Criteo Separates Retail Media Revenue for the First Time

Commerce Max by Criteo is a network of placements across retailers and online merchants. It is part of Criteo's retail media unit and has shown significant revenue growth, earning $50.2 million in Q1, up from $37.4 million during the same period last year.

Criteo's total revenue in Q1 improved modestly year over year, going from $445 million to $450 million. In terms of profitability, Criteo went from a $12 million loss in Q1 2023 to a $9 million net gain in the same quarter of the current year. This improvement in profitability is partly due to headcount reduction, including layoffs, and a decrease in traffic acquisition costs (TAC), which dropped from $224.4 million a year ago to $196.2 million in Q1.

Criteo's retail media segment is growing faster than the overall ad market due to several factors:

• Market Footprint: Criteo has a leading market footprint with more than 200 retailers and 2,700 brands, which is significantly ahead of competitors.

• Shift in Brand Spending: There is a shift in how brands allocate their retail media budgets, moving from trade marketing dollars spent directly with retailers for in-store marketing to budgets managed by agency media buyers for national campaigns tied to in-store and online purchases.

• Growth Rate: The Retail Media segment grew by 33%, which far outpaces the market growth rate. This indicates that retail media is a key growth area for the company.

Google's third-party cookie deprecation is acting as a tailwind for Criteo, according to CEO Megan Clarken. While Criteo forecasts a roughly $35 million loss this year due to Chrome becoming less hospitable for third-party retargeting campaigns, the delay in deprecation until next year allows Criteo more time to refine its post-cookie identity products. This is expected to diminish the deprecation-related losses. Additionally, as retail media overtakes retargeting, Criteo's traffic acquisition costs (TAC) will continue to decrease, since retargeting requires larger TAC expenditures.