How Consumer Electronics Brands Are Winning with Retail Media

Right now, it’s a tough time to coast. Persistent inflation and renewed tariff concerns are putting pressure on consumer demand, and marketing budgets are feeling the squeeze. Even as costs rise, retail media spend continues to climb, especially in high-stakes categories like consumer electronics. That tells us something: these brands are doubling down where they see the most control and accountability.

In consumer electronics, the margin for error is thin. Product cycles are short. Promotions drive volume. And shoppers are relentless comparison shoppers, toggling between listings, specs, reviews, and price trackers before they commit. Add in the rise of influencer-driven demos, social-powered discovery, and shifting retailer policies, and it’s a lot to keep up with.

That’s led to a more surgical approach to execution. Marketers are leaning hard on tech to bridge the gaps: cross-retailer insights to see where performance is strong (and where it’s slipping), AI-powered pacing tools to make every dollar count, and automation to replace guesswork with logic. The goal? Less leakage, more control.

At a time when every dollar is under the microscope, the brands moving fastest are the ones building flexible infrastructure. Not bloated, not overengineered—just smart systems that help teams respond in real time. The four examples below show how consumer electronics brands are finding sharper ways to operate and scale retail media—without overspending to get there.

Sony: Smarter budget pacing boosts ROAS by 12%

Sony’s campaigns were consistently hitting daily budget caps too early—often well before peak shopping hours. This meant ads were missing from the most critical conversion windows, limiting exposure to shoppers who were actively researching and ready to buy. The challenge was clear: optimize daily pacing to avoid blowing through budget too early while staying competitive in a high-demand environment.

Using Skai’s Automated Actions tool, Sony split its daily budget into four strategic time blocks to better align spend with shopper activity. This more deliberate pacing strategy helped maintain consistent visibility throughout the day and led to a 12% lift in ROAS for high-priority product categories.

Philips: Precision dayparting reduces CPC by 5%

Philips and its agency partner OMD were running hundreds of SKUs across retail media, but they lacked visibility into when ads were driving the most engagement. Without a detailed understanding of hourly performance, campaigns risked overspending in low-value windows and missing out when interest peaked. The team needed a data-informed strategy to make every hour count.

By leaning into Skai’s Dayparting capabilities and using the Out of Budget by Hour of Day scheduled report, Philips and OMD automatically paused underperforming hours and shifted budget into periods of higher shopper intent. The result: a 5% drop in CPC and an 8% boost in ROAS across Amazon campaigns.

Brazilian Retailer: Keyword harvesting unlocks 104% revenue growth

A major consumer electronics retailer in Brazil was struggling to grow its Amazon performance despite strong brand recognition. Campaigns were not reaching high-intent shoppers, and generic keywords were wasting budget on upper-funnel traffic. To drive sales, the brand needed a way to connect with bottom-funnel searchers in real time.

Skai’s Keyword Harvesting tool identified overlooked, purchase-ready search terms and automatically integrated them into live campaigns. The result was a 104% increase in incremental revenue and a 9.95% lift in ROAS, helping the retailer capture more high-value demand with no additional spend.

Conclusion: retail media performance in a consumer electronics reality

Retail media for consumer electronics isn’t just about showing up—it’s about showing up at the moments that matter. Whether it’s fine-tuning timing, unlocking better keywords, or reshaping budget distribution, the brands getting it right are the ones treating media strategy as a living, evolving system.

Even the best creative or promotion won’t move the needle if the underlying infrastructure isn’t built for precision. That’s why the most competitive CE marketers are treating their tech stack like a core growth lever—not a background system. The ability to pivot quickly, test often, and double down where performance is real is what separates today’s leaders from everyone else.

There’s no playbook for what’s ahead, but the path forward is clear: brands that stay responsive and keep optimizing in real time will be the ones driving results when others stall out.

Explore how Skai supports marketers with their retail media programs.