Why Ahold Delhaize USA Is Going In-House for Its Retail Media Edge
In the evergreen build vs. buy technology challenge, Ahold Delhaize is putting more chips down on build.
The retailer announced last week that it will stand up a proprietary adtech platform to support on-site, in-store digital screens and sponsored search. To differentiate itself, the company is heavily emphasizing that this platform, known as Edge, was built specifically for grocery.
Unlike other ad platforms that are engineered to work across a range of industries, Edge will drive higher relevancy and ultimately a better return for customers because its algorithms will be tuned specifically for the grocery market, Bobby Watts, SVP of AD Retail Media, digital merchandising and marketing for Ahold Delhaize USA, shared with P2PI at Groceryshop.
The retailer will leverage its pool of shopper data, including purchase frequency, to fuel its ad ranking methodology. This data will enable the surfacing of more relevant products through responsive product ads and extend that same precision to on-site display and banner targeting, he said.
"Driving higher relevancy ultimately, in turn, drives a better return for the customer, as well as the advertisement," he added.
Edge is already in use in Ahold Delhaize's European banners, and the company saw the opportunity to bring it to the U.S. and improve upon it to raise the tide for both markets.
Having its own retail media platform aligns with Ahold Delhaize's broader tech roadmap, which also includes a proprietary fulfillment platform. This mission is shaped by both its global footprint and a desire to keep its data within its own environment amid growing data privacy and safety concerns, according to Watts.
None of this is to say that they're partner-averse. For example, AD Media’s partnership with Epsilon provides the ability to conduct forward-looking propensity modeling using artificial intelligence, which aligns with their broader strategic objectives, said Watts.
Indeed, future plans for Edge include developing it into a "one-stop ad shop" that incorporates a multitude of partners and channels, he said. The company sees future potential to layer agentic AI atop the platform to assist with, and eventually automate, media planning, measurement, execution and other manual tasks.
In the near term, they're exploring agentic AI to see how it can help employees spend less time filling out spreadsheets and more time having strategic dialogues with their partners, said Watts. Ultimately, the vision includes building a media plan with AI that's based on budget, products and objectives, and then being able to activate and optimize it across different channels.
