Listening Pleasures: CES 2024 recap, Retail Media takes center stage
I recently listened to a fascinating podcast recapping the big trends and announcements from CES 2024. The key takeaway? Retail media networks were THE hot topic, establishing CES as the go-to conference for anyone in that space. Here are some of the highlights:
Walmart dominates with AI
Walmart CEO Doug McMillan painted an impressive picture of how AI will power the future of adaptive retail, focused on customers, the workforce, and society. They demoed a smart home experience and announced exciting new capabilities like:
- Adding GenAI to search, so you can simply say “I’m throwing a 4th of July party” and Walmart will suggest everything you need
- A social “Shop with Friends” feature for collaborative online shopping
As the podcast host put it: “Walmart came to own CES from a retail perspective, and I think it’s pretty clear they did.”
Data & Insights drive advertising
In a star-studded panel, Walmart’s Seth DeLair, Rich Lairfield, and Mark Hardy were joined by execs from Kimberly-Clark and Bimbo Bakeries to discuss how data increasingly powers retail media. Some mind-blowing stats:
“80% of the campaign activations that [Kimberly Clark] are doing on Walmart Connect are driven by Luminate insights.” — Chris McDermott, Kimberly-Clark
Companies are leveraging Walmart’s robust transaction, store-level, and attitudinal data to optimize their advertising spend and solve challenges like inventory management.
Note: as the retail media landscape evolves, data and insights will be critical for optimizing ad spend and driving results. Brands will need to adopt unified marketing measurement approaches to truly maximize the value of their retail media investments across multiple networks and touchpoints
Streaming TV eclipses linear
Another major theme was the continued explosive growth of streaming TV viewership. This opens up huge opportunities for targeted advertising, but also introduces challenges around content moderation, revenue sharing, brand safety, and inclusivity that the industry will need to grapple with.
Other noteworthy partnerships
A few other big announcements:
- Instacart partnered with Google for offsite Shopping Ads
- AMC is working with Criteo and using CapGemini’s AI tools
- Kroger/84.51° partnered with PE firm MPearlRock to invest in emerging brands
- Sam’s Club is using AI for receipt scanning
All in all, it’s clear that retail media has fully arrived and that CES is now the premier venue for the latest innovations in this rapidly evolving space. I can’t wait to see what CES 2025 has in store!
