A wave has arrived in Japan! What retail companies working on retail media must keep in mind _Retail and logistics industry news site[Diamond Chain Store Online]

A new business model called “retail media,” in which retail companies utilize store and customer data to distribute advertisements, has begun to move in Japan. In the advanced United States, where retail media has already become a huge market, what is the current state of the domestic market and what is the outlook for the future? And what are the points that should be kept in mind by retailers who are going to do business in the future? We interviewed Hidetoshi Uchiyama, CEO of unerry (Tokyo), which has its own real behavioral data platform and promotes domestic retail media at the forefront with retail companies.

Japanese retail media
Continuing with conventional sales promotions

–How do you see trends in the retail media of domestic retailers?
UchiyamaIn the United States, the retail media advertising market has already become a large presence, exceeding 6 trillion yen as a whole. I think it is self-evident that retail media will expand in Japan in the future.

Until now, sales promotions by manufacturers and in-store promotions by retailers were separate. Retail media, on the other hand, refers to joint efforts by retailers and manufacturers to integrate sales promotion measures and even sales data.

However, at present, there are major problems in Japan. That is, manufacturers are limited to measures such as distributing digital advertisements based on purchase data provided by retailers. From the manufacturer’s point of view, this is not much different from conventional promotional activities.

In the future, instead of focusing on a single measure, it will be necessary to closely coordinate a series of measures aimed at consumers and develop a “full-funnel communication” that approaches them seamlessly.

–In the United States, it seems that approaches such as using TV advertisements are also progressing. What are the factors behind the lack of development of retail media initiatives in Japan?
UchiyamaCompared to the United States, in addition to regular television such as terrestrial broadcasting, the popularity of “Amazon Prime Video” and “Netflix” has led to the spread of “connected TV”, which allows you to listen to music through an Internet connection. Among them, running personalized advertisements has become mainstream. Therefore, we are in a situation where it is easy to work on promotions that include TV advertisements.

Also in the US, there are retailers such as Walmart and Albertsons that hold a large market share.

On the other hand, in Japan, TV is mainly terrestrial, and it is still difficult to launch personalized TV advertisements. Also, the retail market is not oligopolized like the United States, with strong companies in each region. However, there is no doubt that retail media will definitely spread in Japan as well, although the format is different from that in the United States.

retail media alliance
To the situation where multiple births occur

――What kind of movements have you seen in Japan recently?
UchiyamaIn TV advertising, video distribution services such as connected TV “ABEMA” and “Tver” are beginning to take share. In addition, local TV stations are also making efforts, and we are planning programs in collaboration with distribution companies. I believe that if we combine the presence of not only key stations but also local stations, we will be able to create unique TV advertisements that are unique to Japan.

Since the domestic retail market is not becoming an oligopoly, it is expected that multiple powers will probably bind retail companies together and create coalitions like retail media networks in the future. A representative example of an advertising agency is CyberAgent (Tokyo), and unerry is also focusing on this.

Since it is important to create a network that covers the whole country, we are promoting cooperation with retail chains, TV stations, and connected TV operators in each region.

――Speaking of a network that covers the whole country, in Japan convenience stores have built a network of stores all over the country.
UchiyamaI agree. However, compared to Walmart, which earns more than 260 billion yen a year, even among the three major domestic convenience store chains, it can be said that all of them have a future in the retail media business.

Since retail media is a business that has never existed before, it is difficult to decide which department will lead the business, and there is no guarantee that it will contribute to earnings.

Under such circumstances, I feel momentum in the fact that FamilyMart (Tokyo) has established a business company and is proceeding at once to install digital signage in its stores.
However, from the point of view of retailers, I don’t think retail media has much of a first-mover advantage. There is a good chance that a top chain like “7-Eleven” will see the market take off and take over the market at once.