As retailers face the imperative of implementing a retail media strategy, the number of Retail Media Networks (RMNs) continue to grow. With a need to differentiate yet simplify their offering, retailers face increasingly complex decisions about whether there is room for them to play, and if so, how to build and roll out their vision. The traditional debate of whether to build or buy a solution has dominated industry discussions, but this binary choice no longer serves the sophisticated needs of modern retail media.
As advertisers seek more advanced targeting capabilities and measurable results across multiple channels, success in 2025 and beyond will depend on thoughtful design that prioritizes flexibility and customization.
Moving Beyond ‘Build vs. Buy’
The traditional approach presented retailers with what appeared to be a straightforward choice: invest substantial resources in building a team and then develop a proprietary solution, or trade control for speed by adopting an existing platform. This oversimplified view, however, fails to address the nuanced requirements of today’s retail media ecosystem. Forward-thinking retailers are now embracing a more sophisticated approach that combines the best elements of both options through strategic design thinking.
Why Good Design Matters
Think of your retail media offering as a modular ecosystem rather than a rigid pre-determined structure. This design-first mindset offers significant advantages for both retailers and advertisers. By leveraging existing investments or carefully selecting new best-in-class (or “best-for-us”) components – from audience targeting capabilities to advanced analytics tools – retailers can rapidly deploy compelling solutions while maintaining the flexibility to evolve their platforms over time. Simply put, retailers can now design their own program without having to build their own platform.
This approach addresses one of the fundamental challenges that will define retail media in 2025: finding the optimal balance between standardization and customization. While advertisers demand consistent, scalable solutions across different retailers, they also require platforms that can adapt to their unique objectives and strategies. A well-designed, flexible system enables retailers to deliver both standardized features and tailored solutions through a unified platform.
Planning for 2025 and Beyond
In 2025, the retail media landscape will continue to evolve at an unprecedented pace. New channels will emerge, technical capabilities will expand and advertiser expectations will grow increasingly sophisticated. A thoughtfully designed system will allow retailers to:
- Integrate new features seamlessly without disrupting existing operations
- Adapt quickly to emerging technologies and market trends
- Maintain competitive advantage in a rapidly changing environment
- Scale operations efficiently while preserving quality and performance
Finding the Right Partners
The path to success in retail media extends beyond technology choices to encompass strategic partnerships. The ideal technology and service partners should:
- Demonstrate a deep understanding of retail media’s unique dynamics
- Offer robust solutions for audience targeting, measurement and campaign optimization
- Maintain flexibility for integration with various platform components
- Scale effectively alongside network growth and evolution
- Align with the retailer’s long-term vision and objectives
What this Means for the Future
Looking ahead into 2025, this design-centered approach will accelerate innovation in retail media, particularly in the availability of powerful self-service capabilities. These next-generation networks will seamlessly blend standardization with customization, enabling advertisers to execute sophisticated strategies while maintaining operational efficiency through automation.
As the retail media landscape matures, success will increasingly depend on creating flexible, adaptable systems that can evolve with market demands. Retailers that embrace this design-first mindset – supported by carefully chosen partnerships – will be best positioned to capture the growing opportunities in this dynamic market. This approach ensures that retail media offerings can meet current market demands, while remaining agile enough to adapt to future challenges and opportunities.
As the CEO and Co-founder of Vantage, Aran Hamilton has led the vision, strategy and building of Vantage into a market-leading retail media orchestration platform. Vantage helps the world’s top retailers launch and scale retail media networks, unifying teams and integrating technologies across onsite, offsite and in-store media assets. Founded in 2013, Vantage was an early partner of the Walmart Media Group (as it was then known). Vantage is differentiated as bringing deep retail expertise and a retailer-focused approach to the business of retail media. Today, with offices in Toronto, Atlanta, Austin and Melbourne, Hamilton and the team at Vantage are a trusted partner to leading retailers like The Home Depot and Ulta Beauty.