How AI is Transforming Retail Media for Smarter Campaigns

Retail media is evolving faster than ever, and brands that fail to adapt risk falling behind.

What’s the game-changer? AI. From smarter bidding strategies to cost-effective creative production, AI is transforming how brands compete and win in a crowded marketplace. 

In an episode of the Revenue Boost podcast, retail media expert, Misha Cohn, shared invaluable insights into how AI is transforming the retail media landscape.

In this article, let’s explore Misha’s key takeaways and what they mean for brands striving to stay competitive in today’s digital-first marketplace.

Smarter Campaign Management with AI

Managing retail media campaigns across multiple networks is daunting. With diverse platforms demanding unique strategies and reporting metrics, marketers often struggle to maintain efficiency. Enter AI, a technology designed to simplify these complexities.

AI-powered platforms like Skai automate labor-intensive processes such as dayparting and intraday bidding, ensuring campaigns remain optimized for peak performance. As Misha Cohn, a retail media expert, explains, tools like Skai analyze two years of historical data to predict campaign outcomes with 90% accuracy. This predictive capability empowers brands to adjust strategies proactively, maximizing return on investment.

AI also enables dynamic budget allocation. For instance, predictive analytics allow marketers to simulate scenarios—determining the potential ROI of reallocating budgets between platforms like Amazon and Instacart. By identifying the highest-performing channels in real time, AI ensures resources are directed where they’ll have the most impact.

Takeaway: AI revolutionizes campaign management by automating tasks, forecasting outcomes, and providing actionable insights, enabling marketers to focus on strategy rather than logistics.

AI in Creative Production: Cost-Effective Innovation

Traditionally, creating compelling marketing content has been a resource-heavy process involving costly photoshoots and long production cycles. AI has transformed this paradigm, allowing brands to scale creative efforts efficiently while maintaining quality.

Generative AI tools can produce hundreds of creative variations from a few base designs. This is particularly valuable for campaigns requiring localized or platform-specific assets. As Cohn notes, AI-generated content reduces production costs and accelerates timelines, helping brands adapt swiftly to market changes. However, the technology is not without its flaws. Some outputs may lack precision, such as improper branding or formatting issues. For instance, a major CPG brand using generative AI had to revise creatives due to errors in product font size—a reminder that human oversight remains critical.

Despite these limitations, the potential for AI-driven creative production is immense. Future advancements promise even greater customization, enabling brands to produce highly personalized, on-brand content at scale.

Takeaway: By automating and accelerating creative production, AI offers a cost-effective solution to meet the growing demand for diverse, high-quality content. However, strategic oversight is essential to ensure outputs align with brand standards.

The Future of AI in Retail Media

While AI excels at automation and scalability, its future lies in customization. Generic, one-size-fits-all solutions no longer suffice in a hyper-competitive retail media landscape. Brands need insights tailored to their unique goals and market conditions.

The next frontier for AI involves brand-specific recommendations, as highlighted by Cohn. Instead of merely suggesting broad strategies, advanced AI platforms will analyze individual campaign performance and competitor data to deliver bespoke insights. For instance, tools like Skai integrate profitability data and competitor pricing, enabling brands to optimize bids dynamically. This ensures ad spend not only drives sales but also captures market share from competitors.

Moreover, the focus is shifting from traditional metrics like Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) to incremental sales and market share optimization. Brands investing in these metrics prioritize long-term growth over short-term wins, positioning themselves as leaders in their categories.

Takeaway: The future of AI in retail media lies in delivering hyper-customized solutions that help brands capture market share and build sustainable growth strategies.

Why AI is a Strategic Imperative

Retail media advertising is growing at a staggering 17% year-over-year, far outpacing traditional platforms like Google, which grows at just 3% annually. This explosive growth demands that brands adapt quickly to stay competitive. AI offers a way to not just manage this complexity but thrive within it.

For mid-sized brands, AI provides the efficiency needed to compete without large teams. For enterprise-level players, it delivers the advanced tools required to lead across multiple networks. Whether through smarter campaign management, cost-effective creative production, or long-term market share strategies, AI is indispensable for brands navigating today’s retail media landscape.

Embracing AI is no longer optional—it’s the key to thriving in the dynamic world of retail media. Start exploring tools like Skai to elevate your campaigns and gain a competitive edge.

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Connect with Misha on LinkedIn to stay updated and engage with her expert insights!

Tune into the Revenue Boost Podcast to explore strategies that can drive your business growth. 

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