AI Adoption in Retail: Taranjeet Singh on Criteo’s path to innovation

In this exclusive interview with Adgully, we delve into the insights and strategies of Taranjeet Singh, Managing Director, APAC Venture Markets, Criteo. With a focus on India’s burgeoning market and the evolving landscape of commerce media, Taranjeet Singh shares valuable perspectives on current business operations, growth strategies, and the future trajectory of AI adoption in retail.

Could you throw some light on the current business operations in India?

For us, India is a strategic market, and we continue to invest since we established our operations in 2016. We work with various clients and partners across e-commerce and retail sectors. We recognize the tremendous potential and growth of the India market, and are excited to be part of this rapidly evolving landscape as more and more Indians turn to digital channels for their shopping needs. You know, it is crucial for brands and retailers to have a strong presence in the commerce media space.

India is an ever-growing and strategically important market. And that’s why we’ve been continuously investing in our operations and building our business a little bit.

What are the strategies for growth in India?

In terms of our strategies, we’re focused on investing across the entire marketing funnel. Our commerce media platform supports brands and marketers in achieving various goals, whether it is driving awareness, acquiring new customers, retaining existing ones, or even retargeting. In the retail media space, we’re collaborating with emerging players, acting as a trusted partner to help them develop monetization strategies. For instance, we’ve partnered with Flipkart to assist in monetizing their offsite inventory, and we’re working with numerous other players in the retail media sphere to foster growth.

Our overarching strategy revolves around embracing an Omni-channel approach, particularly crucial given the evolving retail landscape in India. With the Indian retail sector increasingly drawing global attention and many international brands establishing their first stores in the country, having a comprehensive Omni-channel strategy is paramount. Additionally, India’s unique market dynamics see digital-first businesses expanding into physical retail, while traditional retailers are venturing into the online space. This dynamism underscores the importance of adapting to the evolving digital ecosystem across commerce and media.

What were some of the key findings from The Great Defrag Report, and how do they impact the advertising landscape?

Criteo conducted a survey across 1,000 brands, agencies, retailers, and publishers. Titled ‘‘The Great Defrag: how commerce media will unite advertising in 2024”, the report found that 85% of brands and agencies globally agree that the ability to drive upper-funnel brand awareness is growing stronger.

Retail media, particularly sponsored products, historically seen as a lower-funnel tactic, now targets retailers’ audiences across the open web, enabling marketers to engage shoppers further up the funnel. Retail media is now seen as driving across the funnel, not just lower-funnel metrics. Four out of 10 brands and five out of 10 agencies plan to spend more on retail media off-site to achieve their 2024 objectives.

Currently, 56% of brands and 47% of agencies globally are investing in retail media on-site and off-site, while another 24% of brands and 25% of agencies are investing only on-site but plan to expand to off-site in the future.

And, 50% of publishers globally prioritize building long-term partnerships with brands, agencies, and retailers to earn new revenue by enabling first-party audience activation on-site and accessing unique shopping data.

A third of retailers globally (31%) say forming new partnerships will be much more important as a marketing objective in 2024 compared to 2023, and 34% of brands globally agree.

Regarding the open web, 37% of brands and agencies plan to spend more, while 47% will spend the same as they have in the past. Audience behaviour shows that 60% spend more time on the open web than in closed environments, indicating potential for increased advertising spending.

Layering retail media off-site on top of on-site efforts can significantly increase sales. Shoppers exposed to both on-site and off-site ads are five times more likely to convert on the retailer’s site compared to those who only saw a sponsored ad.

58% of brands and 51% of agencies are interested in seeing other verticals beyond retail, such as airlines, hotels, and financial services, create retail media-like offerings.

45% of brands and agencies plan to achieve their 2024 objectives by investing in non-retail verticals that offer similar first-party data and targeting features as retail media.

What opportunities does the whitepaper highlight for advertisers and retailers in the context of Commerce Media?

If we consider the trends, it is evident that AI will continue to revolutionize marketing landscapes. Generative AI is likely to be used for hyper-personalized messaging, images, and video creatives, leveraging current natural language processing models. AI will further transform performance optimization by developing deep learning models, advancing towards foundational commerce models.

These AI-driven models will find new applications in bidding recommendations, pricing, revenue forecasting, and other areas, becoming essential co-pilots for budget execution and media planning. Performance marketers will harness the power of data for personalized reporting and granular personalization.

Retail media networks will move towards standardization as retailers recognize the value of their first-party data and consumer relationships. Early adopters of these networks will experience exponential growth, amplifying their impact on the advertising landscape. This evolution will open doors to new opportunities for retailers and brand partners, including off-site and physical store retail media.

Standardization efforts will streamline operations, enhance transparency, and facilitate interactions across various retail media networks, fostering a more comprehensive and accessible ecosystem.

Another significant trend is the convergence of physical stores and e-commerce into a seamless shopping experience. The integration of digital and physical advertising will provide enhanced value for customers. Digital displays in physical stores will enable retailers to offer personalized, in-the-moment messaging to shoppers, showcasing brand partners and new products.

This convergence presents a win-win situation for retailers seeking to expand their networks and brands aiming to reach new consumers while retaining existing ones. Overall, these trends signify significant shifts in the marketing landscape.

How does Criteo plan to leverage the findings from this whitepaper to drive innovation and collaboration in the advertising industry?

We excel at serving content at the perfect moment, optimizing for the best results, all powered by advanced AI algorithms. These algorithms analyze real-time data from over 700 million daily active users, encompassing almost 4.2 billion product queues and over 3,700 product categories. As the engine learns from real shopper behaviour, it continuously adapts to clients’ campaign objectives, driving predictive bidding and smarter campaign goals. It provides product recommendations tailored to each shopper.

Our DCO+, an advanced dynamic creative optimization technology, includes a lookalike finder, identifying similar users who resemble existing customers. The Criteo AI Lab, located in Paris, serves as a center of excellence for creation, experimentation, and large-scale deployment of machine learning technology, particularly in commerce.

The AI lab operates with two main goals: applied research and academic contributions. Scientists collaborate closely with product engineering counterparts to deliver cutting-edge solutions and are encouraged to publish their work, collaborate with academic partners, and file patents.

We are a leading tech partner for brands leveraging our technology; publishers seeking to monetize their audiences and inventories, and retailers aim to create new revenue streams.

In terms of addressing challenges and capitalizing on opportunities within the retail sector, our full product offerings include:

• Commerce Growth: Driving performance for brands.
• Commerce Yield: A retail media platform enabling retailers to monetize their inventory.
• Commerce Max: A self-serve demand-side platform providing access to retail media inventory on-site and across premium publishers off-site.
• Commerce Grid: A supply-side platform curating audiences for retailers to monetize across their inventory.

These offerings cater to the entire digital ecosystem, providing solutions for publishers, retailers, brands, and agencies alike.

What do you see as the future trajectory of AI adoption in retail, and how is Criteo positioned to lead in this space?

With our AI continually evolving and enhancing its capabilities, I’m confident in Criteo’s position and future prospects. We are committed to providing some of the best AI solutions globally, and we strive to ensure that our technology remains at the forefront of innovation.

I believe strongly in our ability to assist our retail partners in leveraging our capabilities and technology to grow their audience monetization efforts. As we look ahead, I see vast opportunities for us to collaborate and drive success together, paving the way for a prosperous future across the retail landscape.