About Retailer Budget Campaigns
Retailer Budget campaigns let you run ads on a retailer's inventory using a budget funded by the retailer, all from within Criteo Commerce Max. This article explains what they are, how the Authorized Buyer model works, and what to expect from billing and reporting.
What Are Retailer Budget Campaigns?
Commerce Max supports two campaign budget models: Criteo Budget and Retailer Budget.
In a Criteo Budget campaign (the standard model), Criteo funds and bills all costs in a single invoice. In a Retailer Budget campaign, the retailer funds the working media spend and invoices you directly, while we bill platform and service fees separately.
This model is designed for brands with an existing commercial agreement with a retailer, such as a joint business plan (JBP) or insertion order (IO). You manage Retailer Budget campaigns in Commerce Max using the same workflows as Criteo Budget campaigns, while your billing and commercial relationship with the retailer stays unchanged.
How it Works: The Authorized Buyer Model
To run Retailer Budget campaigns with a specific retailer, your Commerce Max account must be approved as an Authorized Buyer by that retailer. This gives retailers control over which brands can access their inventory on a Retailer Budget basis and what they can buy.
The process works in three steps:
The retailer approves your Commerce Max account as an Authorized Buyer, based on your existing commercial agreement.
Once you and the retailer agree on a budget amount, the Criteo team creates a Retailer Budget balance in your account.
You create campaigns in Commerce Max using that balance, targeting only the retailers that have approved your account.
What You Can Do as an Authorized Buyer
Once approved, you can manage Retailer Budget and Criteo Budget campaigns from a single Commerce Max account, with no separate retailer portal logins or parallel reporting environments.
Campaign Management
See your approval status directly in Commerce Max — check which retailers have authorized your account without leaving the platform.
Access your Retailer Budget balance in the Billing section and during campaign setup under Campaign Settings, alongside your Criteo Budget balances.
Create and manage campaigns using the same Commerce Max workflows you use today. No separate platform or additional training required.
Keep your existing commercial relationships unchanged. Your JBP, insertion orders, and billing relationship with each retailer stay exactly as they are. Retailer Budget campaigns do not alter those agreements.
Access via API. Retailer Budget campaigns are available through the Commerce Max API alongside Criteo Budget campaigns. If you manage campaigns through an agency or third-party platform, confirm with your partner that they support Retailer Budget campaign activation before getting started.
Optimization
Apply Criteo AI to Retailer Budget campaigns. Access the same bidding and optimization tools available for Criteo Budget campaigns, including adaptive CPC bid multipliers for Sponsored Products.
More easily optimize your retail media spend. With all campaign types in one account, you can compare performance across retailers and make informed decisions about how to allocate any uncommitted budget — without affecting spend already committed to specific retailers through your existing JBPs or insertion orders.
Analytics and Insights
All campaigns — Criteo Budget and Retailer Budget — are reportable in the same Analytics section with unified dimensions. Commerce Max also gives you access to the following insights across your full account:
Insight | What it shows | Availability |
|---|---|---|
Keyword share of voice | Impression and click share at the keyword level for Sponsored Products and Onsite Display, with blinded competitor benchmarks | Available now |
Digital Shelf Intelligence | Total sales (paid and organic), PDP views, category sales rank, and consideration index at brand and SKU level across retailers | Available now |
Spend vs. Impact | Reach, clicks, and estimated sales at various spend levels by retailer, including diminishing returns curves for budget planning | Coming soon |
The campaign types available to you depend on what the retailer has enabled for Authorized Buyers. Sponsored Products and Onsite Display campaigns are supported at launch.
Get Started
To start running Retailer Budget campaigns:
Contact your Criteo account team to confirm your eligibility and existing commercial agreement with the retailer.
Your team coordinates the Authorized Buyer approval with the retailer.
Once you and the retailer agree on a budget amount, your Criteo account team will create the Retailer Budget balance in your Commerce Max account on your behalf. You do not need to set this up yourself. If a purchase order (PO#) is required, you may need to provide one for Criteo billing, one for retailer billing, or both. Whether a PO# is needed depends on your own billing requirements.
Go to Campaigns and create a new campaign. During setup, select Retailer Budget and choose your Retailer Budget balance. Balances are pre-filtered — only compatible balances appear for Retailer Budget campaigns.
For more on how balances work, see About Balances. For reporting guidance, see Introduction to Analytics.