Experian launches retail media solution for networks seeking richer data

Dive Brief:

Experian unveiled a new solution designed to help retail media networks improve identity resolution, ad targeting and attribution, Marketing Dive can exclusively share.
The consumer credit reporting company’s identity graph connects addressable IDs to customers while a third-party onboarding product improves reach and distribution. Experian’s Activity Feed assists with measuring campaigns and advertising’s impact on driving other actions, like a purchase online or in store.
The launch comes as retail media networks are extending into offsite media channels, adding fresh layers of complexity to their operations. Companies like Experian see an opportunity to round out gaps in retail media data through partnership.

Dive Insight:

Experian’s new solution is positioned around helping retail media networks get a more complete picture of their customers while better targeting and measuring campaigns around the web. The offering addresses a desire among retail media networks to access online and offline data points beyond those gleaned from their owned platforms. Experian, one of the major credit reporting agencies, boasts an identity graph with insights into 126 million households, 250 million individuals and 3.8 billion digital IDs.

The retail media solution carries five main services: identity resolution leaning on Experian’s identity graph; expanded insights, such as customer profile reports; audience creation tools that allow retail media networks to devise custom segments for their advertiser partners; enhanced reach and distribution that taps into an Experian partner network of over 20 companies that includes ad-tech firms like The Trade Desk and Magnite; and measurement tools that try to tie advertising closer to results.

Retail media networks are seeking richer data sets as they crack further into offsite marketing channels, including open-web programmatic, social and connected TV. Much of the growth for the category to date has come from onsite ad sales — running campaigns on a retailer’s app or website — but the balance is shifting as the industry matures and pushes to realize full-funnel capabilities.

Experian is courting retail media networks at different stages of their growth journey, according to Anne Passon, head of retail sales. A retailer still in the early days of building its platform may need more help organizing and cleaning up first-party data while an older, more sophisticated platform may be bumping up against limited onsite inventory.

“Our identity resolution and measurement solutions will be appealing to all RMNs — no matter their size or category,” said Passon over email. “Experian’s identity graphs allow RMNs to connect addressable identifiers to the household, making it easier to reach — and measure — customers across channels.”

Experian has gotten a stronger foothold in the retail media landscape this year. In May, it acquired a strategic stake in Reward, a commerce media company that was an existing commercial partner of the credit reporting giant.