Video gets starring role in Woodman’s Markets’ retail media play

Woodman’s Markets is looking to video to help spur customer engagement as the Midwestern grocery superstore operator bolsters its retail media capabilities.

Janesville, Wisconsin-based Woodman’s has tapped InMobi Commerce to deploy a suite of video-based product discovery and monetization solutions to drive media-derived revenue. InMobi said Tuesday that these video ad experiences will “enrich and shorten” the path to purchase for Woodman’s customers while extending the reach of participating brands via artificial intelligence-powered campaign automation and optimization tools.

The retail media platform enables retailers to offer premium ad space and connect brands with high-intent shoppers as they “research, browse and shop online,” according to InMobi. Its video formats—spanning brand video, sponsored-product video, and “shoppable” ads—are aimed at giving advertisers top-notch content to increase engagement and return on investment, the company said.

“As retail media continues to evolve, Woodman’s has been looking for partners to help us stay on the cutting edge with innovative solutions that will both attract deeper investment from our brand partners while creating an easier, more seamless customer experience on our site,” Dan Hess, director of e-commerce at Woodman’s Markets, said in a statement. “InMobi’s stance as a video-led platform that helps more regionally focused grocers with solutions like AI-powered campaign automation and optimization solidified them as the perfect partner for our retail media journey.”

San Mateo, California-based InMobi noted that grocery stands as a growth catalyst for the retail media arena. The marketing technology provider cited a report earlier this year from eMarketer, which said that “the future of retail media is tied distinctly to grocery and grocery e-commerce” and, based on an Association of National Advertisers survey, all of the top 13 retail media networks now used by brands sell groceries and/or consumer packaged goods.

“InMobi Commerce makes product discovery very seamless and helps consumers become more informed and acquainted with brands through its unique shoppable formats,” commented Jimit Doshi, senior vice president and general manager at InMobi. “In a time where consumer attention is precious, InMobi’s beautiful and native video experiences is proving the best opportunity for brands to meet consumers in their shopping journeys and closest to the point of sale.”

The focus on video has made Woodman’s e-commerce site a key destination for its vendor partners, which include local brands and large national CPGs, InMobi reported. The grocer’s site is powered by fulfillment and last-mile delivery specialist Point Pickup. Earlier this year, Point Pickup entered an agreement to incorporate InMobi’s retail media ad experiences into the digital commerce sites of grocers in its GrocerKey network, which includes Woodman’s plus Fareway, Kowalski’s Markets, Plum Market, Federated Co-operatives Ltd. and Georgia/Main Food Group. In announcing the partnership, InMobi pointed to research indicating that shoppers watching a product video are 85% more likely to make a purchase.

For Woodman’s, Nestlé was one of the first CPGs to leverage the video experiences now available on the grocery retailer’s site, beginning with sponsored product video.

“Video ad experiences have become key to attracting consumers’ attention in a world where brands are competing for it daily,” stated Tyler Weigman, national shopper marketing lead at Nestlé. “We are excited to partner with InMobi to bring our products to life through innovative video experiences on Woodman’s site.”

Woodman’s recently has stepped up efforts to better harness the income potential of retail media. Last fall, the grocer partnered with media software provider Brandcrush to launch an omnichannel retail media portal. Using Brandcrush’s platform, the chain brought fragmented systems for its retail media business—including in-store, out-of-store and online assets—onto a central, white-label, self-serve supplier media portal to drive and scale media sales.

Overall, Woodman’s operates 19 locations in Wisconsin and Illinois. Most of the retailer’s stores occupy over 200,000 square feet, and chainwide the store size averages 230,000 square feet.