Almost all Asia marketers plan to increase retail media ad spend over

KUALA LUMPUR: Ninety-nine per cent of 2,000 marketers across Southeast Asia and India will increase retail media ad spend over the next 12 months while 87 per cent intend to include retail media as part of media plans within the next 12 months, according to a survey.

Retail media advertising, once the new frontier, is now being hailed as the third big digital advertising wave following search engines and social.

With a lack of Asia-first data on this phenomenon, the Carousell Media Group commissioned the Interactive Advertising Bureau Southeast Asia and India (IAB SEA+India) to survey its members and the wider digital advertising ecosystem to explore how brands, agencies, platforms and partners in Asia are aligning with this global trend of increasing spend on retail media networks.

“Because of this unprecedented growth, our industry association is creating a specialist Retail Media Council this year to keep our members apprised of the marketing opportunities it provides along with more detailed insights and information on how to optimise, track and measure advertising performance,” said IAB SEA+India regional chief executive officer Miranda

Dimopoulos in a statement yesterday.

The survey also found that retail media sites in Asia are becoming the main gateway for digital advertising, for example, Carousell, Alibaba, JD.com, Grab, Foodpanda and Shopee.

Meanwhile, Carousell Media Group managing director JJ Eastwood said retail media ad spend is outperforming many mainstream digital advertising platforms, accounting for one in five advertising dollars.

“Seventy-eight per cent of respondents want to use retail media data for off-platform targeting, specifically on exciting new formats like Connected TV (CTV), indicating that retail media is moving up the funnel and can provide marketers with both direct response and branding opportunities,” he said.

Dimopoulos said 44 per cent of respondents say they will advertise on a retail media network even if they do not have any products listed on that marketplace.

“For marketers, investing ad spend in a retail media network compatible with their own brand values, and those of their customers, is a major consideration,” she added. — Bernama