Adsta expand retail media network

Retail media network Adsta announced it is expanding its platform that connects more than 4,000 grocery stores across the nation to CPG retailers.  

The Adsta Enablement Platform helps grocers manage their media inventory, order fulfillment, campaign analytics and financial reporting, the company said in a press release. Adsta launched its retail media network in 2020 with the release of the C&S Wholesale Grocers Rocket Omni Platform and has grown to include other large grocery wholesalers such as United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), Bozzuto’s and SpartanNash. 

“It is time for independent grocers to get their share of the digital-ad-spending pie, and we’re thrilled to partner with some of the best grocers and wholesalers in the world to level the playing field,” Adsta Cofounder Shawn Tuckett said in the press release. “By bringing thousands of independents onto a single platform, Adsta unlocks revenue previously only available to the largest grocery chains.” 

Tuckett said in a telephone interview that Adsta was launched in 2020 when his company, Webstop, joined forces with ShopToCook, both of which work to help promote independent grocers. The joint venture has grown to more than 3,500 stores, and the release of the Adsta Enablement Platform adds another 500 grocer locations, Tuckett told WGB. 

While meeting with independent grocers since the launch of Adsta, Tuckett said he’s come across grocers who are hamstrung by a lack of workers and resources. “I’ll have conversations where I’ll have wholesalers say, ‘I would love to have an ad campaign on Saturday or Sunday, but I don’t have staff to come take [the digital ads] down [over the weekend],’ so they say they only want them up during the week,” Tuckett explained.  

The Adsta technology enables grocers to set the time, date and length of digital ads, along with many other customizable options. “We’re now focused on tech enablement, and we let wholesalers focus on sales to [consumer packaged goods companies],” Tuckett said. 

The tech company notes that the relationship not only benefits grocers but also CPG brands, 85% of which plan to spend more on marketing to retail media networks, Adsta said in the press release. “The independent grocery marketplace is simultaneously responding to the needs of CPGs and their customers to provide innovative digital media services that expand and improve engagement,” John Thompson, principal of Adsta and CEO of ShopToCook, said in the press release. “The Adsta Enablement Platform puts the power of retail media in the hands of the independent retailer, helping them remain viable and secure the CPG funding they rightfully deserve.”