How Dick’s Sporting Goods’ new retail media network plans to attract advertisers

Dick’s Sporting Goods is betting its large data set of sports-minded consumers will still entice advertisers to its new retail media network, despite being a late entrant to the game.

In June, the Coraopolis, Pennsylvania-based retailer rolled out Dick’s Media, which offers advertising opportunities on Dick’s own channels, such as e-commerce display, sponsored products and emailed ads, as well as external channels like paid social, video and display. Dick’s may be one of the last large retailers to debut a retail media network, following established players such as Home Depot, Kroger, Best Buy and Macy’s.

Dick’s is starting the network with its six to 10 largest vendors signed up and expects more brands to follow.

“We have this really large sports data set—people who are either participating in sports, buying sporting goods or buying sports-inspired lifestyle apparel, and this really extends our ability to deliver personalized messages to our consumers,” said Ed Plummer, chief marketing officer at Dick’s. He added that Dick’s Media also “allows us to build our relationship with our brands and it allows us to grow our business at the same time.”

Dick’s is entering the fray at a time when retail media is poised to exceed $50 billion in global revenue this year, according to an estimate from Forrester. Last month, the research firm said the size of the U.S. retail media market will double within four years to top $85 billion by 2026.

Indeed, with so many networks available, advertisers may be concerned about where to place their media spend, experts say. One big challenge and opportunity for brands is “allocating retail media ad spend across an increasing number of platforms,” said Kiri Masters, head of retail marketplace strategy at digital agency Acadia.

Dick’s has more than 140 million customers in its shopper database—about 25 million are loyalty members, part of a “ScoreCard” program that includes perks such as free shipping and exclusive access. Dick’s Media stands out from other retailers' offerings because it offers such deep consumer data within the sports and athletic lifestyle category, said Plummer.

Dick’s declined to name which brands have signed on for its retail media network. Nike was Dick's largest vendor in 2021, representing about 17% of its merchandise purchases. Dick’s bought from about 1,400 vendors last year, according to its annual report.

With the economy in turmoil, some experts expect retail media may get a larger slice of advertisers’ budgets because of its targeting capabilities, making the category more of a sure thing than some brand marketing, for example.

“When you’re in a tough economy, it’s really important that you’re efficient with your marketing dollars,” said Plummer. “A retail media network, why they’re so successful is that they allow people to get very efficient—'I want to reach this type of consumer, this is what I want to talk to them about,’ and the retail media network partner has a pretty good idea of who wants to hear that message.”