Giving Commerce Networks the Competitive Edge: The Answer is in the Palm of Your Hand

Commerce Media is reshaping how brands connect with shoppers, and yet many networks are still missing out on critical opportunities for growth. Advancements in AI can provide a wealth of opportunities for Retail and Commerce Media platforms to enhance their network offerings and provide true, two-way value. 

The 2024 industry event circuit including recent AdWeek and ShopTalk conferences continues to highlight the rapid growth of Retail and Commerce media – with the topic prevalent across nearly all speaker-stages.

Why the buzz?

These networks offer brands access to valuable purchase data and closed loop attribution to drive ROI through high intent audiences, with the further ability to enhance personalization and inform brand strategies. Industries from banking to travel are eager to tap into these incremental revenue streams

However, despite this growth, several challenges for Retail and Commerce Media networks persist:

1. Limited Reach

Commerce Media platforms often struggle with audience scale, relying solely on their properties’ daily active users. To expand their reach, many networks are forming off-site partnerships—in fact, 50% plan to offer off-site formats by 2024. While this may seem like a quick fix, such partnerships often come with significant tradeoffs for both parties including the loss of direct platform conversions for publishers and hefty revenue-sharing agreements that can cut into media network profits by up to 60%. Additionally, any reliance on third-party platforms and data transfer raises privacy concerns.

2. Shared-Data Accuracy Challenges

Off-site capabilities necessitate privacy-safe data sharing among partners. Many networks have turned to Data Clean Room technologies to comply with privacy regulations and facilitate safe first-party data analysis. However, these privacy-enhancing techniques can lead to lower accuracy in data outputs due to a “signal sieve,” resulting in low customer match rates across platforms. This ultimately hampers any meaningful and effective personalization efforts.

3. Saturated Marketplace

The Retail and Commerce Media landscape has become fiercely competitive. Advertisers must carefully evaluate where to allocate their media budgets, balancing scale with revenue potential. As such, 45% of brands have expressed the requirement of networks to provide unique data insights. Networks must now ensure to position themselves by showcasing unique audiences and format offerings that extend beyond CRM data.

Gaining the Competitive Edge

With all of these challenges ahead, is there a solution? The answer may lie in the palm of your hand.

While these challenges are significant, new technologies are emerging that can help networks overcome these barriers and further differentiate their offerings. One example is through advancements from Edge AI.

With on-device data-signal ingestion and model operating capabilities, Edge AI empowers Retail and Commerce Media networks by these 5 key features:

At Intent HQ, our award-winning Edge AI provides over 16,000 unique data points, drawn from 50+ mobile signals. This technology has shown to boost owned data by 181%, allowing networks to go well beyond traditional CRM records. 

Moreover,  with over 500 enhanced insights that provide a complete customer view, networks can deliver unmatched audience offerings alongside high-performing ad formats. Most importantly, our patented Edge AI with privacy-enhancing technologies safeguards sensitive information throughout the buyer journey while preserving valuable indicators of intent. On-device modelling can augment Data Clean room capabilities to safely enable more insights for advanced personalization application.

The overall result? Increased profitability from both existing and new customers.

By further integrating these insights into broader business initiatives, networks can also redefine customer loyalty and propel brand value forward. Curious about how on-device AI can elevate your Commerce Media Network strategy? Click here to contact us now, we’d love to explore how Intent HQ can help!