Understanding the importance of audience extension in a scalable Retail Media Network

If you're considering building a retail media network (RMN), you’ve likely already started monetising your digital real estate to some degree. But to create a truly scalable and successful RMN, it's essential to think beyond your own assets.

According to John Gonzalez, Programmatic Lead at Platform 195, relying solely on onsite inventory is limiting and risky.

“If you are building out co-marketing packages and only relying on your onsite inventory, you are limiting the revenue you can take. There’s only so many sponsored listings you can sell,” says John.

“It’s an easy trap for new players to think that it’s best to start with onsite and consider offsite inventory down the road. But to be attractive to partners, you need to create value by packaging up onsite, offsite, and social. This unlimits your inventory and allows you to accommodate more partners, increasing revenue for you and increasing exposure and sales for your partners,” explains John.

Incorporating audience extension into your RMN strategy not only increases scalability in the long run but also unlocks greater data insights, improves attribution, enhances personalisation, and drives incremental sales.

Increasing reach and scalability

One of the most significant advantages of audience extension is the ability to massively increase your reach by moving beyond your owned channels. Instead of being restricted to ad space on your website or app, audience extension leverages first-party data to engage with customers across external platforms.

This includes methods like:

• Contextual targeting: Serving ads based on relevant content customers are viewing on third-party sites.
• Lookalike targeting: Reaching audiences similar to your existing customers, based on shared characteristics and behaviours.

“It takes a lot of time and money to bring people to your site to see a specific message. Once you realise how many people you can reach offsite, it becomes about creativity. You know where they are—now, how do you capture their hearts and minds?” says John.

Examples of creative offsite ad strategies include sponsored listings on external marketplaces, takeovers on relevant news or lifestyle sites, and targeted social media ads.

By increasing your real estate and ad space through offsite channels, audience extension amplifies your reach, making your network more attractive to brand partners.

Putting your first-party data to work

Retail media networks collect rich first-party data from sources such as purchase history, loyalty programs, and online engagement. Audience extension allows you to fully leverage this data by creating specific audience segments for targeted advertising.

“Using the data you gather from your owned channels, you can ensure your advertising is directed at audiences most likely to convert, making your campaigns more effective,” notes John.

Beyond better targeting, audience extension supports closed-loop attribution, enabling you to measure the impact of ads across all channels (onsite and offsite) and tie them back to in-store or online purchases.

This level of attribution helps demonstrate ROI to brand partners and strengthens the value of your RMN.

Strengthening your value proposition to partners

Audience extension enables you to deliver consistent messaging across multiple channels, improving brand recognition and increasing engagement. It also unlocks a higher level of personalisation, which enhances customer experience and boosts conversion rates.

“The goal should be to use data to reach people with a message they want in the space they want it. Tailoring ad delivery makes the message feel less intrusive and more likely to lead to conversion,” says John.

For brand partners, this omnichannel approach, backed by robust data and personalisation, demonstrates how you can influence purchasing decisions both onsite and across the broader digital ecosystem.

“If you use audience extension strategically, you can strengthen your value proposition, making it easier to go after bigger budgets. It can be a total game-changer for your retail media network,” John adds.

Common challenges of audience extension

While the benefits of audience extension are clear, it’s important to acknowledge and mitigate potential challenges:

1. Privacy & compliance: Sharing data across external platforms requires strict adherence to privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). Using anonymisation and consent management tools can help maintain compliance.
2. Over-Targeting & ad fatigue: Poorly managed campaigns can lead to customers seeing the same ad repeatedly across channels. Use frequency caps and diverse creatives to avoid this.
3. Platform integration: Ensuring seamless integration with external ad platforms is critical for effective targeting and measurement. Work with experienced technology partners to simplify this process.
4. Limited transparency: Some external platforms may provide limited visibility into ad performance. Look for tools that provide detailed analytics and reporting to ensure accountability.
5. Costs: Running offsite campaigns can be expensive if not optimised. Focus on high-ROI segments and test campaigns before scaling.

“There are always risks when setting up new systems. The best way to avoid them is to invest in the planning stage. Work with a partner who has retail media experience and can provide proven methodologies for success,” advises John. 

Why audience extension is essential for scalability

By integrating audience extension early in your retail media journey, you can maximise the value of your first-party data, expand your reach, and offer a stronger proposition to brand partners. This creates a scalable foundation for your RMN, enabling you to drive greater revenue and impact over time.

Platform 195 specialises in retail media solutions powered by data, creativity, and technology. If you’re ready to uplift your retail media network, contact us today at hello@platform195.com.

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