As the European summer draws to a close and we gear up for a busy autumn, in this edition of Zitcha Talks, we're excited to share insights from our recent The Commerce Media Guild of Europe lunch, co-hosted with our partners at mediarithmics. This gathering brought together a diverse group of retailers and marketplaces from across EMEA, all at different stages of their retail media journey. Let's dive into the hot topics that had everyone talking:
Our key takeaways:
- Fragmentation: The Industry's Biggest Challenge Fragmentation emerged as the dominant theme, touching various aspects of retail media:
- Technology: The struggle to unify platforms for on-site, off-site, and in-store advertising.
- Organization: Different teams handling various aspects of retail media, often with misaligned goals.
- Skills: The continuous need for upskilling in this rapidly evolving field.
- Communication: Barriers between teams leading to inefficiencies and misunderstandings.
- No One-Size-Fits-All Solution Each retailer's journey is unique. The group emphasized that solutions to fragmentation must be tailored to specific organizational structures and needs.
- Collective Effort is Key Addressing fragmentation requires collaboration between technology providers, retailers, and suppliers. It's a shared responsibility to streamline processes and improve integration.
- Alignment of Objectives The importance of aligning KPIs and objectives across different teams within organizations was a hot topic. This alignment is crucial for the growth and success of retail media initiatives.
- The Talent Crunch With retail media being a relatively new field, there's a shortage of experienced professionals. This has led to hiring challenges and highlighted the need for robust training and upskilling programs.
- Baby Steps to Big Wins While there's no "silver bullet" solution to fragmentation, the group emphasized the importance of taking small steps and celebrating mini-wins. These incremental improvements can lead to significant progress over time.
- Continuous Learning and Adaptation The rapidly evolving nature of retail media necessitates a culture of continuous learning and adaptation. Retailers are focusing on providing ongoing training and fostering cross-functional collaboration.
As we reflect on this lunch discussion, it's clear that while retail media presents exciting opportunities, it also comes with its unique set of challenges. The industry is actively working to address these issues, with a focus on integration, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Stay tuned for more insights as we continue to explore the future of retail media, next edition of Zitcha Talks our key takeaways from DMEXCO.
The next Guild lunch will be held in London this November. This is an invitation-only event. To get your name on the waitlist let us know here.
Until next time!
