• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, January 18, 2023

As retailers continue to swarm into the ad media business, Lowe’s is changing its game, moving One Roof Retail Media Network, to well, under one roof.

Taking operations in-house means leaving tech and service provider CitrusAd behind. “Moving forward, Lowe’s will handle our ad sales and operations internally to deliver a seamless experience for brand advertisers with improved efficiencies,” says Abi Subramanian, vice president and general manager of One Roof.

One Roof launched in 2021, relatively late in the game. And since then, Lowe’s has been looking for ways to stand out from other fledgling networks.

“Central to that is our team of experts that we have assembled over the past year,” he tells Marketing Daily via email. “We have been part of many first-generation retail media networks and have seen the evolution first-hand. We truly understand what works and what doesn’t for the business and our advertisers.”

That includes investments in “full-funnel” technology, “so we can offer our brand advertisers the audience, data, reporting, attribution and outcomes they demand.”

Spearheaded by Amazon more than a decade ago, brands now offering their own retail networks include grocery giants like Walmart, Target, Kroger and Costco, as well as such stores as Nordstrom, Best Buy and Dollar Tree.

It’s expected to be a $45 billion marketing this year, estimates Insider Intelligence, growing at roughly $10 billion annually.

Subramanian says Lowe’s hopes to stand out with more holistic options. “We now offer solutions to help brands personalize omnichannel campaigns, including closed-loop measurement and attribution with easy access to data and insights, allowing them to invest more in what’s working to boost their sales.”

One Roof has more than 200 clients, including Stanley Black & Decker and Whirlpool Corporation. And while more retailers are beginning to worry about how the surge in advertising may impact its customers, “our team is fully integrated with Lowe’s merchandising, marketing and operations teams to help brand advertisers optimize their campaigns in all stages.”

That includes making sure ads “feel native” to its site and its app.

The largest of these networks, including Amazon, Walmart and Target, post their ad sale revenues publicly so investors can see them.

Lowe’s isn’t ready to do that, Subramanian says. “But we do expect to achieve levels of growth in two to five years that took others in the industry five to 10 years to reach.”