Retail Media Planning
Retail display and branded spaces
Plan retailer homepage and category display alongside branded destinations, useful creative and clear engagement measures.
Retail display puts a brand message inside a retailer’s shopping journey. A branded retailer space can then help interested shoppers explore a range. Plan the placement, message and destination together, so the click leads to what the advert promises.
Match the placement to the moment
A homepage can introduce a range to shoppers starting different kinds of trip. A category-page banner appears while someone browses a relevant shelf. Neither location proves the shopper wants a particular brand or is ready to buy.
Nectar360 lists Sponsored Products, Banners and Enhanced Media among its Sainsbury’s online advertising options. Its placement information identifies the homepage option as a Sponsored Product and also describes sponsored products within a browsed category.
For Argos, Nectar360 describes homepage sponsored product placements, including a website product carousel. These are different formats, so record the placement and device covered by the booking.
| Shopping moment | Message to consider | Suitable destination |
|---|---|---|
| Starting on a homepage | What the range is and why it is relevant | A focused range page or branded space |
| Browsing a category | How the product fits that shelf | The matching product or product selection |
| Exploring a branded space | How to choose between products | Relevant, buyable product pages |
The destination also needs to reflect current stock, variants and offers.
Match the placement to the shopping moment
- Starting on a homepageMessage: what the range is and why it is relevant. Destination: a focused range page or branded space.
- Browsing a categoryMessage: how the product fits that shelf. Destination: the matching product or product selection.
- Exploring a branded spaceMessage: how to choose between products. Destination: relevant, buyable product pages.
Give the branded space a purpose
Put the advertised products where shoppers can find them. Group a broad range by a distinction that helps people choose, such as use or size, and give each group a clear route to its product pages. A single-product message may be better served by a direct product page.
Retailers offer different building blocks. Amazon Brand Stores can use text, images, video and product tiles. When planning the destination, confirm the chosen retailer’s page specification and update process.
Structure the branded destination
Amazon Brand Stores are free to create and maintain, including for brands that do not advertise on Amazon. Each Store page has a built-in header and needs at least one additional content tile. A page can contain up to 20 sections in total. Use those limits when mapping the range and deciding how much content belongs on each page.
Amazon lists per-page maximums: four background video tiles, and one each of product grid, gallery, featured deals and recommended products tiles. Product tiles come in full-width, large, medium and small sizes; a product grid tile is full-width only.
The Store header includes a hero image, brand logo and navigation bar. Amazon says the hero image appears at the top of every Store page, and up to 30% of it may be cropped, including 15% from each side. Keep essential visual content in the central safe zone, and choose a hero image that suits each page.
Amazon Brand Store page limits and specifications
- Cost to create and maintainFree, including for brands that do not advertise on Amazon
- Minimum content tiles per pageAt least 1 additional content tile beyond the built-in header
- Maximum sections per pageUp to 20 sections in total
- Background video tiles per pageUp to 4
- Product grid, gallery, featured deals and recommended products tiles1 each per page
- Product tile sizesFull-width, large, medium and small; product grid tile is full-width only
- Hero image cropUp to 30% may be cropped, including 15% from each side
Connect creative to the destination
Give each advert one clear job. A category banner can address a choice within that category; a homepage message may need to explain the range first. Check that the landing page shows the named product, benefit or offer, and that its details support the claim. Review the actual artwork in its booked format on the devices covered by the booking.
Format rules vary. Check the creative requirements for the booked unit, including any call-to-action restrictions.
For Amazon Sponsored Brands and display ads, moderation guidance calls for substantiated claims and prohibits misleading content, competitive language and promotion of unavailable items. Make sure the destination supports the advertised product and offer.
Agree on the reporting
Before launch, record the placement, device, eligible products, destination and available reporting fields. Separate results by placement where the retailer’s report allows it.
Start with impressions, viewability where reported and clicks, then examine visits to the destination and product pages. A click records an action on the advert; it does not show whether the destination helped the shopper.
Amazon Brand Store Insights includes measures such as page visits, pages viewed and sales. Other retailers may expose different measures. Ask how each visit and sale is defined, which products count and what attribution window applies. Report click-based and view-based sales measures separately when available.
Attributed sales describe an association under the retailer’s reporting rules. They do not by themselves show additional sales caused by the advert. Use the journey report to decide whether to revise the placement, creative or destination; assess causal uplift separately when that is the business question.
After an Amazon Brand Store goes live, check that the relevant ASINs link to it from the brand byline on product detail pages; Amazon notes that some may not link correctly. Its post-launch checklist also recommends reviewing Store Insights and monitoring the Store quality rating.
Reporting checklist before launch
- Record the placement, device, eligible products, destination and available reporting fields
- Separate results by placement where the retailer’s report allows it
- Start with impressions, viewability where reported and clicks
- Then examine visits to the destination and product pages
- Ask how each visit and sale is defined, which products count and what attribution window applies
- Report click-based and view-based sales measures separately when available
- Use the journey report to decide whether to revise the placement, creative or destination
- Assess causal uplift separately when that is the business question
Post-launch Amazon Brand Store checks
- Check ASIN linksConfirm relevant ASINs link to the Store from the brand byline on product detail pages; Amazon notes some may not link correctly.
- Review Store InsightsUse measures such as page visits, pages viewed and sales.
- Monitor Store quality ratingCheck the Store quality rating as part of the post-launch checklist.
In this guide
- Comparing category-page placements with store homepage exposureCompare retailer category-page and homepage placements by shopping context, actual format, destination and reporting.
- Choosing content for a branded retailer destinationSelect useful content for a branded retailer page: range navigation, product differences and clear routes to relevant items.
- Matching display creative to a shopping taskMake retailer display creative fit the shopper’s page context, the booked format and the promised destination.
- Measuring engagement beyond the first sponsored clickTrack the journey after a retail display click through destination and product exploration, with clear reporting limits.
