Challenging concepts about commerce media
Commerce Media Matters hosts Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn welcome Kiri Masters onto the podcast to chat about all things retail media – or is it commerce media these days?
That topic is the underlying debate of this episode, as IAB recently consolidated the definition and categorisation of commerce media.
As a retail media pioneer, and fellow podcaster with her Retail Media Breakfast Club show, Kiri offers her expert insight into this new framework and challenges some preconceptions.
These include questioning the relevance of ROAS as a success metric and whether retail media networks have reached a saturation point. As Kiri points out, these topics are not “zero-sum” and require nuance to unpack, rather than absolute statements.
Agentic AI is also discussed, with varying degrees of caution for its potential impact. Kiri recognises it could be as much a friend as it is a foe; Nick sees it in the midst of the hype cycle, while Paul thinks it still has opportunities to bring benefits.
What you’ll learn from this episode:
Data defines commerce media: While opinions may differ over defining commerce media, the unifying factor is that it’s data-driven to achieve outcomes.
Retail media’s continued rise and evolution: Retail media is no longer a niche for marketers – by extension, commerce media will become a standard “hygiene” factor for campaigns.
Measurement beyond ROAS: defining retail media success through ROAS is flawed, as it doesn’t account for other campaign objectives, such as brand uplift.
Agentic AI’s existential threat to retail media: AI and LLM platforms could potentially remove the exclusive advantage retailers have with their first-party data, and reduce monetisation opportunities.
Soundbites to listen out for:
IAB’s new definition for commerce media
[Defining commerce media is] something that is agonised over to be as inclusive as possible, but also specific. It’s a very difficult job to define an industry and a category and not enter into it lightly.
Retail media tide lifts all boats
Most people seem to believe that more players coming into the commerce media space and bringing more attention is a good thing.
Metrics in context
There really is no perfect metric. Metrics need to be looked at in the context of brand objectives, by product, by season, by retailer.
Amazon’s advantage
[Amazon is] king of the hill for a good reason. They invested early. They have a great ad product. They have a great collection of ad products. Everything is geared around showing an advertiser what they got for the dollar that they put in.
The RMN doom loop
Smaller retail media networks get stuck in a doom loop. They can’t grow without investment, and they can’t invest because they’re not growing.
Monetising traffic vs customer experience
There’s a delicate balance between monetising onsite traffic and detracting from the customer experience. The wrong ad can actually cost you a sale.
Agents of change
[Agentic AI] is the best influencer we’ve ever had, and if we can expose our product catalogue, make it super readable and super easy to place orders, with all the context a LLM needs to prefer your retailer when recommending a product – what better customer could you ask for than that?
About our guest
Kiri Masters is a serial entrepreneur, writer, and podcaster. She founded retail media agency Bobsled Marketing in 2015 and exited 7 years later. She’s become known as a leading expert in the field of retail media and marketplaces, including contributing to the Forbes retail section and co-authoring titles such as Amazon for CMOs. Today she hosts the Retail Media Breakfast Club, a daily podcast and video series charting trends and new thinking in the retail media industry.
Connect with the hosts on LinkedIn
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