Level Up With Retail Advertising: Hot Media Strategy Examples and Trends in 2025

Retail advertising is familiar to everyone. When you walk by the store and see a window display, you experience it. The idea behind this type of advertising used to be simple: evoke customers’ desire to come in and buy something. As time passed, the face of retail advertising changed. Today, a complicated digital ecosystem allows any brand to implement its retail media advertising strategy, engage customers across various touchpoints, and boost online and offline sales.

In this article, we’ll start with the fundamentals, explain the concept of retail advertising, and provide enlightening examples. Then, we’ll explore the diverse world of retail advertising types and discuss the modern companies' vital dilemma: building vs. renting retail media advertising platforms. Pretty soon, you’ll be equipped with cutting-edge trends shaping the future of retail marketing. So, stay with us to not to miss it!

What Is Retail Advertising?

Retail advertising is a broad term that includes various marketing activities united by the same goal: to promote the company’s products, drive customers to stores (online and offline), and ultimately increase sales. Some of these activities are performed within the company’s “walls”: on its website or in/near physical stores. Also, retail advertising campaigns often focus on seasonal offers, short-term discount campaigns, etc. So, they invoke the feeling of an opportunity you don’t want to miss.

Today, you can often hear another term that sounds alike: retail media advertising. Although related, they are not the same!

Retail media advertising is much younger but rapidly gaining popularity as technologies evolve. Imagine visiting the Amazon website and seeing the sponsored products. This is a typical example of retail media advertising, which is, in simple terms, advertising on retailers’ platforms.

We’re not talking exclusively about websites. These retail media advertising platforms also include apps, in-store digital screens, CTV, etc. So, wherever the customer is ready for shopping, your ads can reach them.

Since online retailers attract more and more customers, this segment is growing fast. According to Statista, in 2022, global digital retail media advertising spending was 0114.4 billion and will likely reach $176 billion by 2028. Moreover, in 2022, Amazon alone sold ads for $37.7 billion.

So, let’s sum up to avoid any misconceptions. Retail advertising and retail media advertising are different business models. In the first one, retailers promote their products themselves (for instance, Target’s seasonal campaign) using various channels (in-store ads, social media, emails, etc.).

On the other hand, in the retail media advertising model, brands promote their products in big retailers' digital and physical spaces (say, a cosmetic company pays Target to place its ad on Target’s media platform). So, from the retailer’s perspective, in the first example, they spend money; in the second, they earn it.

From other companies' perspectives, retail media advertising can be a part (sometimes a critical part!) of their overall strategy. For instance, it may include elements of traditional retail advertising, such as in-store banners, social media and email marketing campaigns, and sponsored product listings on Amazon.

Now, let’s dive a little deeper into the nuances of strategy creation.

How to Create a Retail Advertising Strategy

The strategy creation process includes several steps you should follow regardless of what you want to build.

Step #1: Audience Research and Market Data Collection

First, you need to look at your market position and competitors. How satisfied are you with your realities? What requires your attention in the first place?

Then, define the target audience. It may include demographics, shopping behavior, interests, etc. The best approach is to create customer personas because you’ll likely need different strategies for different client groups.

Step #2: Goal-Setting

On this step you need to understand, what do you want to achieve from implementing the retail advertising strategy? Answers may include increasing traffic in physical stores, boosting online sales, and many other options. In any case, it’s crucial to make your goals measurable. So, define your performance metrics and decide how to track them.

Step #3: Channels Selection and Budget Allocation

Now that you get the target audience and your goal, you can select channels where you will most likely reach the customers and define the budget share for each.

If you’re creating a retail digital advertising strategy, you can choose social media, retail media, banners on the company’s website, etc. Adding traditional channels like in-store and print ads makes sense if your target audience can also be easily reached offline. Many strategies combine digital and traditional channels to achieve the best possible results.

Step #3: Develop Creatives and Implement Your Strategy

Here, it’s essential to remember that retail advertising typically focuses on generating a sense of urgency. So, make time for the offer clear and include a strong call to action, regardless of the type of ads: offline or online.

Also, for retail digital advertising, optimizing your ads for mobile format is crucial.

Step #4: Performance Tracking and Analyzing the Results

You should track the metrics during the strategy implementation phase and analyze the performance. Strategy is an iterative process, so reallocating the budget, adding or excluding channels, and optimizing messages benefit every campaign if made correctly.

Retail Advertising Examples

In today’s business environment, almost wherever you glance, you can spot an inspiring example of retail advertising. I found some gems and brought them to you.

Nike

Some time ago, a famous sports brand took on the direct-to-consumer model. Nike uses all its channels (such as its website, app, and social media) to collect the users' data and create a personalized client experience. For instance, customers can get exclusive offers in the app based on their shopping history.

