Lotte enters integrated online-offline advertising market

Employees of Lotte Distribution Group’s RMN Promotion TF are discussing operational plans for the RMN integrated platform. (Lotte Retail HQ)

Lotte Group’s retail affiliates announced Thursday their entry into the retail media network (RMN) business, a market estimated to be worth 200 trillion won ($151.4 billion) annually.

RMN involves offering advertising services through search bars, banners on e-commerce platforms, and various offline store spaces.

Lotte aims to develop this business into a key revenue stream, following the lead of global retail giants like Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc., which have already demonstrated the profitability of RMN.

“Global RMN markets are growing rapidly each year,” said Kwon Won-shik, head of Lotte Retail HQ’s RMN task force.

Kwon added that the company plans to foster RMN as a new growth engine to ensure continuous expansion.

Lotte’s retail group has a significant advantage in this sector, with a wide range of both online and offline advertising spaces, including department stores, supermarkets, Lotte On, Hi-Mart, and 7-Eleven convenience stores.

Lotte’s first step will be to integrate its media resources across these business divisions. The integration is expected to offer a hyper-personalized shopping experience for Lotte’s customers.

Lotte plans to launch its unified RMN platform in the fourth quarter of this year, connecting brands with consumers across its various channels.

Lotte’s network includes more than 40 commerce and service apps, along with 15,000 brick-and-mortar stores nationwide, drawing about 25 million visitors per month.

The new platform will allow advertisers to manage campaigns across multiple channels with a single contract, eliminating the need for separate agreements for each Lotte subsidiary.

The company also aims to enhance campaign efficiency through sophisticated audience targeting and improved reach by analyzing customer behavior.

As part of the initiative, Lotte Retail Group signed a memorandum of understanding last month with U.S.-based marketing and ad-tech solutions provider Epsilon.