The term “digital retail media ads,” or “e-commerce media ads,” refers to advertising internet users see on retail websites, online marketplaces, or shopping apps. It is a fast-developing market fueled by the rise of e-commerce, economic uncertainty connected with the Russia-Ukraine war, and the disappearance of third-party cookies. In 2022,
was estimated at 111 billion U.S. dollars. For years
was the undisputed market leader, with roughly a third of global total ad revenues. However, numerous retailers worldwide have also begun leveraging their platforms for ad revenue.
Alibaba: a giant of the East
The Chinese
Alibaba Group is active across all types of e-commerce – B2B with Alibaba.com, B2C with Tmall, and C2C with Taobao, to name only the largest. All its properties held a quarter of the
global e-commerce market in 2021 and have been successfully ad-monetized for many years. Online advertising comprised 38 percent of Alibaba's revenue in 2021. It is by far the most prominent ad publisher in China and is also present in 190 other countries. Its online shopping platforms have a collective user base of 1.2 billion – more than 900 million in China and 300 million from the rest of the world. In 2021, Alibaba reported 31.5 billion U.S. dollars in
ad revenues, surpassing Amazon's by more than 300 million.
Mercado Libre: unmatched on its own turf
In Latin America, the e-commerce market is dominated by
Mercado Libre, which is present in 18 countries across the region. In 2021, the company reported approximately 140 million
unique active users. This number will likely keep increasing as roughly a quarter of Latin America's population still waits for an internet connection, and a third are not digital buyers yet. Mercado Libre's ad services business
Mercado Ads generated 434 million U.S. dollars in revenue in 2021, which amounted to 1.25 percent of the company's gross merchandise volume (GMV) that year.
Carrefour Group: a traditional retailer with great aspirations
The French retailer
Carrefour Group, active across Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, generates roughly nine percent of its revenue with its
e-commerce operations. In its own words, the company is working on becoming a “digital retail company.” This will entail, among others, expanding e-commerce operations and ramping up its retail media offer. Mid-2022, Carrefour announced it was going to create a joint venture with Publicis Group to support Carrefour's retail media activities in Europe and Latin America. This new entity is expected to start operations in the first half of 2022. Publicis's press release stated that the two companies aim to “bring to Europe and Latin America the same scale and connectivity that is enabling the retail media boom in the U.S.”
Ozon: a rising star
Also called the "Amazon of Russia," Ozon is an e-commerce pure-player and one of
Russia's leading online marketplaces. Already in early 2021, it started working on expanding to other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, such as Belarus and Kazakhstan, where it now holds logistics facilities. In 2022, it also opened offices in Turkey and China. This move is intended to cushion the impact of sanctions imposed upon Russia after it attacked Ukraine, not only by tapping into the markets for sales but also by building new supply chains. Ozon's advertising platform was launched in early 2019, allowing sellers to use promotional shelves and ad banners to better market their products. In the third quarter of 2022, the ads had an audience of approximately 33 million
active buyers. The company's
ad revenue increases quarterly, reaching roughly 112 million U.S. dollars in the same period.
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