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.
Retail media execs push past ROAS as measurement standard
Adweek’s Justin Chin reports that at ADWEEK House, retail and travel media executives from Albertsons, Simon Property Group, Marriott and others argued that single metrics like ROAS are unreliable, urging incrementality, foot traffic and multi-point measurement instead.
CVS and Revlon execs map ‘trip missions’ for holiday shoppers
Adweek’s Justin Chin reports that at an Adweek House panel co-hosted with CVS Media Exchange, Wendy Liebmann of WSL, Gretchen Reisner of CVS Media Exchange, and Revlon’s Kelly Solomon discussed how retail media data can identify distinct holiday “trip missions.”
Uber Ads, WPP Media execs: real-time intent is replacing the sales funnel
Adweek’s Dawn Papandrea reports that Uber Advertising’s Jess Shuraleff and WPP Media’s Gautham Pingalli told an Adweek House fireside chat that the consumer journey is collapsing, pushing marketers toward intent-driven commerce media over linear funnel tracking.
Lowe’s Media Network adds Ipsos measurement, new ad partners
Marketing Dive’s Chris Kelly reports that Lowe’s Media Network is expanding onto Roku, DoorDash, Reddit, TikTok and YouTube while partnering with Ipsos for independent incrementality measurement, including marketing mix modeling and agile attribution.
United restructures Kinective Media to focus on Starlink, seat-back tech
Adweek’s Mitchell Parton reports that United Airlines has reorganized its two-year-old retail media network, Kinective Media, to prioritize its technology investments, including seat-back screens and Starlink internet access.
Retail media networks refocus ad growth on owned sites and apps
The Drum’s Kiri Masters reports that retail media networks, under pressure to grow ad revenue, are re-concentrating on their own websites and apps rather than chasing off-site and in-store expansion.
Ulta Beauty bets on store associates as AI agents take over search
The Drum’s Jenni Baker reports that Ulta Beauty CMO Kelly Mahoney expects AI shopping agents to handle more product discovery for beauty customers.
Marriott Media Network pitches travel timing as a retail-media signal
The Drum’s Margo Waldrop reports that Marriott Media Network’s Monique Perlmutter is pitching brands on travel booking data not just for destination targeting but for timing purchases around a trip.
Tesco’s retail media push adds creators to in-store screens
The Drum’s Kristina Kaganer writes that Tesco is folding influencer content into its retail media network, putting creators alongside brands on in-store screens as part of a broader shift toward upfront-style selling.
Walmart Connect brings closed-loop measurement to linear TV, audio, CTV
MediaPost’s Laurie Sullivan reports that Walmart Connect unveiled expanded partnerships with Warner Bros. Discovery, Spotify and Yahoo DSP, letting advertisers use its audiences and closed-loop measurement across live linear TV, streaming audio and CTV for the first time.
Fall Prime Day is now the real start of holiday shopping
Modern Retail’s Gabriela Barkho reports that Amazon’s Prime Big Deals Days, originally a summer event, has pushed holiday shopping into October, with Tinuiti’s Joe O’Connor noting shoppers now research and compare prices well before Black Friday.
Ibotta, Pernod Ricard adapt holiday retail media to earlier shopping curve
Adweek’s Dawn Papandrea reports on an Adweek House panel where Ibotta’s Chris Dungan and Pernod Ricard’s Krystle Rocci said shoppers are elongating the holiday buying period instead of condensing it before the holidays.
Albertsons folds retail media arm into merchandising under CMO
Grocery Dive’s Peyton Bigora reports Albertsons is moving its media and marketing capabilities within its merchandising organization under CMO Emily Turner, following the recent departure of former retail media head Brian Monahan.
Walmart tests stocking marketplace stores for faster pickup, delivery
Adweek’s Mitchell Parton reports that Walmart is testing placement of third-party marketplace products inside its stores, letting shoppers pick up or get delivery instead of waiting days for warehouse shipping.
Walmart’s TV ad push runs through Vizio and Vibe, not owned media
AdExchanger reports that Walmart is entering TV advertising via its $2.3 billion Vizio and $1.4 billion Vibe.co acquisitions, contrasting with Amazon’s owned-media approach through Fire TV, Prime Video and Twitch. Vibe brings non-endemic advertisers who don’t sell at Walmart.
Retail media execs: contextual, AI-driven intent beats retrospective data
Ad Age is reporting that at Advertising Week New York, executives from Lyft, Albertsons Media Collective and Pinterest described using first-party and contextual data to tailor retail media ads to a shopper’s real-time mindset rather than past purchases.
Albertsons exec exit spotlights retail media’s turnover problem
Modern Retail’s Anna Hensel reports that Brian Monahan’s departure as head of Albertsons Media Collective has put a spotlight on retail media leadership churn, with business partners notified Friday before the news leaked Monday.
Amazon’s new AI ad agent steers spend, worrying some buyers
Adweek’s Lauren Johnson reports that at Amazon’s UnBoxed event, the retailer unveiled Amazon Ads Agent, a chat-based AI overhaul of its ad platform.
Prime Day pushes Amazon ad spend further up the funnel into DSP
Digiday’s Sam Bradley reports that client spending on Amazon Ads ahead of October’s Prime Big Deal Days is up 15-40% year over year, per five media buyers, with growth expected to reach a third by year end.
Walmart Connect extends shopper-data targeting to linear TV via WBD
ExchangeWire reports that Walmart Connect has partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to let advertisers apply Walmart shopper audiences to addressable targeting on live linear TV, bought through Walmart DSP via a private marketplace powered by FreeWheel.
Walmart Connect pitches streaming ads to non-Walmart advertisers
Adweek’s Mitchell Parton reports that Walmart Connect is pitching non-endemic advertisers on streaming ads, built on its Vizio and Vibe.co acquisitions.
Walmart links Spotify audio ads to in-store and online purchases
Inside Radio reports that Walmart is adding Spotify inventory to its demand-side platform, letting brands target Spotify listeners with Walmart’s customer data and measure whether those audio campaigns drive sales at its stores or website.
Circana-Best Buy study finds retail media halo reaches rival retailers
Circana is reporting, with Best Buy Ads, findings from a marketing mix modeling study showing Best Buy Ads delivered 79% higher ROAS than other media based on total U.S. Best Buy sales.
Radisson’s ChatGPT plugin converts 1.5x better than organic search
OpenAI is reporting that Radisson Hotel Group, built with Accenture Song in six weeks, converts visits to bookings at roughly 1.5 times its organic search rate, with over half of checkout events attributed to sponsored ad views in ChatGPT.
TripleLift exec: CTV commerce data finally proves performance, not just reach
TVREV reports that TripleLift’s Taylor Stewart argues retailers are now piping first-party purchase data into CTV through clean rooms that match records without exposing raw data.