Dive Brief:
- Kroger’s data arm 84.51° announced Wednesday the unification of its retail media, consumer insights and loyalty marketing services.
- Those teams are now aligned in a single division under Kroger Precision Marketing, the grocer’s retail media business.
- Kroger said the change will help fuel full-funnel brand growth and build integrated commercial services at 84.51°.
Dive Insight:
Kroger said it’s establishing the division in response to brands that are demanding “faster insights, flexible media capabilities, and broader growth strategies enabled with data science.”
The newly unified Kroger Precision Marketing will offer brands promotion, assortment planning, media activation and optimization services through one team. Kroger noted that it aims to provide a unified offering across media, insights and incentives.
“This is more than a new organizational design,” Milen Mahadevan, president and CEO of 84.51°, said in the announcement. “We’re eliminating the friction between functions.”
Christine Foster, senior vice president of strategy and operations, will help lead Kroger Precision Marketing, while Nick Hamilton, senior vice president of commercial technology, will oversee technology innovation. Kroger promoted Jenny Holleran and Sam Walston to vice presidents of commercial sales where they will lead integrated client teams organized by industry verticals.
“Today’s marketers are held accountable for more than media performance—they’re responsible for brand growth,” Foster said in the announcement. “This new structure is designed for exactly that. Our team helps brands translate precision purchase data into actions across every part of their organization.”
The unification of Kroger’s retail media, consumer insights and loyalty marketing services follows the grocery company’s creation of a new e-commerce business unit earlier this year. In March, Kroger promoted Yael Cosset to executive vice president and chief digital officer to lead the division. It comes at a time when the grocer is pushing to make e-commerce profitable. Kroger recorded $13 billion in e-commerce sales in fiscal 2024, with its digital sales up 15% year over year during its latest quarter.
Kroger recently announced plans to close 60 stores as it looks to tighten its belt after its proposed merger with Albertsons fell through. During its earnings call last month, Chairman and interim CEO Ron Sargent said Kroger is “aggressively looking for ways to reduce costs throughout the company.”
Kroger’s efforts to strengthen and streamline its marketing services come as retailers increasingly tap into retail media as an alternative revenue generator. Walmart’s advertising business Walmart Connect grew 31% year over year in the U.S. during its most recent quarter.
While Kroger has seen a rollback in CPG spending recently, the grocer’s retail media business “continues to grow at a healthy rate” and is expected to continue that trajectory for the rest of the year, CFO David Kennerly told investors in June.
At the end of 2024, retail media networks were valued at $8.5 billion for U.S. grocers, with the number of retail media networks predicted to double over the following 18 months, according to a report by Grocery Doppio, a news and insights firm run by digital services company Incisiv.
