A smart approach to saturated Retail Media inventory
Retail media has become a reliable growth engine for retailers, transforming prime digital real estate into high-margin revenue. But as more advertisers compete for visibility, the most coveted placements that shoppers see first often reach capacity fastest.
When this happens, retailers are faced with a complex set of problems. Open too many new placements, for example, and you risk crowding the page and diluting relevance. Push advertisers off-site without the right tools, and you risk wasting budget and losing visibility into performance.
The real opportunity lies in finding a smarter way to open new revenue streams while providing the kind of shopper experience that keeps customers coming back.
Navigating above-the-fold sellouts
Bidding for sponsored placements in top retailers’ categories is becoming increasingly competitive.
Certain categories or keywords are highly coveted, particularly during sale periods and year-end peaks, driving CPCs upward.
This might look positive on paper and deliver short-term gains, but when your advertisers face CPCs that are too high to enter the competition — or if their campaign results are disappointing — they will limit their future investments.
This intensification of competition often leads to two flawed responses:
Multiply placements: Adding more ad slots might unlock short-term revenue especially during high-competition periods, but without the right yield management tools to stay agile and without an advanced relevance algorithm that promotes diverse and personalized products, it risks cluttering retailers’ pages with ads that degrade the shopping experience.
Push spend off-site: Off-site campaigns (most often through retargeting banners or Google Shopping, and in some cases through social media) can be powerful drivers of acquisition. Yet retail media advertisers often lack the tools and expertise to run these campaigns effectively, leaving budget and performance on the table.
Expanding on-site inventory without compromising UX
With Mirakl Ads, retailers don't have to choose between these imperfect options. Instead, we help expand on-site and off-site retail media without compromising UX or advertiser performance.
That's because our platform provides retailers with self-service yield management tools and ad placement controls, so they can manage their inventory in real time.
To be agile in an ever-evolving retail media world, and with seasonal activities, you need:
Comprehensive yield management tools that give you the flexibility to add or modify ad placements in real time. This agility enables retailers to proactively respond to seasonal trends, anticipate advertiser investment patterns and gain insights based on real-world data, allowing them to quickly find the sweet spot between shopper satisfaction and profit maximization. The ability to adapt your inventory strategy on the fly means you can capitalize on peak shopping moments while maintaining optimal user experience.
An AI-powered relevance engine to ensure every placement matches shopper intent. This allows retailers to show items that enhance the shopping experience rather than negatively impact it. The Mirakl Ads engine has proven its effectiveness with higher click-through rates than competitors in A/B testing focused on engine relevance. When shoppers are more likely to click on ads, it demonstrates that these placements are truly relevant to their needs and shopping journey.
Real-time data for agile optimization. Without access to real-time insights, retailers cannot maintain the agility required in today's fast-paced retail environment. Unfortunately, not all retail media platforms meet this basic requirement, leaving retailers blind to immediate performance trends and unable to make informed decisions when they matter most. Real-time data empowers you to pivot strategies instantly, respond to market changes and continuously refine your approach based on actual shopper behavior.
Turning off-site into a high-performance extension
When your on-site space is maxed out, Mirakl Ads seamlessly extends campaigns off-site through Symbiosis on Google Shopping, automatically reallocating leftover budget and activating it with your first-party data.
This approach taps into high-intent audiences upstream in their buying journey while fully leveraging on-site inventory. It brings qualified shoppers back to your website and empowers advertisers with effortless campaign expansion through one centralized dashboard, requiring zero additional setup or operational changes.
Growing revenue, improving the shopper experience
With the right tools from Mirakl Ads, saturation becomes a launching point instead of a limit. With our platform, you can:
Unlock incremental revenue without sacrificing control or CX.
Give both big brands and long-tail sellers more room to grow.
Monetize across the full funnel while simplifying operations.
Contact us today to learn how you can turn saturated inventory into sustainable growth.