Moreover, Nike’s retail advertising strategy stimulates clients to visit offline stores more often. For instance, the Nike Fit tool with augmented reality helps customers decide on the size, and then the app will suggest the closest stores where the item of the desired size is available.

Target

This retail chain has hosted seven-day sales called Target Circle Week for years. It’s seasonal, and customers can see discounts and offers on the website, in the app, and physical stores during this limited time.

Also, Target uses AI to provide customers personalized shopping experiences in the app and website. It helps users find products they may like more easily.

Sephora

A well-known beauty company is an exceptional example of retail advertising magic. For instance, in August 2024, it launched the first Rouge Celebration Event for the most “royal” members of its loyalty program, the Beauty Insider Program. The loyalty program members eligible for this event saw intriguing invitations in their apps. The event included four days of special perks, in-store and online. Customers could get personalized beauty advice in physical stores, receive presents, and visit online masterclasses.

Also, Sephora’s app regularly provides exclusive offers, helps find a store nearby, and checks if the product you’d like to buy is in stock.

IKEA

The Swedish furniture company combines various types of retail advertising, from traditional print ads to AR-based in-app tools, allowing you to “place” potential new buys in your room and see if they look good.

The Most Common Types of Retail Advertising

By now, you could’ve already gotten a feeling that retail advertising has a lot to offer. Indeed, it’s represented by a broad spectrum of types. Here are some of the most popular.

1. Traditional media advertising. This group includes print, TV, and radio ads. For example, companies can place their seasonal offers in magazines, print flyers to announce new product launches, send paper coupons or catalogs by mail, buy audio spots on the radio, etc. Some of these methods may seem outdated, but they still work for some audiences, especially if you choose location and time thoroughly.

2. Digital advertising. Today, it’s usually a key ingredient in the retail advertising soup. For instance, a typical retail digital advertising strategy may include display ads on websites and apps, social media ads on Facebook and Instagram, and email campaigns to promote time-limited offers.

3. In-store advertising. It’s no longer limited by window display and other traditional methods. Digital in-store advertising is a growing trend that allows companies to promote new products and inform customers about offers, ultimately boosting sales. Except for digital screens, this type of retail advertising includes smart shelves that dynamically adjust prices and show availability, interactive kiosks, digital mirrors (a powerful tool for cosmetic stores), etc.

4. OOH and DOOH advertising. We all know out-of-home ads like billboards or posters in public transport. Companies still use them to increase brand awareness or for other purposes. However, there’s a new wave: digital OOH advertising that helps get incredible results if placed strategically, for instance, in high-traffic areas.

5. Retail media networks. We’ve already mentioned retail media advertising platforms like Amazon or Walmart. They offer banner ad placement, sponsored listings in search results, and other ways to reach customers. Since these platforms collect information about users' behavior and interests, the ads can be highly relevant.

6. Mobile advertising. Since today smartphones are basically our extensions, mobile ads are crucial for attracting customers. They can include in-app ads, push notifications (for example, with a promotional offer from a nearby store), etc. More importantly, mobile advertising helps companies connect online and offline customer experiences and bring more people to the stores.

Sure, there are more types of retail advertising, such as loyalty program ads or video ads. But before choosing a specific set of types, any marketer should consider factors like target audience, goals, location, seasonal trends, competitors, and budget constraints.

What’s Programmatic’s Role in Retail Media Advertising

In general, programmatic advertising is buying and optimizing digital ads automatically via special platforms and tools. Also, programmatic is what makes modern retail media advertising work.

Say you visit one of the popular retail media advertising platforms. At that exact moment, the programmatic algorithm analyzes your purchasing and browsing history, starts an automated auction between relevant advertisers, and you see the winning ad a few milliseconds later. Now, when you want to buy something on Amazon and notice sponsored positions, you’ll know how they got there.

Sure, programmatic retail media advertising extends way beyond banner ads. It also includes in-store digital displays, CTV ads, mobile ads, social media ads, etc.

This approach has numerous benefits for advertisers:

• Data-driven targeting. Retailers collect valuable users’ data from all their channels: in-store and online shopping behavior, participation in loyalty programs, preferred categories, etc. Programmatic algorithms can turn this data into a quality customer experience. After all, highly relevant ads are something worth paying for.
• Performance tracking in real-time. Advertisers get permanent access to critical metrics, such as click-through rates, impressions, etc. So, they can reallocate the budget to these ads if they see unexpectedly outstanding performance. As a result, advertisers achieve higher cost-efficiency.
  Moreover, programmatic retail media advertising allows us to understand how ads lead to sales. You can see what happens after the visitor clicks on the ad, whether they purchase and return for the next one, etc.
• Optimization on the fly. Modern programmatic algorithms utilize machine learning technology to improve their performance. For instance, they analyze best-performing ads and underlying factors, such as time of day, customer segment, etc., and use this information to adjust bidding and ad placement tactics automatically.

