger Co. Customers are still motivated by price and value, still expecting the shopping experience to seamlessly shift between online and offline channels, and still interested in buying private label goods.

As retail media evolves, ad placements off-site and in-store will help grocery advertisers reach shoppers in new and more engaging ways, but consumers may not be in a spending mood as credit card balances grow and savings accounts shrink. If Amazon can get grocery right, it may be able to fight off losing share to Walmart. But if the Kroger-Albertsons merger goes through, it could change everything.

The Hershey Co. found a way to apply retail media data from Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to other consumer packaged goods ads. The company learned that shoppers were buying shapes of Reese’s Cups based on their chocolate to peanut butter ratio, so it made two new products—one for peanut butter lovers and one for chocolate lovers, said Vinny Rinaldi, US head of media at The Hershey Co.

What are 2023’s top retail media networks for CPG brands? From Amazon to Kroger, we share a selection from our in-depth report evaluating ad buyers’ perceptions of leading platforms.

Less than 19% of US digital grocery buyers used Amazon Fresh within the past year. Nearly all of them have also shopped on other digital grocery platforms.

In-store sales data is a massive opportunity gap. The biggest gap between how retail media networks (RMNs) perform today versus their most desired attributes was with in-store sales data. With nearly 90% of grocery sales still occurring in physical stores, RMNs that deliver seamless omnichannel sales attribution will be well positioned to capture consumer packaged goods (CPG) advertising budgets.

Here’s how ad buyers ranked the retail media networks of 14 leading CPG-focused retailers—including Ahold Delhaize, Albertsons, Amazon, Costco Wholesale, CVS, Instacart, Kroger, Target, and Walmart—according to the attributes they value most.

Kroger’s sales sag as grocery prices stabilize: That new state of play could drive the grocer to look to high-margin retail media to drive growth.

Cara Pratt, SVP of Kroger Precision Media, is right when she says that “retail media is media.” While the fast-rising ad format may draw its unique power from retail—specifically the first-party consumer purchase data used for high-octane targeting and closed-loop measurement—it’s not a physical product sold on store shelves and shouldn’t be treated as such.

Walmart expands in-store retail media opportunities: The big-box retailer is giving advertisers more opportunities to reach physical shoppers with digital screens, audio ads, and sampling.

In-store retail media initiatives are gaining momentum: Loblaw, Macy’s, and Schnucks Markets are the latest retailers to invest in the channel.

Albertsons hit its marks in Q1: The company is leaning into private labels, growing its loyalty program, and boosting its digital sales.

Amazon is the biggest retail media network in the US, accounting for three-quarters of retail media revenue share, per our forecast. But its limited grocery footprint leaves an opportunity for competition. Here are recent updates in grocery retail media, and a prediction on the future of in-store retail media.

Walmart was the biggest US retailer by US sales in 2022 with nearly $500 billion in sales, more than double the size of runner-up Amazon, according to the National Retail Federation.

Evolving consumer behavior and easing regulations are opening new pathways for long-term growth.

The pandemic ecommerce boom that drove online sales is over. But marketplaces will continue to expand their share of US retail ecommerce, contributing almost 40% of the $588 billion in US online sales growth that we forecast over the next five years.

Proximity mobile payments are finally reaching a critical mass of users, fueling spending growth. While it will slow in the coming years, providers are capitalizing on growth by building multifunctional ecosystems that expand their captive audience and tighten relationships.

On today's episode, we discuss Apple’s dominance in the digital wallet arena. In our “Headlines” segment, we look at the ramifications of The Kroger Co.’s about-face on Apple Pay and how the EU is scrutinizing Apple Pay in its antitrust investigation. In “Story by Numbers,” we examine how Gen Z’s use of iPhones will keep Apple competitive in the digital wallet space and the success of Apple’s new savings account. And in our new segment, “What If,” host Rob Rubin presents a few hypotheticals and discusses what things would look like if they were true. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst David Morris.