Retail-media
State of Play
Revised Nov 1, 2026The moment. In-store is the consensus frontier and the hardest place to stand. A new IAB and SMG study found 46% of commerce media professionals see in-store as the sector’s top growth opportunity while 40% call it the hardest channel to connect, and only 14% consistently plan unified multichannel campaigns. Instacart has now retreated from the smart-cart hardware that was meant to anchor its in-store ad and data business. eMarketer’s Karen Jacobs has networks multiplying across retailers of every size and competing harder for the same dollars, and DoorDash, expanding its tools across Wolt and Deliveroo, says commerce media needs room for brand storytelling rather than lower-funnel performance alone.
The tension. The workarounds are arriving ahead of a standard. Retailers are looking at free in-store Wi-Fi as a way to capture shopper data at the point of purchase; Disco has put advertiser-funded cash back of up to $30 directly into Shopify checkout, moving the money off the retailer’s own media and onto the transaction; and Circana is selling AI-driven signals that flag shoppers likely to enter a category or switch brands. Creators are becoming the creative engine for off-site campaigns. QVC is running the oldest version of the bet, pairing 60,000 annual hours of live TV with 200 weekly hours of TikTok livestreams after leaving Chapter 11 with more than $5 billion of debt cut.
Who’s moving. The IAB and SMG, with 46% and 14%. Instacart, pulling back on smart carts. DoorDash, across Wolt and Deliveroo. Disco, funding checkout cash back from advertisers. Circana, adding predictive signals to Complete Audiences. QVC, at 200 TikTok livestream hours a week. Life360, naming Donna Sharp to run its ad business. eMarketer’s Karen Jacobs, on a crowded field.
What the desk is watching. Whether in-store gets a measurement standard before it gets more screens, and who picks up the in-store ground Instacart just gave back.
DoorDash-Instacart deal signals retail media land grab, not just delivery
Modern Retail’s Gabriela Barkho reports that DoorDash’s $17 billion bid for Instacart reflects a push beyond delivery into ads, data and one-stop retail tech, combining restaurant, grocery and retail shopping insights into a single commerce ecosystem.
IAB Europe finds buyer-seller gap widening on retail media measurement
ExchangeWire reports that IAB Europe’s 2026 Attitudes to Retail Media Report finds 61% of European buyers cite measurement and reporting as the top barrier to investment, while 58% want multi-touch attribution but only 31% of sellers offer it.
Vend Advertising taps Kevel to build Nordic marketplace media network
ExchangeWire reports that Vend Advertising, which unites Nordic marketplaces including Blocket, FINN, Tori, Oikotie, Bilbasen and DBA, has picked Kevel’s API-first infrastructure to power its new Marketplace Media commerce offering.
Omnicom exec builds the plumbing for commerce media buying
Ad Age’s Brandon Doerrer reports that Elizabeth Donovan, EVP and global head of retail and commerce media networks at Omnicom’s Acxiom, oversees data, identity and technology infrastructure powering networks for retailers, publishers and brands.
Slow audience delivery is costing retail media networks ad dollars
eMarketer’s Peter Clark reports that slow audience delivery is costing retail media networks ad dollars, as brands increasingly route budget toward platforms that can activate audiences and show results faster than many retail media networks currently manage.
Vend Advertising taps Kevel to build Nordic commerce media network
Markets.businessinsider.com, via a GlobeNewswire release, reports that Vend Advertising has chosen Kevel as its ad tech infrastructure partner to power a new “Marketplace Media” offering.
Vibe brings Walmart shopper data to CTV ad targeting
TVREV’s Alan Wolk interviews Vibe.co CEO Arthur Querou, who explains the self-serve CTV platform now lets advertisers target streaming viewers using Walmart’s purchase-intent audiences, with AI selecting the best segments automatically.
Amazon says AI shopping agents aren’t denting its ad business
Adweek’s Mitchell Parton reports that Amazon’s advertising revenue hit $78 billion over the trailing 12 months, with Q3 ad revenue up 11% to $19.6 billion even as rivals warn AI agents like ChatGPT and Gemini threaten sponsored listings.
DoorDash to buy Instacart for $17 billion
Campaign’s Julia Walker reports that DoorDash will acquire Instacart for $17 billion to combine delivery and grocery fulfillment under both brands’ apps, ads and AI.
