Insights from IAB Connected Commerce on Enhancing Customer Experiences with Non-Endemic Advertising
The expansion of retail media networks is opening up new avenues for ecommerce businesses and brands outside their digital storefronts. This shift represents more than just targeting consumers at the point of sale—it’s about crafting engaging experiences that truly connect with customers. Non-endemic advertising, which spotlights offers from unexpected companies that still resonate with the audience, is an important piece of this transformation.
At this week’s IAB Connected Commerce Summit, Michael Krans, VP of Macy’s Media Network and Doug Rozen, CMO at Rokt, took the stage with Lauren Johnson of Adweek to explore the impact of non-endemic advertising. Their discussion highlighted key trends in delivering relevant offers, enhancing the customer experience, and developing strategic partnerships. This panel follows the recent announcement of Macy’s partnership with Rokt, which aims to enhance Macy’s retail media capabilities.
Here’s a deeper look at this week’s on-stage conversation.
Key takeaways
Reimagining retail media: A key theme of IAB’s Connected Commerce event was exploring the definition of retail media. Retail media is quickly evolving from traditional transactions to enhancing customer experiences. The focus for many media networks now includes integrating relevant and non-endemic offers to add value throughout the entire shopping journey rather than simply targeting product selection.
Relevance and data-driven insights: Effective relevance is crucial. Offers must be timely and seamlessly fit into the customer experience. Leveraging real-time data optimizes these offers and ensures they enhance rather than disrupt the journey. Sometimes, this even means that no offer is the best offer.
Non-endemic opportunities: Non-endemic offers have significant potential within retail media to delight and reward customers. Thoughtful alignment is key to enhancing the customer journey, leveraging a wide array of partnerships for impactful results.
Collaborative partnerships: Building successful retail media partnerships hinges on trust and collaboration. Experimentation strategies and tailoring solutions to meet specific needs of the partner increases customer engagement and repeat purchases.
Customer experience is central to retail media growth
Michael Krans explained how Macy’s focuses on integrating personalized offers into digital and in-store environments:
“We want to help solve a problem: helping customers find what they’re looking for. Our goal is to serve personalized ads at the right time, making key items highly discoverable while giving brands opportunities to showcase their products in various formats.” — Michael Krans
As retail media has progressed, it has become clear that transactions are opportunities to enhance customer experiences and drive value for companies.
“Retail media is evolving beyond just driving purchases; it’s about optimizing the entire customer journey from cart to post-purchase experiences.” — Doug Rozen
The role of non-endemic brands in retail media
Non-endemic brand partnerships in retail media are not new—Macy’s has long leveraged these opportunities with sponsorships like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. However, digital transformation has expanded the potential for these partnerships. Thoughtful integration can enhance rather than disrupt the customer journey.
“We view retail media not only as a revenue driver but as a way to enhance the customer experience and solve their problems.” — Michael Krans
Relevance through data, without compromising experience
Rozen and Krans emphasized that first-party data is a core element to deliver relevance and must be used responsibly. Rokt leverages over 30 real-time data points to deliver relevant offers to customers.
“Effective non-endemic advertising is about finding the right message at the right time, leveraging data to provide value without being intrusive.” — Doug Rozen
A unique insight Rozen shared was that sometimes, the best offer may be no offer at all. In certain moments, showing no ad can be a strategic choice that respects the customer’s journey and avoids overwhelming them with irrelevant content. This nuanced approach reinforces the importance of data-driven decision-making in creating meaningful customer interactions.
Macy’s is similarly focused on responsibly using first-party data through its loyalty programs to enhance relevance. The shared goal across both organizations is to create meaningful, relevant, and customer-first interactions.
Building strong partnerships for success
A key theme from the session was the importance of trust and collaboration in building successful retail media partnerships. Macy’s and Rokt initially took a phased approach, testing strategies, gathering feedback, and proving value before scaling their initiatives.
“Building trust and flexibility in partnerships allows us to test, learn, and scale strategies that genuinely benefit both the customer and the brand.” — Michael Krans
Retailers looking to succeed with non-endemic offers can learn from this approach by maintaining a collaborative mindset that prioritizes customer experience.
The future of non-endemic advertising
Looking ahead, the potential for non-endemic offers in retail media is vast. Macy’s is exploring ways to apply these strategies to brands such as Bloomingdale’s and Blue Mercury while focusing on delivering enhanced customer experiences across all platforms.
“The true value of retail media lies in extending experiences beyond checkout pages and creating meaningful end-to-end transactions.” — Doug Rozen
As non-endemic offers become integral to retail media, this strategy becomes a powerful tool for deepening customer engagement and unlocking new revenue streams. Brands that prioritize customer experience will lead this next phase of growth.
To learn more about how Rokt can unlock your retail media strategy, visit our retail media page.