Cencosud Retail Media Case Study: 5× Active Vendor Growth with Topsort

At-a-glance: Cencosud partnered with Topsort to transform its retail media operations and launch Cencosud 360 Media, an omnichannel advertising platform built to support scalability, campaign optimization, self-service tools, real-time reporting, and auction-based advertising.

Company Overview

Cencosud is one of the largest retail conglomerates in Latin America, with a robust presence across multiple markets, including Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, and Peru. Known for its diverse portfolio of hypermarkets, department stores, and shopping centers, Cencosud serves millions of customers annually through its extensive network of physical stores and growing e-commerce platforms.

Industry: Retail

Headquarters: Santiago, Chile

Founded: 1960

Key Offering: Multi-channel retail services, including supermarkets, home improvement stores, and department stores

Challenge

As a retail giant, Cencosud had established a retail media unit but faced challenges in scaling it effectively. The company relied on a fixed-price advertising model, which lacked efficiency and hindered its growth potential.

Key Challenges

• Inflexible fixed-price model: Limited scalability and constrained revenue growth.
• Inefficient manual processes: Campaign management, optimization, and reporting required excessive manual intervention.
• Fragmented integration: Difficulty aligning ad solutions across multiple regions and business units.
• Underutilized first-party data: Limited ability to leverage consumer insights effectively to enhance advertising performance.

Cencosud’s leadership recognized the need for a dynamic, AI-driven platform to address these limitations and unlock new opportunities in the burgeoning retail media space.

Solution

Cencosud partnered with Topsort to transform its retail media operations, launching Cencosud 360 Media, an omnichannel advertising platform. Topsort provided advanced technology and tools that enabled seamless integration, scalability, and campaign optimization, empowering Cencosud’s sellers to invest in and manage the advertising of their products effectively.

Key Features Implemented

• BIDLESS™ Retail Media Solution: Introduced auction-based advertising to optimize revenue generation.
• Self-service tools for sellers: Enabled advertisers to manage campaigns independently.
• **Real-time reporting:** Provided transparent, actionable insights into campaign performance.
• Catalog Management API: Seamlessly managed dynamic inventories, supporting over 553,000 products.
• Auto-bidding technology: Maximized ROAS through dynamic budget allocation.

Cencosud began the implementation with its flagship brands in Chile, including Paris, a department store, and Jumbo, a hypermarket. By leveraging Topsort’s APIs, they created a seamless advertiser experience tailored to each brand’s unique needs. The platform has since been extended to Jumbo Colombia.

Impact

The partnership with Topsort has delivered outstanding results, positioning Cencosud as a retail media leader in Latin America. The transition to an auction-based model and the introduction of enhanced advertising tools have unlocked significant growth opportunities for both Cencosud and its advertisers.

Future Outlook

With Topsort’s support, Cencosud Media has set a new standard in retail media by creating a 360° omnichannel ecosystem that effectively connects brands with consumers. By leveraging first-party data and prioritizing transparency and data protection, Cencosud Media empowers brands to optimize their advertising campaigns and enhance consumer experiences across all touchpoints.

“We’re excited to take Cencosud 360 Media to the next level, empowering more brands and advertisers with innovative tools that connect them to consumers in meaningful ways.” – Nicolás Valenzuela

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Cencosud 360 Media?

Cencosud 360 Media is an omnichannel advertising platform launched by Cencosud in partnership with Topsort to transform its retail media operations.

How did Topsort support Cencosud’s retail media operations?

Topsort provided advanced technology and tools that enabled seamless integration, scalability, campaign optimization, self-service tools, real-time reporting, catalog management, and auto-bidding technology.

What challenges did Cencosud face before partnering with Topsort?

Cencosud faced challenges with an inflexible fixed-price model, inefficient manual processes, fragmented integration across regions and business units, and underutilized first-party data.

What results did Cencosud achieve with Topsort?

Cencosud achieved 5× growth in active vendors utilizing Cencosud 360 Media, 30% month-over-month growth in ad spend over the last year, 1M products actively promoted through sponsored listings, and a 60% reduction in manual processes.

Which Cencosud brands were included in the implementation?

Cencosud began the implementation with its flagship brands in Chile, including Paris and Jumbo. The platform has since been extended to Jumbo Colombia.

What Topsort capabilities were implemented for Cencosud?

The implementation included BIDLESS™ Retail Media Solution, self-service tools for sellers, real-time reporting, Catalog Management API, and auto-bidding technology.