AI at Every Stage
In the burgeoning market of retail media, we have transitioned from experimental stages to a period of significant maturation. From $600 million in ad revenues in its first year to $45 billion in 2023, the rise of Amazon’s retail media network has influenced some of the world’s biggest companies to launch media networks, including Costco, CVS, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, United Airlines, Walmart and Wayfair.
As retail media networks grow more integral to business success, agile processes and the need for continual optimization become paramount. To maintain a competitive edge and drive profit margins, leveraging technologies like artificial intelligence is no longer optional — it is essential.
Research by Microsoft found that 87% of retail companies globally have implemented AI in their store operations. Another study by CoolerX found that 53% of marketers believe AI will “significantly enhance” the way shoppers are targeted and served relevant ads. While the adoption of AI might be in its infancy, I have seen it empower retailers to achieve sustained growth in an increasingly complex market.
At Placements.io, this means helping clients implement AI into every step of the order-to-cash process — optimizing at the following six stages:
AI identifies sales prospects based on campaign performance, ensuring timely and targeted outreach. Administrative tasks become automated and every action is optimized, making the sales process faster, smarter and more effective.
AI eases the creation of media plans, eliminating manual work while ensuring strategies are data-driven and tailored to performance insights. This leads to more precise targeting, better budget allocation and faster implementation.
AI streamlines the execution of ad campaigns by automating administrative tasks like bid adjustments, scheduling and optimization. It enhances efficiency without replacing the critical human touch in campaign direction.
AI optimizes campaigns in real time, providing insights on whether you’re on track to meet ROI targets. It also suggests actionable improvements to enhance performance. This ensures campaigns are always aligned with goals and maximizes ROI.
AI enhances reporting and ad campaign analysis by standardizing metrics across all channels, ensuring consistent measurement and generating comprehensive reports. Quicker and more accurate insights enable faster data-driven decisions.
AI simplifies billing and invoicing for ad campaigns by automating the verification of charges and tracking outstanding payments, ensuring accuracy and timeliness. The end result reduces administrative overhead, minimizes errors and improves cash flow management.
While AI can automate numerous aspects of advertising, the human touch remains indispensable in retail media where consumers demand a superior customer experience. Human expertise is vital for interpreting data and making strategic decisions that AI might miss. Understanding the subtleties of customer behavior, seasonal trends and competitive dynamics requires intuition and experience that AI alone can’t replicate. By blending AI-driven insights with human judgment, brands can craft well-rounded strategies that fuel long-term success.
About the Author: Evan Bowen is chief business officer at Placements.io. He helps Fortune 500 brands build and operate their retail, finance and other omni-vertical media networks.