Brands Are Paying Retailers to Advertise to Their Own Customers

Hi there,

Retail media is the advertising industry's fastest-growing channel, projected to capture over $100 billion in U.S. ad spend by 2028 [1]. But a growing chorus of brand marketers is beginning to ask an uncomfortable question:

Are we paying retailers to advertise to our own customers?

The economics of retail media networks create a structural dependency. Brands fund the very infrastructure that keeps them from knowing who their buyers are, and then pay again to reach those same buyers through the retailer's ad platform.

It is a tollbooth that you have to pay every time you want to speak to the people who already buy your product.

In fact, an ANA study found that 88% of brands feel pressured to use retail media networks, with many viewing it as a "have to buy" rather than a "want to buy" [2]. One executive recently described their retail media investment to Harvard Business Review as "a black box with a bill" [3].

This has been the accepted cost of doing business in omnichannel retail. You get scale, but you trade away the relationship.

But what if you didn't have to make that trade?

We just released the 2025 Brij Consumer Engagement Benchmark Report, and the data shows a compelling alternative. Rather than paying for access to a retailer's first-party data, brands can generate their own, directly from the product, at the moment of purchase.

The data shows that consumers are actually raising their hands. Across more than 14,000 live brand experiences in 2025, the average brand converts 29% of retail buyers into owned, first-party profiles via on-pack QR codes. The best brands convert over 57%. [4]

These profiles are not borrowed from a retailer's loyalty program. They are owned outright by the brand, with no intermediary and no ongoing access fee.

As brands scramble to secure first-party data in the AI era, this kind of direct signal is becoming foundational infrastructure [5].

The revenue implications of this shift are significant. Brands that invest in growing this owned audience see compounding returns over time. The $16.4 million in attributable revenue generated across the Brij platform in 2025 is a direct function of brands building audiences in Q1 and Q2 that they could then activate in Q3 and Q4 [2]. The Q4 surge -- nearly doubling the prior quarter -- is the clearest evidence yet that owned audiences are not just a data asset; they are a revenue-generating engine that grows more powerful with each passing quarter.

The difference between the brands capturing 10% of their buyers and those capturing 60% isn't consumer intent -- it's execution. The top performers don't rely on a single static QR code. They build a comprehensive post-purchase ecosystem with multiple tailored experiences by product line, by retailer, and by season.

If you are tired of renting your audience, it might be time to start building your own.

P.S. Some of our favorite brands are hiring. Just saying…

Under Armour - Sr. Director, Digital Commerce Revenue Operations

Feastables - Director of Brand

Quip - Director, Wholesale

Bonafide Health - Director, Digital Commerce

Best,

Kait

References:

[1] Future of Retail Media. Nielsen Insights. https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2025/future-retail-media/

[2] "88% of brands say they're pressured to use retailers' media networks." MarTech, Feb 1, 2023. https://martech.org/88-of-brands-say-theyre-pressured-to-use-retailers-media-networks/

[3] "The Importance of Trust and Transparency in Retail Media Networks." Harvard Business Review, Sep 25, 2025. https://hbr.org/2025/09/the-importance-of-trust-and-transparency-in-retail-media-networks

[4] The 2025 Brij Consumer Engagement Benchmark Report. https://brij.it/2026-benchmarks

[5] "Inside the brand and agency scramble for first-party data in the AI era." Digiday, Jan 9, 2026. https://digiday.com/marketing/inside-the-brand-and-agency-scramble-for-first-party-data-in-the-ai-era/