How retailers can unlock the value of item-level data with Product Catalog

Retailers and commerce brands already possess valuable assets in advertising: first-party data tied to product interactions and purchase behavior. But turning that data into growth takes more than access alone. You need a way to structure and activate it at scale. 

Product Catalog is designed to help you do exactly that by bringing item-level signals into a single, usable framework — powering better targeting, measurement, and monetization across your commerce media business. 

Get to know the product:

• Introducing Product Catalog 

• Integrate your data with flexibility and control 

• Power enterprise marketing with item-level signals 

• Scale supplier value and monetization 

Introducing Product Catalog

Product Catalog enables retailers and commerce brands to organize and share data that shows how consumers interact with specific products, down to the SKU or UPC level. 

Depending on your setup, this can include signals such as product views and add-to-cart activity, as well as details like price and category. Product Catalog brings this data together into a single, structured framework so it can be leveraged across your business.

With that foundation in place, you can: 

• Activate item-level signals across media channels 

• Create scalable workflows for targeting, measurement, and optimization 

• Share consistent data with supplier brands for self-serve activation

In practice, this can mean less manual work for your teams and more consistent reporting across supplier campaigns.

Integrate your data with flexibility and control 

Product Catalog is designed to work with retailers’ existing data infrastructure. 

You can use your current data warehouse, composable applications, or customer data platforms (CDPs) to send conversion events, minimizing operational lift while retaining control over your data.

During setup, you define how events are sent and how much detail each signal includes:

• Send events via the Conversions API or a JavaScript tag 

• Capture key interactions like product views, add-to-cart activity, and purchases 

• Add context such as in-store, app, or web environments 

• Support identifiers such as Unified ID 2.0 (UID2), RampID, MAIDs, or cookies

If you already work with a product information management (PIM) platform, that’s the easiest path to onboarding your existing catalog. If not, there are several options to onboard:

• Custom integrations 

• Direct API builds 

• CSV uploads

This flexible approach can make it easier to bring your data into Product Catalog without having to restructure your systems or increase operational overhead. 

Power enterprise marketing with item-level signals 

When you structure your data at the item level using Product Catalog, your campaigns can reflect how consumers actually engage with products.

Integrating detailed metadata (item ID, brand, category, price, or other attributes specific to your business) creates a strong foundation for more precise targeting and messaging. 

That flexibility extends across verticals. For example:

• QSR: menu items, locations, or order types 

• Travel: destinations, room types, or booking details 

• Automotive: make, model, or vehicle features

With this structure in place, you can build audiences from specific product interactions and can deliver messaging that reaches consumers at the right moment across connected TV, audio, display, and other channels.

Instead of relying on fragmented or delayed reporting, you can gain a clearer view of how specific products perform across both online and in-store environments. Campaign impact becomes easier to understand at the individual item level and across your broader product portfolio. 

Scale supplier value and monetization 

Product Catalog can also help you create more value for your supplier partners.

When retailers offer structured, self-serve access to approved item-level data, they introduce more consistent, product-level capabilities across every partner engagement. This can include: 

• A more differentiated managed service offering, with product-level targeting, measurement, and optimization 

• Expanded self-serve access for brands and agencies, enabling them to build audiences and analyze performance independently 

• New revenue opportunities from long-tail demand, by making your data accessible to a broader set of advertisers 

• Stronger, supplier relationships, built on shared visibility into performance and outcomes

Throughout, you maintain control over how your data is shared and used.

Build a stronger, more connected commerce media business

Product Catalog gives you a more structured way to activate the data that already powers your business.

The opportunity is simple: When you organize and activate your item-level data effectively, you can create better experiences for consumers, stronger outcomes for supplier brands, and new growth for your business.

Ready to get started? Reach out to your representative at The Trade Desk to learn how to set up Product Catalog today. 

This information is provided solely for background and is not a representation or guarantee of any future performance.