Marketing
28 March
Dollar General extends retail media to in-person sales, rural customers
Dollar General Media Network partnered with Meta and LiveRamp.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash
Dollar General Media Network partnered with Meta and LiveRamp.
Retail media’s promise stems from its ability to offer advertising directly on ecommerce marketplaces, which puts brands close to the point of purchase. However, the first party data from customer purchases and loyalty programs that powers retail media can also unlock additional opportunities that go beyond a single ecommerce site.
A pair of recent initiatives from Dollar General Media Network (DGMN) illustrate how first-party data can reach in-person sales and rural communities.
Let’s take a look:
In a first-of-its-kind partnership with Meta, advertisers have the opportunity to use Dollar General’s 90 million user profiles to reach customers across Meta apps, which include Facebook and Instagram.
The companies say this test enabled advertisers to “close the loop” with in-store sales, meaning it will provide the ability to measure how marketing on a digital social media platform influenced a purchase made in-person.
“We are thrilled to debut this market first initiative, allowing our advertisers to reach Dollar General customers via Meta placements while utilizing our opted-in first-party data,” said Charlene Charles, head of DG Media Network Operations, in a statement. “Our team provides full end-to-end campaign support and creative services while measuring closed-loop, attributable store sales. We look forward to extending the reach of DGMN through the world’s largest social platform to deliver even more effective media for our advertisers.”
Advertisers can also use Meta’s SQL-based custom measurement and analysis to evaluate the impact of marketing investments. This is designed to uncover new insights, including measurement of return on ad spend.
DGMN collaborated with LiveRamp in an effort to “close the digital gap” between CPG brands and rural communities, the companies said. This aims to address a key growth opportunity in digital marketing: Often, targeting is concentrated in high-population areas, but there are 46 million Americans in rural communities where internet access may be scattered, and there is less infrastructure for omnichannel capabilities.
LiveRamp’s tools resolve offline and online identities, enabling a deeper understanding of customers across populations and geographies. In turn, DGMN can serve CPGs with products in stores, and provide a more complete picture of customers from exposure to purchase.
The collaboration has allowed advertisers to reach 100% of Dollar General customers across online and offline channels, improve analytics and access real-time customer data in 47 states. It also opened up collaboration with 50 additional companies, including CPG partners like Unilever, PepsiCo and Hershey.
“Brands want to engage with the customer and provide tailored, personalized recommendations, from cereal to personal care essentials,” said Chad Fox, Dollar General’s VP and chief marketing officer, in a statement. “We now have a sophisticated platform that enables us to serve our communities in a personalized way.”
View a full case study here.
The ability to reach customers through digital channels opens up a new avenue of growth for Dollar General. It has ramped up ecommerce through a partnership with DoorDash, and a mobile app. On Dollar General’s recent earnings call, company leaders said the media network was an important piece of efforts to create a “digital front porch” for customers.
“We are seeing significant interest and participation from CPG companies and brands who are seeking to connect with our more than 90 million unique customer profiles, especially rural customers who represent about 30% of the country,” said CEO Jeff Owen. “We expect our DG Media Network to grow significantly in 2023 as we expand the program and enhance the value proposition for both our customers and brand partners while substantially increasing the overall net financial benefit for the business.”
With a marketplace and delivery, layering on retail media can drive high-margin opportunities to boost existing businesses, and open up work with tech companies such as Meta and LiveRamp that show a path to revenue through services that go beyond selling products. Dollar General is now firmly enmeshed in the tech ecosystem.
Dealboard has funding and M&A updates from ecommerce aggregators and forecasting software.
Hunter is joining ABG's portfolio. (Courtesy photo)
This week, the aggregator space is active with M&A, IKEA is ready to roll out newly-purchased warehouse management software and Authentic Brands Group acquired a boot icon. Plus, there’s new investment to report for YouTube influencer Emma Chamberlain’s coffee brand and retail forecasting.
Here’s a look at the latest deals:
Chamberlain Coffee, the consumer brand founded by YouTube influencer Emma Chamberlain, raised $7 million in new funding.
