What Is the Biggest Growth Opportunity for Grocery Leaders?

Report looks at media monetization and barriers for retailers

9/21/2022

Retailers know media monetization is important, but many believe their lack of expertise is holding them back from realizing its potential.

Media monetization is top of mind for today’s grocery and CPG executives, yet a lack of expertise in the discipline is holding many back from harnessing its full potential, according to a new report from online platform Grocery Doppio. The platform is a free, independent source of grocery insights and data operated by industry insights firm Incisiv and digital commerce and fulfillment solutions provider Wynshop.

The report, entitled "State of Digital Grocery: The Media Monetization Opportunity," surveyed 161 grocery leaders and 67 senior CPG executives, and found that 86% of grocers say they need additional revenue streams to make their digital operations profitable. Some 78% of respondents regard media monetization as an important growth opportunity, followed by 61% who believe food/deli delivery is important and 34% that are looking at subscription services. Additionally, 63% are either actively evaluating or already integrating with media monetization platforms.

“The market is speaking very clearly on this one,” said Gaurav Pant, chief insights officer of both Incisiv and Grocery Doppio. “CPG media buyers want a better solution and grocers know that media monetization is crucial to their strategic future and growth, but grocers are still struggling to catch up with the capabilities of third-party platforms.”

Indeed, the report found that 83% of grocers view the media platforms of third-party delivery partners as a competitive threat and 69% fear losing touch with their customers as a result of third-party platforms. While retailers understand the importance of media monetization, only 13% believe they could offer a superior media monetization service than those available from third-party partners.

While building an end-to-end media platform can be complicated and difficult, the report states that grocers should focus on finding talent that can help them meet their goals, targeting capabilities, having the ability to accurately measure media performance and transparently share it with partners, and exploring and building innovative new media products.

“As online sales become a greater share of each grocery retailer's business, the opportunity to monetize their audience at the point of purchase is also growing,” said Charlie Kaplan, chief strategy officer at Miami-based Wynshop. “This is a $2-$4 billion opportunity for grocers; easy and immediate access to a media monetization network and resources is critical to improving the grocer’s bottom line."