As talk of recession looms, smaller brands bet on the value of retail media — here’s why

President Donald Trump’s tariffs have advertisers on edge, and many are hesitant to shell out on long-term spend commitments, like the ones found in retail media’s joint business plans. Small businesses, however, are keeping their foot on the gas, increasingly turning to retail media networks in a bid to boost brand awareness in a saturated digital marketplace.

Both fragrance brand Each & Every and Halfday iced tea are spending more on retail media and marketing overall. Meanwhile, direct-to-consumer meat purveyor Omaha Steaks is piloting a new RMN campaign with Amazon to get a read on future investment opportunities. (Each & Every, Halfday and Omaha Steaks did not provide specific spend figures.) The thinking behind these efforts is less about the long-term commitment and more about the proximity of retail media to when someone actually makes a purchase. Part of retail media’s draw is retailers’ first-party data and the opportunity to place an ad directly in front of people who are shopping on those retailers’ sites.

“It’s important to us to capture the attention of shoppers who are already on those platforms,” said Lauren Lovelady, founder and CEO of Each & Every. “Both of those retailers just have a ton of traffic every day,” she added, referring to Amazon and Ulta, two of the retailers with whom the fragrance brand spends its retail media dollars.

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