• DE&I Commitment
  • Careers
  • SIGN IN
  • Book a Meeting
    Book a Meeting
  • Company
    Learn a little more about us, our values, and our team
    Our Values
    We don't just talk the talk; we live by our core values
    About Us
    Empowering brands to realize their potential with data, insights, and technology
    Leadership
    Meet our leadership team
    Secure Data Architecture
    Our promise of data security and privacy. We keep your data safe from publishers, competitors and bad actors
    Corporate Social Responsibility
    We are committed to making a positive impact on our communities and our planet
  • Platform
    Plan, manage, optimize, and measure your campaigns with our omnichannel platform
    Omnichannel Advertising
    A platform that connects all walled garden media for more effective campaigns
    Data Connectivity
    Make data-driven decisions as you plan and strategize
    AI-Powered Capabilities
    Take your campaigns to the next level by leveraging proprietary AI-based technology
    See the industries we serve
    Learn how our customizable solutions can help with your unique needs
    Explore our partner integrations
    See the media, retailer, and data partners we work with
  • Case Studies
  • News and Events
    Check out recent announcements and see what we’re up to
    Newsroom
    Check out our recent media mentions and announcements
    Events
    Join us for our next conference or webinar
    Omnichannel platform launch
    Read the press release to see how we're helping marketers win the walled gardens
    AI Breakthrough Award
    Skai Named "Best AI-based Solution for Advertising" in 6th Annual Artificial Intelligence Breakthrough Awards Program
  • Resources
    From new releases, to industry trends and best practices, Skai has you covered
    The Breakthrough
    Read the latest blog posts and thought leadership from Skai and other industry experts
    Skai Research
    Explore our studies, whitepapers and quarterly trends reports so you can stay up to date
    Quarterly Trends Hub
    Dive into the latest market insights, industry trends, and predictive analysis
    Holiday Hub 2023
    Your go-to source for holiday marketing tips, tricks, and best practices
Back to Blog

The Skai 5: Five Questions with Criteo Retail Media’s Sherry Smith

Skai

November  12, 2020

Recently, Skai announced that it supports sponsored product ads on Target.com via Target’s media company, Roundel, and using the Criteo Retail Media platform.

Using the Criteo Retail Media platform API, Skai and Roundel empower brands to now reach more customers and maximize digital sales with biddable sponsored product ads on Target.com. It reflects the increasing advertiser interest—and investment—in ecommerce advertising and helps to expand an open retail media ecosystem for the fastest growing marketing channel in the world.

With Criteo’s technology powering this solution, we thought it would be a good idea to catch up with Sherry Smith, Criteo’s Managing Director, Retail Media to learn about the platform. Having been in this space for some time, we were also able to learn more about her views on the channel and the value for retailers.

Five Questions with Criteo’s Sherry Smith

Founded by a small group of great minds at a start-up incubator in Paris, Criteo has become a global leader in commerce marketing. With 2,700 employees across 28 offices worldwide, the company has become a force in performance advertising.

How did you get started in the space?

I’ve been in the retail business my entire career, so I have 20+ years of experience in retail. I started off more on the shopper marketing side, with in-store and out of store events, point of sale materials, etc. I moved into the retail media space in 2007 when I joined Triad Retail Media, whose founder was ahead of his time in thinking that retailers should become publishers. Walmart was one of our largest clients, and we partnered with them to develop their media program, growing their business significantly before they shifted its media program in-house. I joined Retail Media by Criteo in May 2020, right as we launched the Retail Media Platform.

What interested you about Retail Media by Criteo?

Triad was ahead of its time and had fantastic people innovating in the space, but unfortunately, it lacked a proprietary technology solution for retailers. I was familiar with Criteo, but I got really excited when I learned about Criteo’s vision to build a transparent by design, end-to-end platform to serve both retailers and brands. I felt what Criteo is doing was leap years ahead of their competition and would help retailers become successful publishers faster.

How has Retail Media by Criteo evolved through the years?

Criteo entered the retail media space with the acquisition of HookLogic in 2016. This helped us enable retailers to monetize their websites with Sponsored Product advertising opportunities—like paid search for ecommerce.

