Retailers today face a paradox that threatens their ability to compete in an ever-changing market. Hesitation to invest in innovation, often due to operational complexity, budget constraints, or fear of failure, creates a vicious cycle: without new initiatives, performance declines, and skepticism about further investment only deepens. In fact, according to a recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study, many top retailers of the past three decades lost their leading positions precisely because they failed to adapt to rapidly changing consumer needs.
The Innovation Gap: A Costly Cycle
BCG’s findings indicate that innovation leaders allocate an average of 13% of their annual revenue to new initiatives and enjoy a 21% return on investment (ROI). By contrast, laggards invest just 3% of their revenue and see only a 9% ROI. These stark figures reveal why underinvestment breeds underperformance, trapping businesses in a loop of stagnation. Breaking free requires bold moves, and one of the most impactful steps retailers can take today is embracing retail media.
Retail Media: A Transformative Solution
Retail media provides a powerful avenue to monetize digital platforms, drive new revenue streams, and strengthen customer relationships. Over the past decade, it has grown from 1.5% of global ad revenue to a projected 15.1% by 2024. Industry giants like Amazon and Alibaba have leveraged retail media to dominate their markets, proving that marrying first-party data with targeted advertising opens the door to high-margin growth opportunities.
However, retail media isn’t just about placing ads. It seamlessly blends digital and physical spaces, helping retailers meet consumers wherever they shop, whether online, in-store, or through emerging channels. By integrating these touchpoints into a cohesive omnichannel strategy, retailers can improve audience segmentation, personalization, and attribution. In turn, this drives stronger customer loyalty, enhanced ROI, and a more unified brand experience.
Why Retailers Are Hesitant: Operational Complexity
Despite its promise, many retailers hesitate to invest in retail media. Common concerns include data fragmentation, privacy compliance, and the complexity of managing disparate channels. It’s easy to see why: building a robust retail media network requires centralized data management, advanced attribution models, and a strategy that aligns in-store, online, and off-site campaigns.
Even forward-thinking retailers can find these operational hurdles daunting.
Yet the cost of inaction is high. As the BCG report warns, failing to innovate can lead once-prominent retailers down the path to obsolescence. The solution lies in choosing the right technology partners and platforms that streamline operational workflows while delivering comprehensive measurement and accountability.
Nexta Ad Manager: Eliminating Operational Barriers
This is where Nexta Ad Manager enters the picture. Purpose-built for retail media networks, Nexta Ad Manager simplifies the entire process by consolidating on-site, off-site, and in-store campaigns into one intuitive platform. Instead of juggling multiple vendors and datasets, retailers can harness their first-party data more effectively, ensuring ads reach the right shoppers at the right moment without compromising consumer privacy.
Nexta also tackles the measurement challenge head-on. Through closed-loop attribution and advanced analytics, it provides a clear view of each campaign’s impact across all channels. Retailers can see exactly which ads drive conversions and make real-time adjustments to maximize ROI. By removing operational complexities, Nexta frees retailers to focus on strategy, innovation, and staying ahead of the competition.
A Future Built on Innovation
Retailers cannot afford to wait. The cycle of underinvestment is real, and the stakes have never been higher. By leveraging tools like Nexta Ad Manager, retailers can quickly develop and deploy their retail media networks without the headaches, freeing them to focus on growth and innovation—and breaking free from stagnation.
Build your retail media network and join the ranks of innovation leaders who understand that investing in advanced technologies is not just about staying relevant; it’s about shaping the future of retail.
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