Commerce Max officially launches as Criteo address fragmentation in retail media

Commerce media platform Criteo has officially launched its self-service demand-side platform (DSP), Commerce Max to streamline the fragmented retail media landscape. 

Retail media has proven to be a lucrative avenue for those in the space seeking additional revenue streams, as well as brands and agencies eager to engage consumers in a buying mindset.  

According to Emarketer, a considerable portion (40.7%) of China's digital ad spending in 2022 was channeled towards retail media networks owned by companies like Alibaba and JD.com. In Southeast Asia, exisiting RMNs includes the likes of Carousell, GrabAds and Panda Ads. 

However, the challenge of fragmentation within the industry, which also includes players like The Trade Desk and Amazon, has hindered the full potential of retail media. 

Commerce Max will offer brands and agencies a centralised entry point to access retail media inventory, both onsite and across premium publishers offsite.  

According to Criteo, 210 RMNs have signed up for Commerce Max, and the platform expects there to be somewhere between 500 and 600 in the future.

“Our focus is enabling all commerce-driven companies to buy and sell audiences engaged in shopping. The process has to be frictionless, and it has to solve for fragmentation,” said Megan Clarken, chief executive officer at Criteo. 

“With the launch of Commerce Max, Criteo aims to provide clients with the tools to navigate a more unified retail media ecosystem, fostering unity across the broader advertising marketplace. 

During testing with retailers and agencies like Best Buy and GroupM, Criteo claimed retailers doubled their conversion rates on average when running both onsite and offsite advertising campaigns through Commerce Max. 

Criteo will also expand its efforts with a retailer monetisation solution suite called Commerce Yield designed to unlock previously untapped demand, paving the way for the integration of marketplace and in-store monetisation technologies. 

Commerce Yield will include Commerce Yield Marketplace, which leverages Criteo's acquisition of Mabaya to integrate marketplace tactics and formats. Commerce Yield In-Store combines Criteo's in-store monetisation technology with Brandcrush, offering advertisers access to a broader range of offline inventory. 

Commerce Yield Insights, formerly known as Gradient, will provide a suite of data tools offering digital-shelf insights to support enterprise-level retail media purchases.