Google is playing deeper for the fast-growing retail media market, deploying new tools that promise to connect brands and retailers with sharper targets and transparency, whilst leaning heavily towards the tech giant’s artificial intelligence capabilities.
The company announced that Commerce Media Suite, currently available in beta, will expand across Search Ads 360, Display & Video 360 and Google Ads, offering what it describes as “expanded reach and Google AI-driven performance” to advertisers looking to take advantage of the booming retail media sector.
Retail Media – Retailers use digital properties to sell advertising space to brands – has become one of the fastest growing segments in advertising. Google has reached YouTube, Search and Display, and is currently positioned as connective tissue between retailers and brands trying to catch shoppers on the web.
One of the marquee developments is a partnership with Roundel, a US-based target retail media arm. This allows advertisers to measure online, app and offline sales data within their Performance Max campaigns through Search Ads 360.
Beyond performance max, Google has expanded its measurement capabilities to search, shopping and demand GEN campaigns within Google Ads, providing brands with a wide view of media investment.
Google has also announced improvements to self-service options for key markets such as Shohee, Rakuten and Flipkart, allowing these platforms to share product catalogs directly with brands for advertising.
In a notable extension, Google brings Retail Media to YouTube through Display & Video 360, offering an additional reach to a campaign focused on Commerce on one of the world’s largest video platforms. The company also revealed that it is piloting product-level measurement tools. This allows brands and retailers to analyze the effectiveness of advertising spending on sales data for specific products and categories.
For Google, the push to retail media is because advertisers want new ways to reach consumers amid changing privacy rules and changing online behavior. By providing integrated measurement and targeting capabilities powered by AI, Google aims to be a key partner for brands and retailers navigating the complex world of commercial media.