In addition, Criteo acquired a company called Storetail in 2018, to help retailers offer new creative formats and targeting options. We’ve seen that brands especially love ad formats that allow them to combine a branded asset alongside selected SKUs.

In 2020, we brought these technologies together with our new Retail Media Platform. Now, retailers can manage all formats, including sponsored products and display with one platform. Our new platform also shifted Criteo to a completely transparent model.

For many years, Criteo also operated a non-transparent network model, where brands invested a certain amount, relied on Criteo AI to allocate budget across retailers, and saw aggregated reporting. With the launch of the new Retail Media platform, Retail Media by Criteo has blown up this blind network. Brands now have complete control over where their ads run and can see reporting at the individual retailer level. In addition, brands have full transparency into pricing, as many now expect from all media-buying technology, so they can see exactly how much money is going toward media and how much is going toward fees. 

What is the opportunity for retailers to offer a retail media solution to advertisers?

Operating ecommerce is very expensive compared to traditional brick and mortar retail. We’ve heard from our retailer clients that the high-margin, secondary revenue stream from retail media is a key strategy to help offset that cost.

One way to think about the total opportunity size is to consider that Amazon currently represents about 40% of ecommerce sales and has projected advertising revenue of $20 billion in 2022. This means the total potential advertising opportunity for retailers is north of $50 billion. Research we recently commissioned with Forrester also shows that brands feel they are over-indexing ad spend on Amazon and are looking to diversify spend to be more in line with where they drive overall sales.

In addition, retail media provides opportunities for retailers to deepen relationships with their brand manufacturers. Increasingly, brands are looking for more transparency into the results of their media investments. And now more than ever, as store traffic is down, they are looking to move marketing budgets from offline to online. Lastly, retail media helps both retailers and brands provide a more personalized and relevant experience for shoppers through all stages of their journeys, from discovery to purchase.

Why should retailers work with Retail Media by Criteo as a technology partner versus build it themselves?

Some very large retailers such as Amazon have the resources to build out their own technology, but they are by far the exception. Building out technology also takes time, and the opportunity cost is huge given the rapid acceleration of retail media. I think most retailers will choose to partner with a technology provider.

A few things make Retail Media by Criteo unique. First, we have massive scale, and the infrastructure in place to support the largest retailers in the world, such as Target. We are also trusted by these retailers to preserve the shopping experience, and we lean into our well-known strength in AI to ensure that only relevant ads are shown to users. Secondly, we understand the retail business and have years of experience empowering marketing, merchant, and loyalty teams.

Finally, an ads ecosystem is both supply and demand, and we power an end-to-end platform for this ecosystem. Our platform is being embraced by the world’s largest agencies who want the ability to buy across many retailers using standardized workflows and metrics. We are also so excited about our API partnership with Skai, which will enable brands to take advantage of tools they may already be using for buying on Walmart and Amazon, or even search and social. By partnering with technology providers like Skai, we seek to help retailers scale demand as rapidly as possible in order to maximize revenue.

For more information on this topic, read the Skai white paper

The way consumers buy now has dramatically changed from just ten years ago. Meanwhile, manufacturers continue to adjust to the tumultuous evolution of retail. Retailers must adapt to better serve the new needs of both consumers and manufacturers while finding new revenue streams to remain viable.

Download your complimentary copy of Commerce Advertising: Retailer Private Ad Marketplaces Cater to the New Needs of Manufacturers.

Are you maximizing your retail media campaigns?

The world of marketplace advertising is rapidly changing the shape of online shopping and providing ecommerce marketers with new opportunities. Capture active shoppers with one platform for launching and scaling advertising success across Amazon, Walmart & Instacart.

Leading brands and agencies leverage Skai Ecommerce’s advanced optimization, analytics & automation solutions to get started quickly, navigate new ad formats, and drive growth.

To learn more about Skai Ecommerce and to see its innovative features firsthand, reach out today to schedule a brief demo.

