Retail Media Networks: Your Strategic Guide to the Future of CPG Food Marketing

Five years ago, the grocery shelf was where the battle for visibility was won or lost. Today, that battle is digital and data-driven. Retailers have quietly transformed from distributors into full-fledged media platforms, armed with shopper data and the ability to connect ad exposure directly to purchase through retail media food brand marketing. 

For brand managers, that shift means mastering retail media networks (RMNs) isn’t optional; it’s table stakes for modern growth.

But what exactly are these networks, and why should they matter to your marketing strategy?

Understanding Retail Media Networks: The New Marketing Infrastructure

A retail media network is a platform owned and operated by a retailer or aggregator that runs advertising to promote products directly to shoppers. These networks can include websites, mobile apps, streaming services, email channels, social networks, and physical stores. What sets them apart is their access to rich first-party shopper data and their ability to close the loop between advertising exposure and actual sales.

The major players you’ve likely heard of include digital commerce giants like Amazon, traditional retailers like Walmart (Walmart Connect) and Target (Roundel), and delivery services like Instacart. But the landscape extends far beyond these household names, with specialty retailers and regional chains increasingly launching their own networks.

Many retailers are incorporating RMN spend into their joint business planning processes, meaning advertising investments can count toward required retail commitments while delivering measurable results. This creates a win-win scenario in which brands fulfill retailer requirements while gaining performance insights previously unavailable.

This evolution represents a fundamental shift in the relationship between brands and retailers. Where traditional slotting fees offered shelf placement with no performance guarantees, RMNs create a value exchange where retailers still generate revenue, but brands gain unprecedented visibility into campaign performance and sales attribution.

Three Strategic Advantages of Retail Media Networks 

Retail media networks offer three core advantages that make them especially valuable for CPG food brands. 

1. Superior Metrics That Actually Tie to Sales

Traditional digital advertising metrics like click-through rates and video completion rates tell only part of the story. While these measurements provide useful insights about engagement, they often fail to connect advertising spend to actual product sales. 

RMNs change this equation. They offer the holy grail of advertising measurement: direct sales attribution. Key performance indicators available through retail media networks include: 

• Return on Ad Sales (ROAS), which shows exactly how many dollars in sales each advertising dollar generates
• Incremental ROAS, which reveals true additional sales driven by advertising
• Sales lift, which compares test versus control groups

This level of measurement precision allows brands to move beyond assumptions about campaign effectiveness. Instead of wondering whether your advertising investment is working, you can see concrete evidence of sales impact, making it possible to optimize campaigns based on actual business outcomes rather than engagement proxies.

2. Strategic Targeting That Goes Beyond Demographics

Perhaps the most compelling advantage of RMNs lies in their sophisticated targeting capabilities. These platforms leverage vast amounts of first-party shopper data that retailers have been collecting for years, enabling pinpoint targeting to segments most likely to drive product sales.

The targeting options available through major RMNs are remarkably specific. You can reach current brand buyers who already know and love your products, lapsed buyers who might need a gentle reminder, category buyers who purchase similar products, competitive brand buyers who might be open to switching, and behavioral segments like holiday shoppers or organic-focused consumers.

This granular targeting represents a significant leap forward from traditional demographic-based advertising. Rather than making educated guesses about who might be interested in your products, you can target people based on their actual shopping behaviors and purchase patterns. The result is more efficient ad spend and higher conversion rates.

3. New Ways to Reach Shoppers Across the Full Marketing Funnel

Initially, many brands approached RMNs as purely conversion-focused platforms, similar to search advertising. The primary tactic was sponsored products, those “sponsored” listings you see when browsing retailer websites. While these ads can drive immediate sales, they primarily capture demand that already exists rather than creating new awareness.

Today’s RMNs offer much more sophisticated options that span the entire marketing funnel. Beyond sponsored products, brands can leverage display advertising, video ads, and search ads on retailer sites. More importantly, they can extend their reach through off-site advertising that uses retailer first-party data to target audiences across the broader internet, then attributes resulting sales back to the original ad exposure.

This evolution is particularly significant for building brand awareness. According to research from Forrester and MasterCard, food advertisers expect to see the biggest jump in RMN use for brand awareness campaigns, with 37% currently using them for this purpose and 58% planning to do so within the next two years.

The expanded capabilities mean RMNs can now support everything from upper-funnel awareness campaigns using Connected TV and online video to lower-funnel conversion tactics through sponsored products and search ads. This full-funnel approach allows brands to both acquire new customers and maximize value from existing ones within a single, measurable ecosystem.

Navigating the Data Maze

While the measurement and targeting capabilities of RMNs offer unprecedented opportunities, they also create a new challenge: data overload. The platforms generate vast amounts of performance data, which can feel overwhelming.

The challenge isn’t just the volume of data, but understanding what it all means. Is a 4.5 ROAS good, or could it be better? How does performance on one platform compare to another? Which audience segments are truly driving incremental sales versus simply capturing existing demand?

The relative newness of RMNs is a double-edged sword. Just a few years ago, the space was characterized as the “wild west”  where brands were experimenting with limited historical context or benchmarks. While some performance history now exists, many brands still lack the institutional knowledge to optimize their RMN investments effectively.

To succeed, most CPG brands will need to either invest in developing RMN expertise in-house or collaborate with a partner that has experience developing benchmarks and best practices across multiple clients and platforms. The ability to contextualize performance data, understanding not just what the numbers are, but what they mean and how they can be improved has become a critical competitive advantage.

Getting Started: A Practical Approach for CPG Brands

For brands not yet active in retail media networks, the path forward doesn’t necessarily require a massive upfront investment. Instead, start small and take a test-and-learn approach, validating effectiveness before scaling successful tactics.

The first step is identifying which RMNs align with your distribution strategy. If you have strong performance with Target, exploring Roundel makes sense. If Walmart is a key retail partner, Walmart Connect becomes a natural testing ground. For brands with limited traditional retail distribution, platforms like Instacart might offer the most immediate opportunities.

For smaller CPG brands still working to gain distribution with major retailers, developing an RMN strategy can actually become part of your pitch. When approaching retailers like Walmart or Target, having a concrete plan for how you’ll invest in their retail media network creates additional incentive for them to carry your products. They’re not just getting shelf space filled, but also revenue from your advertising spend.

Finally, itʼs crucial that you approach RMN advertising strategically rather than simply letting retailers run campaigns on your behalf. While retailers can certainly execute campaigns, their primary objective is driving revenue for their platform rather than optimizing for your specific brand objectives. Working with a third-party partner like EHY that can provide objective analysis and optimization ensures your investments are truly working in your best interest.

The Future of CPG Marketing Is Here

Retail media networks are reshaping the fundamental relationship between brands, retailers, and consumers. For CPG food marketers, they offer something that has been elusive for decades: clear, attributable connections between marketing investments and sales results.

RMNs wonʼt necessarily replace existing marketing tactics, but they will serve as a powerful complement that can provide insights and attribution capabilities previously impossible to achieve. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to optimize existing RMN investments, the key is approaching these platforms with strategic thinking and, when needed, experienced guidance.

The retail media revolution is underway. The question isn’t whether to participate, but how quickly you can develop the expertise to make these powerful platforms work for your brand.