DoorDash to buy Instacart for $17 billion, merging retail media giants
MediaPost’s Laurie Sullivan reports that DoorDash agreed to acquire Instacart for $17 billion, paying $65 a share in cash and stock, combining two retail-media businesses each already generating more than $1 billion in annualized ad revenue.
Walmart opens shopper data to CTV advertisers on Vibe
Adweek’s Kendra Barnett reports that Walmart will let Vibe advertisers target over 3,300 shopper audience segments built from its first-party web and in-store data, starting this week, marking the first major product move since Walmart acquired the CTV ad platform in June.
DoorDash offers $17 billion for Instacart in grocery delivery mega-merger
ExchangeWire reports that DoorDash has made a $17 billion offer for Instacart, pairing DoorDash’s logistics with Instacart’s software and merchant ties, pending shareholder and regulator approval.
Amazon ad growth halves to 11% as DoorDash buys Instacart for $17 billion
PPC Land’s Luis Rijo reports that Amazon’s advertising revenue grew 10.9% to $19.64 billion in the third quarter, down from 26% last quarter, while Amazon guides to high-teens growth for the fourth quarter versus 22% a year earlier.
DoorDash to buy Instacart for $17B, folding in its ad business
Grocery Dive’s Catherine Douglas Moran reports DoorDash will acquire Instacart for about $17 billion, a 26% premium, closing by mid-2028, keeping Instacart’s brand, app and enterprise tech while absorbing its 600,000 couriers and retail media arm.
DoorDash to buy Instacart for about $17 billion
Adweek’s Mitchell Parton reports DoorDash agreed to buy Instacart for roughly $17 billion, or $65 a share, a 26% premium on its Oct. 22 closing price, combining delivery, grocery fulfillment, advertising and AI tools, with the deal targeted to close by 2028.
Walmart’s data now powers CTV ad targeting in Vibe
eMarketer’s Asa Hiken reports that Walmart has begun feeding 3,300 audience segments into Vibe, its in-house ad platform, to power connected TV targeting.
DoorDash-Instacart deal would rival Uber’s $2 billion ad business
Adweek’s Mitchell Parton reports that DoorDash’s roughly $17 billion agreement to buy Instacart would unify the two companies’ retail media networks under one parent.
AdExchanger: DoorDash-Instacart deal will remap retail media partnerships
AdExchanger’s Sarah Sluis reports that DoorDash’s deal to buy Instacart will likely merge DoorDash Ads with Instacart’s Carrot Ads, which also runs a white-labeled retail media business that recently added Gopuff as a customer.
Retail media networks multiply, but competition for ad dollars intensifies
eMarketer’s Karen Jacobs reports that retail and commerce media networks keep sprouting across retailers of all sizes, yet the field is getting crowded enough that growth prospects for individual networks now face real competitive pressure.
eMarketer: Catalina Snacks leans on retail media for niche shopper targeting
eMarketer’s Christopher Wood reports that Catalina Snacks uses retail media networks and niche messaging to reach specific shopper segments in the grocery aisle, a strategy the piece frames as a way for a smaller snack brand to compete against larger rivals with bigger ad budgets.
Circana adds AI-driven predictive signals to its commerce audience product
Markets Insider carried Circana’s release announcing predictive commerce signals added to its Complete Audiences product, using AI and household data to flag shoppers likely to enter a category, spend more, switch brands, or disengage.
Instacart’s smart cart pullback muddies its retail media pitch
eMarketer’s Rachel Wolff reports that Instacart’s retreat from its in-store smart cart hardware push complicates the company’s broader retail media strategy, since the devices were meant to anchor in-store ad and data capabilities Instacart has been building to compete with Amazon and Walmart.
Life360 names commerce media veteran Donna Sharp GM of ad business
Campaign US’s Emmy Liederman reports that Life360 Ads has appointed Donna Sharp, a former adviser to the company and ex-MediaLink managing director, as general manager to lead growth and monetization.
eMarketer: creators drive off-site commerce media creative
eMarketer’s Peter Clark reports that creators are becoming the creative engine of off-site commerce media, as retail media networks lean on creator content to power ads that run beyond their own retail sites.
QVC leans on TikTok livestreams to drive holiday comeback
Modern Retail’s Julia Waldow reports that QVC is pairing 60,000 annual hours of live TV with 200 weekly hours of TikTok livestreams for its 40th holiday season, after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August with debt cut by more than $5 billion.