Yesterday, the IAB released a comprehensive guide for media buyers on working with retail media networks. After reviewing the 50 pages of content (kudos to the IAB and its collaborators for managing to keep it that short), here are our 3 main takeaways:

1. Everyone, especially agencies, will need more hands on deck to wrangle this beast. Retail media is shaping up to be very comparable to what programmatic was 10 years ago—a new technology, spread across many platforms, that requires specialized teams that work through the nuances and kinks.
2. Disparate data sets, creative specs, and measurement methodologies will create major workflow complexity and inefficiencies, meaning RMN standardization is needed ASAP so the worst can be avoided.
3. To capitalize on the moment, retailers have thrown themselves into the deep end and are doing their best to morph into technology companies. Some retailers, like Kroger, saw the writing on the wall a few years ago, and have been steadily preparing for primetime. Others have been slower on the pickup. Thus, it’s important for buyer enablement through guides such as the IAB’s to help everyone through the “storming” phase and move towards “norming.”