Book a Meeting of Skai Ecommerce

Related Posts

  • Amazon advertising homepage in Brazil.
    Skai Retail Media Now Supports Amazon Advertising in Brazil
    Read More
  • The Skai 5: Five Questions with The Stable’s Brian Weber on the Right Online Commerce Approach for Target.com
    Read More
  • Skai Partner Spotlight: Profitero 
    Read More
  • Retail Media Marketers Can Now Reach Gopuff’s Unique Customer Base Through Skai
    Read More
  • Ecommerce Marketing Dos and Don'ts
    Read More
  • The Skai 5: Five Questions with CitrusAd’s Dana Concepcion
    Read More
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email
  • Copy Link
    Copied!
Tags: Criteo, Retail Media, Roundel, Target, xPAx

    Subscribe to Updates

    Media that matters.
    Marketing that works.
    © 2023 Kenshoo, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
    Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Recruitment Privacy Policy.
    • Omnichannel Strategy
      • Skai HQ
      • Dynamic Marketing Mix
      • Budget Forecasting
      • Strategic Consulting
    • Walled Garden Advertising
      • Overview
      • Retail Media
      • Paid Search
      • Paid Social
      • App Marketing
      • Auditing
      • Expert Services
    • Marketing Measurement
      • Incrementality
      • Experiments
      • Cross-Channel Attribution
    • Resources
      • Blog
      • Glossary
      • Case Studies
      • Capabilities
      • Quarterly Trends Hub
      • Training & Enablement
      • Developer Hub
    Privacy Preference

    We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.

    Privacy Preference

    Save All

    Save

    Accept Only Essential Cookies

    Manage Cookie Preferences

    Cookie Details Privacy Policy Imprint

    Privacy Preference

    Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to whole categories or display further information and select certain cookies.

    Save All Save Accept Only Essential Cookies

    Back

    Privacy Preference

    Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website, Imprint
    PurposeSaves the visitors preferences selected in the Cookie Box of Borlabs Cookie.
    Host(s).skai.io, skai.io
    Cookie Nameborlabs-cookie
    Cookie Expiry1 Year
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s)skai.io
    Cookie Namewordpress_sec_,wordpress_test_cookie,wp-postpass_*, wordpresspass_*, wordpressuser_*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    PurposeThis cookie stores selections made by the user in the Accessibe tool in order to maintain those settings on future visits. These cookies help us make our website compliant with our obligations under US law.
    Privacy Policy https://accessibe.com/privacy-policy
    Cookie NameacsbState, acsbReset
    Cookie Expiryn/a

    We use these cookies to enhance functionality and allow for personalisation, such as live chats, videos and the use of social media.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s).comeet.co, www.comeet.co
    Cookie Namevisid_incap_, nlbi_#######, incap_ses_, referrer22_00a, incap_ses_1364_2167377
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s).chilipiper.com, skai.chilipiper.com
    Cookie Namefs_uid, CHILI_PIPER_CLUSTER, guest-session, _sp_ses*, _sp_id*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s)skai.io
    Cookie NamemoduleFormPardotDownload
    Cookie Expiry30 days

    Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Google used for website analytics. Generates statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
    Cookie Name_ga, _ga_*, _gat,_gat_*,_gid, GOOGLE_ABUSE_EXEMPTION, AEC, __Secure-ENID, SOCS, CONSENT
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderHotjar Ltd., Dragonara Business Centre, 5th Floor, Dragonara Road, Paceville St Julian's STJ 3141 Malta
    PurposeHotjar is an user behavior analytic tool by Hotjar Ltd.. We use Hotjar to understand how users interact with our website.
    Privacy Policy https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy/
    Host(s)*.hotjar.com
    Cookie Name_hjClosedSurveyInvites, _hjDonePolls, _hjMinimizedPolls, _hjDoneTestersWidgets, _hjIncludedInSample, _hjShownFeedbackMessage, _hjid, _hjRecordingLastActivity, hjTLDTest, _hjUserAttributesHash, _hjCachedUserAttributes, _hjLocalStorageTest, _hjptid, _hjSessionUser_2229986, _hjIncludedInPageviewSample, _hjIncludedInSessionSample, _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress, _hjFirstSeen
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    PurposeVWO is AB Testing software that we'll use to test different elements of the website - form placement, nav, different page layouts, etc.
    Privacy Policy https://vwo.com/compliance/cookies-notice/
    Host(s).skai.io, dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com
    Cookie Name_vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_goal_{GOALID}, _vis_opt_test_cookie, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_exclude, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_split, _vis_opt_s, _vis_opt_out, _vwo_uuid, _vwo_uuid_{CAMPAIGNID}, _vwo_ds, _vwo_sn, _vwo_uuid_v2, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi_choose, _vwo_referrer, _vwo, _vwo_global_opt_out, _vwo_ssm, uuid
    Cookie ExpirySession / 10 Years

