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By Wilfred Emmanuel World-wide retail media spend will hit $140 billion this year, according to eMarketer’s December 2023 forecast, with a growth of 21.8%, retail media is growing faster than almost any form of ad spend. Jumia Advertising ranked third (and first in Africa) in Digital Ad Revenue Growth in 2022 in the world’s top 10 fast-growing digital advertising players, by e-marketer -Insider Intelligence. Retailers are taking ownership of their advertising by creating retail networks within the retail eco-system. Retailers like Jumia (and Konga) have enabled programmatic ads on their platforms which has enabled advertisers to reach over 27 million unique visitors per month across multiple African countries and optimize campaigns in real time, offering huge opportunities for brands to grow in Africa. What is Real Media?Retail media is digital advertising that appears on website or apps that are primarily engaged in retail ecommerce and operated by retailers who act as media channels by publishing ads through their own media or demand-side platform (DSP). It also includes ads that may not appear on e-commerce sites or apps but powered by the retailer’s first-party shopper data. Key Growth Drivers of Retail Media in NigeriaRetail media benefits from growth in both retail commerce and digital advertising – Nigeria internet population is around 40% of the total population, and only 30% of Nigerian internet users purchased a product online weekly and 12.9% have ordered groceries via an online store. (WeAreSocial Report, 2024) – A sizeable number of Nigerians have left the markets and supermarkets and turning to their mobile and retail commerce. Jumia’s Q1 earnings report that although quarterly active customers fell slightly by 5% (well-done T-pain!), total orders increased by 2%; Jumia’s first year-over-year growth over the past 5 quarters. Furthermore, this growth is compounded by the growing digital ad spend, over 9% from 2023 and currently at 33.9% against traditional advertising.Nigeria retail media is growing steadily; seeing dominant player like Jumia Advertising expand its offering and welcoming new entrants like Chowdeck. Black Friday: Trends in the Past Years.Black Friday sale plays an important role not only in terms of e-commerce turnover but also the activity of shoppers. Lastly year, Jumia witnessed over 50% increase in new customers from October to November, driven by Black Friday: thus, presenting brands a significant opportunity to maximize reach and impact during this decisive shopping period. In the beginning, Black Friday used to be a one-day happening in the United States. However, over the past few years, the event has grown into a shopping marathon that lasts for several days. For Jumia, starting November, every Friday is Black Friday (deals, promotions); an attempt to grab consumers’ attention. This year, they are starting presales as early as 1st of November. Nevertheless, in Nigeria, the peak of shoppers’ interest falls on the Black Friday day. Google trend data from 20-26th November 2023 shows that 100% queries related to Black Friday sales were recorded on Friday, November 24th and faded immediately on Saturday. Giving the above, it furthers buttresses Techcabal’s report that Nigerians don’t care about Black Friday. With the purchasing power of Nigerians significantly eroded because of rapidly rising inflation this year, discounts on goods make little difference as people are prioritising their spending. However, what if they’re conserved their spend for what they needed to buy on Black Friday, hence the spike in queries. Jumia’s consumer spend data for Black Friday 2023 saw interests in phones (28.50%), electronics (16.43%), appliances (15.68%), fashion (13.36%), and beauty (9.67%).Brands must be positioned to capture these sales opportunities and revenue through targeted advertising and targeted promotions customized for the influx of motivated shoppers. Retail Media Opportunities and Formats For your Brand SearchRetail media search ads are so powerful, with ROAS going up as high as 311.57%, i.e., 28k spent to generate over 9M naira (Dentsu Performance Case Study for a Personal Care Leader). For brands who want to sell their products amongst their category, retail media search brings you closer to the point of sale. A consumer searching for NIVEA deodorants on Jumia, for example, can be served an ad for the specific product when they are more inclined by buy. ProgrammaticAs retailers scale extensive and high-quality audience, brands are presented a huge opportunity to reach more online shoppers. What sets retail media programmatic ads apart is the use of first-party shopper data, which is increasingly valuable as consumer-centric advertising incorporates personalization at or near point of sales. Programmatic retail media ads enable advertisers to control their targeted audiences, budget spends and enhance the performance of their campaigns through a real-time dashboard, either through a “Preferred Deal” or “Private Auction” On-siteOn-site retail media ads refer to any ad that appears on a retailer’s website or app. These advertisements are divided between search and display. Examples of on-site retail media advertising include:Sponsored products: Listings within search for relevant productsSponsored brands: Banner ads within search resultsDisplay ads: Banner ads that follow customers across the website, like on the homepage Off-siteOff-site retail media advertising refers to advertisements that leverage retailer data but not served in places owned by the retailer. Instead, they are served through partnerships with the retailer. It is retailer-managed here in Nigeria due to data privacy. Examples of off-site includes third- party sites/apps like META, audio, digital video, digital OOH, and in-game advertisements. CTVCTV is one of the retail media formats to watch. CTV campaigns already deliver over 67.02% against mobile phones at 19.74% (Dentsu Performance Agency Intelligence). Retail media advertisements are served on CTV through partnerships, like leveraging Jumia’s audience data to serve via YouTube. Leveraging retail media for CTV results in timely, engaging and precisely targeted ads. Because CTV advertising can be shoppable or have calls to action that allow viewers to purchase, these ads go beyond traditional TV ads’ brand marketing capabilities by shortening the path to purchase. In-storeIn-store retail media includes product displays, digital signage, and video screens in brick-and mortar stores. There’s also physical retail media opportunity outside of the store, through DOOH ads in