The financing included backing from existing investors including Blazar Capital, Chamberlain and United Talent Agency. New investors include Volition Capital, Electric Feel Ventures, L.A. Libations and Noah Bremen, founder of PLTFRM.
The new funding follows the launch of a Ready-to-Drink (RTD) product and coffee pods. Previously, the brand raised a Series A in August 2022.
"Creating a uniquely inviting coffee brand has been my dream for so long now, and having key investors back us allows us to build Chamberlain Coffee in ways that feel fresh and exciting,” said Chamberlain, in a statement. “There are so many products I am eager to develop and projects I'm excited to get working on. With such an incredible team and group of investors I am more excited than ever to see what the future holds for Chamberlain Coffee."
Impact Analytics, a software company for retail supply chain and merchandise planning, raised new funding from Vistara Growth.
The new investment, the amount of which was not disclosed, comes after Impact raised funding in February 2021 and October 2022 from Argentum.
The funding will help Impact Analytics further develop its Impact Analytics SmartSuite product portfolio, which is designed to help optimize forecasting, merchandising and end-to-end lifecycle pricing. Rather than the traditional forecasting approach of basing decisions on the preceding year, Impact Analytics applies a model that includes 150 variables from internal and external sources, while combining recency and history. Clients include BJ's Wholesale Club, Dick's Sporting Goods, Puma and Tapestry.
Selva Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on consumer brands that promote healthier living, closed its second fund at $34 million, TechCrunch reported.
With the new funding, Selva will invest in brands across categories including health, wellness, beauty and personal care. The fund expects to write checks of $1-2 million in seed and Series A startups, while assisting in areas like finance, operations and retail partnerships.
Backers of the second fund include Unilever Ventures, PagsGroup and Obelysk.
Nautica and Forever 21 owner Authentic Brands Group acquired the intellectual property of Hunter, a 160-year-old British outdoor lifestyle brand known for its Wellington boots.
With the deal, ABG appointed longtime partners Batra Group and Marc Fisher to execute retail and ecommerce operations, as well as continue to expand the brand in the UK and U.S., respectively.
“At the intersection of fashion and outdoor, Hunter introduces another elevated global brand to Authentic’s diverse Lifestyle portfolio,” said Authentic CEO Jamie Salter, in a statement.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The investment arm of IKEA parent Ingka Group acquired the warehouse management software platform Made4Net.
As a result of the deal, Made4Net’s software will be deployed across IKEA’s 482 stores and fulfillment centers. Made4Net will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary of Ingka, with a headquarters in New Jersey. CEO Duff Davidson will remain at the helm of the company.
“Our business currently requires a better fulfillment operations system with more accurate data that better supports handling for our customers,” said Tolga Öncu, head of retail at Ingka Group, in a statement. “Our goal is to become leaders of life at home, serving more people in an omnichannel reality, whenever and however customers choose to meet us.”
European ecommerce aggregator SellerX acquired Elevate Brands, a U.S.-based aggregator.
The combined companies will be known as SellerX Group. It will comprise a portfolio that includes 80 Amazon-native private label consumer brands in categories including sports and outdoors, home, mobile accessories, pets and consumables. The portfolio will span over 40,000 products.
With the deal, SellerX Co-CEOs Philipp Triebel and Malte Horeyseck will lead SellerX Group, while Elevate Brands cofounders Ryan Gnesin, Jeremy Bell and Robert Bell will remain in key leadership positions.
“This acquisition combines our know-how and diversified portfolios of strong brands with a market-leading technology platform and strong operational infrastructure,” said Triebel, in a statement. “By leveraging our combined strengths, I am convinced we are well-positioned to drive further consolidation in the industry.”
Ecommerce aggregator Society Brands acquired Wolf Tactical, a tactical gear company.
Founded in 2017 by Tim Wu, Wolf Tactical makes products including DC belts, range belts to weighted vest and tactical backpacks.
"I started Wolf Tactical by myself as a side hustle with very limited knowledge of business and entrepreneurship. A combination of hard work and relentless learning allowed me to build it into a multi-million-dollar business," said Wu who will remain as brand president, in a statement. "With the help of Society Brands, I have access to untapped potential that I would not be able to achieve by myself.”