👋 Hello retail renegades,

While most of us are still trying to explain retail media to our clients without using the word “Amazon,” Criteo just went full throttle. The latest announcement from the French adtech darling means agencies can now buy retail media display inventory programmatically.

Yes, programmatic. For retail. With measurement. With AI. With dynamic creative. Criteo basically took the buzzword buffet and served it with a side of sales attribution.

Let’s get into it.

Criteo is letting advertisers directly access retail media inventory programmatically. This means you can now plug into digital storefronts with the same precision, data, and real-time bidding magic you expect from the open web—just this time, it’s wrapped in a shopping cart and checkout page.

🛒 Precision at the Digital Shelf
You can now target shoppers in the moment, based on real-time purchase signals, not vague behavioural segments from three weeks ago. It’s intent meets immediacy.

📊 Real Measurement? Finally.
Better attribution tools mean agencies can (finally) prove retail media isn’t just a brand tax. Think closed-loop sales data that doesn't require a PhD in econometrics.

📦 Omnichannel Hype, Now Slightly Less Hype
Integrating retail media into your existing omnichannel strategy? Easier said than done. But Criteo’s move brings us closer to unified reporting nirvana. Almost.

🧠 AI Does the Heavy Lifting
Criteo’s AI-driven optimisation helps tailor bids, audiences, and messaging based on actual commerce data. Not “Karen from Croydon liked a handbag post on Facebook in 2019.”

🎯 DCO Comes to Retail
Dynamic Creative Optimisation now works at the shelf. Show Carol a discount on oat milk and Steve a deal on protein powder. They’ll both think it was fate.

📎 Integration Still Isn’t Plug-and-Play
If you thought adding TikTok to your media plan was annoying, wait until your DSP tries to handshake with retail networks powered by 15-year-old inventory APIs and a PDF upload.

🕵️‍♂️ Privacy Paranoia
With great shopper data comes great compliance headaches. Don’t be the agency that ends up in an IAB horror story.

📐 Measurement Standards? Good One.
Retail media still lives in its own walled garden, with its own metrics. Good luck convincing clients it counts when it doesn’t match their GA4 dashboard.

🔁 Scale vs Precision: The Eternal Struggle
Sure, it’s precise. But is it big enough to move the needle on national brand campaigns? That’s the balancing act.

If you’ve got clients with something to sell and a media budget gathering dust in search ads, this is your moment. Retail media is no longer just a shopper marketing sideshow—it’s a full-blown, performance-driven, programmatic playground. And Criteo just gave you the keys.

Fold it into your broader programmatic stack. Use the AI. Show the sales lift. Take the credit.

💡 Punchy POV for Clients:
“Why spray and pray when you can intercept shoppers with basket in hand?”

Until next time!
David

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