With inflation at record levels, the rest of 2022 and this year’s holiday season will bring a new set of challenges and opportunities for consumers, companies, advertisers and media planners. Canadians will be more cautious about spending. Brands will have to work harder to earn share of wallet – all while keeping an eye on their own ad spend.

So as we gear up for a holiday season unlike any we’ve had in recent history, it’s time to work smarter, not harder. We’ll need to get creative, strategic and thoughtful about building strong promotion and advertising plans that cut through the competition without blowing the budget. One key ingredient that might not be top of mind? Retail media.

Retailers as publishers are exploding across the border. Retail media is now the third-largest advertising channel in the US and is forecast to reach more than $30 billion domestically this year. It’s predicted it will make up one in eight digital ad dollars by 2024 (source).

Here in Canada, brands, advertisers and media planners have been slower than the US to seize the opportunity – and it’s a big one. The greatest benefits include:

•   Reaching the right customer: brands can target consumers at the point of sale and tap into the valuable retailers’ first party data and audiences
•   Reaching customers at the right time: brands can reach high intent shoppers when they are in a shoppers’ mindset, and directly tie media to sales.
•   Reaching customers in the right place: shoppers are increasingly starting their product search on retail websites, surpassing even search engines.

Best Buy Canada, for example, knows its customers are educated professionals and students, that they are high spenders, early adopters, and that their interests go beyond technology – they like cars, travelling, food, sports and so much more.

Over and above retail media being a smart decision all year, the value increases significantly during promotional seasons and holiday. Simply put – stores and trusted retail websites are where consumers are spending their time. Add to this the fact that retailers will be investing heavily in marketing and promotional campaigns to drive traffic, advertisers can reap the benefits.

Best Buy is one of the most visited multichannel retailers with over 350+ million visits in-store and on bestbuy.ca each year. In November and December, visits to our website and stores more than double.

Recently, a tablet and laptop brand used sponsored ads on Best Buy Canada to boost product and exposure during our heavy back-to-school promotional season, they saw their ROAS jump 2,500% and online sales rose 400% year-over-year.

So, the secret to making your ad dollars go further this holiday? Use the guaranteed platform of trusted retail brands. As the number one preferred retailer for consumer electronics in Canada, one of the top visited sites in Canada, with more than 127 stores across Canada, Best Buy Canada’s Media Network is a great place to start.

One of the easiest ways for agencies to start tapping into Retail media is to simply add retailers to their programmatic display media buys. Best Buy, for example, is a listed publisher on the Google AdX.