It is not only advertisers who derive value from programmatic retail advertising. For customers, this approach is the source of good deals and relevant offers. For owners of retail media advertising platforms, it presents an opportunity to increase revenues without losing control. So, most likely, we’ll see many new retail media networks emerging soon.

Retail Media: Build vs. Rent

At some point, every company with a significant online presence may face a choice: to build their own retail media network or use the existing platforms, such as Amazon. Every option has its benefits and challenges, so let’s explore them.

Building a Retail Media Network

The most significant advantage is complete control over data, customer experience, and functionality. It allows customization and better targeting, so your platform can personalize ads to a great extent. Also, building your own retail media advertising platform is an investment into a long-term revenue-generating engine and competitive advantage.

At the same time, these investments can be dramatic, so not every company can afford to build a retail media network. Moreover, creating a platform, launching it, and attracting advertisers takes time. It means an even bigger need for money and technical talent.

Renting Ad Space

The strong side of this option is that you can start advertising immediately. No major investments are required; that’s why many retailers, especially small or middle-sized, choose renting instead of building. It looks safe: you get access to the well-established retail media advertising platform with vast functionality, technical support, and maintenance included.

Still, there are some challenges associated with this option. First, you have much less control over customer experience and ad placement. Second, you don’t get access to all visitors' data. And third, your customization potential is limited.

What option is right for you? Before making a decision, consider your goals. Renting is usually better for short-term objectives. Also, consider your budget constraints and your data access needs. Some companies refuse to choose and utilize a hybrid approach to retail media advertising: they rent ad space while building their own network, slow and steady.

What Trends Will Shape the Future of Retail Advertising

Retail advertising continues to evolve, and we must be prepared for the upcoming changes. We’ve collected the most prominent retail advertising trends that will affect businesses pretty soon (or are already affecting us):

1. Increased personalization. Customers want to see ads tailored to their interests and needs. Here, data analytics and AI tools come in handy. Advertisers can generate personalized omnichannel messages today, and we’ll see more advanced examples soon.

2. AR and VR for immersive customer experience. As you can derive from the abovementioned examples, many companies like Nike or IKEA have already been using innovative technologies to let customers “try on” their products. What’s next? AR and VR will most likely become an industry standard rather than a unique feature. Moreover, we can expect 3D virtual showrooms to appear. The online shopping experience will become more like real life.

3. Seamless omnichannel experience. This trend is connected to the previous one. Shortly, customers will move between online and offline channels without experiencing any inconveniences. Imagine seeing something in a social media ad, then asking your voice assistant to find it nearby and purchasing it while you’re out for a walk.

4. Shoppable content. Fewer steps between the ad and the purchase are better for companies and customers. Soon, we’ll see more examples of selling products directly through social media posts.

5. Retail media network expansion. Why not monetize assets you already have? Many retailers own enormous amounts of first-party data and have access to clients, so they can become publishers and sell ad inventory. It’s a win-win situation: more money for retailers and better reach for advertisers.

All these retail advertising trends will impact the business tomorrow, so if you want to stay ahead of competitors, consider them when creating your retail advertising strategy.

Conclusion

As we’ve seen through the article, today’s retail advertising is well-developed, based on cutting-edge technologies, and provides multiple benefits for all parties involved.

Regardless of your company’s size, you can choose the perfect combination of different types and execute the retail media advertising strategy most efficiently. And if you’re a retailer, you can not only promote your offers but launch your own retail media advertising platform and leverage the data you collect. Win-win!

FAQ

• What is retail advertising?
  Retail advertising is a broad term that includes various marketing activities united by the same goal: to promote the company’s products, drive customers to stores (online and/or offline), and ultimately increase sales.
• What is retail media advertising?
  In simple terms, retail media advertising is advertising on retailers’ platforms. These platforms include websites, apps, in-store digital screens, CTV, etc.
• What does promotional retail advertising typically focus on?
  Its goal is to drive immediate sales and increase store traffic.
• What are the most common types of retail advertising?
  Here are some of the most popular: traditional media advertising, digital advertising, in-store advertising, OOH and DOOH, retail media networks, and mobile advertising.
• Should I build or rent a retail media network?
  Both options have their pros and cons. So, before making a decision, consider your goals. Renting is usually better for short-term objectives. Also, consider your budget constraints and your data access needs.