    Marketing cookies are used by third-party advertisers or publishers to display personalized ads. They do this by tracking visitors across websites.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderPardot
    PurposeCookie name associated with services from marketing automation and lead generation platform Pardot. The visitor value is the visitor_id in your Pardot account. This cookie is set for visitors by the Pardot tracking code.
    Host(s).pardot.com, pi.pardot.com, skai.io
    Cookie Namepardot, visitor_id*, lpv*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 10 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderMeta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Facebook used for website analytics, ad targeting, and ad measurement.
    Privacy Policy https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies
    Cookie Name_fbp,act,c_user,datr,fr,tr,m_pixel_ration,pl,presence,sb,spin,wd,xs
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderLinkedin
    Cookie Namelidc, li_gc, lang, AnalyticsSyncHistory, UserMatchHistory, li_sugr, bcookie, TDCPM, TDID, bscookie, ln_or
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderSkai
    Cookie Nameken_gclid
    Accept
    Name
    Provider6sense
    Cookie Name_gd_session, _an_uid, _gd_visitor, _gd_svisitor, 6suuid
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Google used for conversion tracking of Google Ads.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
    Cookie NameIDE, 1P_JAR, NID, _gcl_au, OTZ, test_cookie
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Cookie NamePHPSESSID, sid, okto-autoposter-XXX, oktgid, oktsid, oktlogid-XXX, oktolead-XXX-Email, oktolead-XXX-Company, oktolead-XXX-FirstName, oktolead-XXX-LastName, oktolead-XXX-Phone, oktolead-XXX-Country, oktolead-XXX-Url, oktolead-XXX-State, oktolead-XXX-Comment, optout
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years

    Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default. If External Media cookies are accepted, access to those contents no longer requires manual consent.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderWistia
    Host(s).wistia.com
    Cookie Namecb_anonymous_id, _sp_ses.2b40, _li_dcdm_c, __hssrc, _gcl_au, _clsk, hubspotutk, _sp_id.2b40, __hssc, __hstc, _uetsid, _uetvid, _gid, _ga, _ga_GQR109DZ3Y, _lc2, fpi, _ex-pricing-cta, _fbp, cb_group_id, cb_user_id, _clck
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderMeta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock Instagram content.
    Privacy Policy https://www.instagram.com/legal/privacy/
    Host(s).instagram.com
    Cookie Namepigeon_state
    Cookie ExpirySession
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOpenstreetmap Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS, United Kingdom
    PurposeUsed to unblock OpenStreetMap content.
    Privacy Policy https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
    Host(s).openstreetmap.org
    Cookie Name_osm_location, _osm_session, _osm_totp_token, _osm_welcome, _pk_id., _pk_ref., _pk_ses., qos_token
    Cookie Expiry1-10 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderTwitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock Twitter content.
    Privacy Policy https://twitter.com/privacy
    Host(s).twimg.com, .twitter.com
    Cookie Name__widgetsettings, local_storage_support_test
    Cookie ExpiryUnlimited
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderVimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA
    PurposeUsed to unblock Vimeo content.
    Privacy Policy https://vimeo.com/privacy
    Host(s)player.vimeo.com
    Cookie Namevuid
    Cookie Expiry2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock YouTube content.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=en
    Host(s)google.com
    Cookie NameCONSENT
    Cookie Expiry6 Month

    Borlabs Cookie powered by Borlabs Cookie

    Privacy Policy Imprint