Retail media networks (RMNs) are on track to capture over $128 billion in ad spend by 2028, growing nearly 25% year over year. But behind this rapid expansion, RMNs face a challenge that could slow their momentum: they lack the complete picture of their customers.
Retailers sit on a goldmine of first-party data—loyalty programs, online purchases, and in-store transactions—but their customer view is often fragmented, incomplete, or entirely anonymous. Without a strong identity foundation, RMNs struggle to:
- Scale advertiser reach beyond logged-in users
- Seamlessly match audiences across channels (CTV, programmatic, social)
- Deliver the precise targeting and measurement that advertisers demand
The reality? Data is only valuable if it’s usable. And right now, too many RMNs are leaving value on the table.
The identity challenge: If you can’t see it, you can’t monetize it
Retailers have two types of customers:
- Known customers: Logged-in or self-identified users with purchase history and identifiable attributes.
- Unknown customers: Shoppers who browse, purchase in-store, or check out as guests—leaving behind only partial or anonymous data.
Although many retailers have a loyalty program, it’s unlikely they are capturing a full view of all of their customers, especially outside of their four walls.
When retailers don’t know their customers, they can’t effectively:
- Understand what messages will resonate with what audiences
- Extend their audiences beyond their owned platforms
- Provide advertisers with the reach and addressability they demand
- Accurately measure media performance and prove ROI
But this challenge isn’t unsolvable—it’s an identity problem, and Experian is built to fix it.
The missing link: Clean, enriched, and connected data
Assuming your data is ready to activate is a costly mistake. Too often, RMN data is messy, siloed, and incomplete, making it difficult to deliver the precision and performance advertisers expect.
Experian flips the script—helping RMNs transform fragmented signals into a complete, connected picture of their audience.
Here’s how Experian helps RMNs go from fragmented to first-class
The result? A complete and addressable audience picture that RMNs can activate confidently—on-site and off.
We partnered with one of the largest RMNs in the world to overhaul its first-party shopper data ahead of industry changes. By anchoring its data to stable digital IDs, addressability skyrocketed by nearly 300%. That’s the Experian difference—turning guesswork into confidence.
Retailers who master identity will win the RMN race
In an increasingly competitive RMN landscape, identity isn’t optional—it’s everything. Advertisers demand scale, accuracy, and measurable impact. Only RMNs with a robust identity foundation will rise above the competition.
RMNs that prioritize identity resolution and data enrichment will:
- Drive more revenue by increasing the size of their addressable audience
- Keep advertisers engaged with better targeting and measurement
- Capture RMN market share by offering scale and accuracy
Ready to transform? Experian will show you how
Fixing data inside the RMN ecosystem is just the beginning. In part two, we’ll cover:
- Why RMNs should be activating their enriched first-party data across CTV, programmatic, and social.
- Why off-site expansion is the future of maximizing revenue.
- How Experian’s data and identity solutions power off-site activation.
Experian isn’t just part of the RMN conversation. We’re driving it. Let’s talk.
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As today’s digital landscape gets more and more complicated there are more ways for brands to connect with users and drive purchases and more ways for ad tech to target and measure those touch points. As in-person shopping picks up steam due to the re-normalization of society post-COVID 19; the connection between digital ads and in-person purchases needs to be made once again. With the rise of Connected TV throughout the pandemic there are even more digital opportunities to target a user. But how do you make sure that those brand engagements are captured and correctly attributed to offline purchases and conversions? The answer lies in a holistic identity resolution strategy. Cross-device identity resolution with The Tapad Graph connects the identifiers and devices of individuals within a household to each other; enabling targeting, frequency capping, extension, segmentation and measurement or attribution between devices; including Connected TV and hashed (privacy-protected) email addresses along with Cookies, Mobile Ad Ids and IP Address. Brands can join their first-party data to The Tapad Graph to execute strategies that connect online and offline data for pre, mid and post-campaign efficiencies. Let’s imagine a scenario in which an outdoor retail brand is targeting users watching specific content on a Connected TV device. Powered by identity resolution, they start with a general ad on CTV and continue targeting down individual paths with each user. When one of them converts in store and makes a purchase; the outdoor retailer can connect that action through location and in-store traffic data with the cross-device identity resolution used to execute the digital campaign. Now the actions of the user online and offline are resolved for more accurate measurement and attribution after the campaign ends. But it doesn’t stop there– the brand's CRM data can be reactivated for the next digital campaign and leveraged to capitalize on the most effective media mix for the user who made the purchase previously. These combined insights can be invaluable in shaping up future campaign strategies with geo-contextual ads, recommended additional products and personalization to help drive more conversions and purchases in-store or online. As in-person shopping picks back up and marketers are tasked once again with balancing online and in-store KPIs, the right identity resolution strategy can unlock necessary efficiencies for retailers, ad tech vendors and agencies tasked with supporting these initiatives. Get in touch
Experian Marketing Services and Data Quality President Genevieve Juillard recently sat down with Zach Rodgers, host of the AdExchanger Talks podcast to discuss the future of identity, the importance of data transparency and privacy, and our recent acquisition of Tapad. Genevieve focused on the opportunity for our industry to reimagine an advertising ecosystem that is resilient and adaptable; one that takes advantage of emerging data and prioritizes data transparency and consumer privacy. She also discussed the importance of advertising strategies that put consumers at the heart of every decision and give them more control over their data. Genevieve shared with AdExchanger that Experian’s acquisition of Tapad, a global leader in digital identity resolution, was a natural fit for our company. Tapad’s approach and role in the ecosystem is very much aligned with Experian’s, which is to develop solutions that are resilient to industry and consumer changes. The combination of our capabilities supports interoperability across all types of identifiers, both online and offline, and will position us to help our clients navigate the post-third-party cookie world. To learn more about Experian’s plans to support an effective advertising ecosystem that will evolve with our dynamic industry, listen to the full podcast Embracing ‘Healthy Fragmentation’ In Ad Tech, With Genevieve Juillard. Get in touch