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.
Kroger’s retail media profit grows 24%, best pace since 2021
Modern Retail’s Mitchell Parton reports that Profit at Kroger Precision Marketing grew 24% in the second quarter, its best retail media profit growth since 2021, CEO Greg Foran told investors.
Walgreens relaunches in-store screens via Looma after Cooler Screens debacle
Modern Retail’s Mitchell Parton reports that Walgreens will add Looma digital screens and end caps to 1,200 stores starting in October, placing content beside products rather than blocking them, following its costly Cooler Screens fallout.
Instacart launches AI shopping assistant Clementine
TechCrunch’s Aisha Malik reports that Instacart debuted Clementine, an AI assistant that turns a conversation, grocery list, recipe, or photo of a handwritten list into a ready-to-buy cart. It joins similar tools from Uber Eats and DoorDash, all launched within the past year.
Shipt launches AI shopping assistant, joins Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats
TechCrunch’s Aisha Malik reports that Shipt, the Target-owned delivery platform, launched “Ask Shipt,” an AI tool that turns prompts and photos into ready-to-buy carts. It follows similar launches this year from Instacart, Uber Eats, and DoorDash, and new AI features across Target.com.
Retail media creative, not just placement, is deciding sales lift
EMARKETER’s latest guidance argues that as retail media inventory becomes commoditized, the creative shown in on-site and off-site placements is what separates campaigns that convert from those that don’t.
Google’s automated promotions feature ties online discovery to in-store shopping
eMarketer’s Asa Hiken reports that Google is testing a new automated promotions feature that connects online product discovery directly to in-store shopping behavior, according to EMARKETER.
11 retail media networks pitch their own version of differentiation
At Ascendant’s Showcase upfront, 11 retail media networks — from Home Depot to PayPal to Chase — each pitched a different edge: proprietary data, cross-merchant reach, or niche audience depth, while executives flagged incrementality and interoperability as shared industry asks.
Retail media’s tech gap isn’t the tools — it’s the org chart
The Drum’s Kiri Masters reports that a Drum column traces four eras of retail media tech, from in-house builds to composable cloud stacks to AI-ready data, arguing today’s networks have more good technology available than ever but little organizational appetite to install it.
Brands loosen return policies to win holiday shoppers
Modern Retail’s Melissa Daniels reports that retailers expect about 17% of holiday sales to be returned, so brands are testing temporary Q4 policies like free returns and longer windows.
Walmart expands restaurant delivery beyond its own stores, targeting Dunkin’s 10,000 locations
CNBC’s Kevin Williams reports that Walmart will deliver Dunkin’ products nationwide over the next year, expanding beyond in-store partners like Subway to standalone restaurant locations, a direct challenge to DoorDash and Uber Eats in third-party delivery.
Home Depot expands in-store AI shopping assistant
eMarketer’s Grace Harmon reports that Home Depot is widening rollout of its AI-powered in-store assistant, putting generative AI tools directly into the path of purchase decisions.
Albertsons feeds shopper data into YouTube, DV360 with Keurig Dr Pepper as launch brand
MediaPost’s Laurie Sullivan reports that Albertsons Media Collective now streams first-party shopper data into YouTube and Display & Video 360, enabling SKU-level, closed-loop sales measurement via LiveRamp for advertisers targeting its 50 million loyalty members.
Retailers court brand budgets as Amazon, Walmart sit out ad showcase
Adweek’s Lauren Johnson reports that at Ascendant Network’s Showcase in New York, executives from Home Depot, Albertsons, Instacart, DoorDash, Dollar General, Macy’s, and PayPal pitched data and audiences to marketers, distinguishing themselves from absent giants Amazon and Walmart.
Contributor: retail media builds brands, don’t blame it for marketers’ bad habits
Adweek’s Andrew Lipsman reports that an Adweek contributor rebuts Mark Ritson’s claim that retail media can’t build brands, citing causal modeling that shows retail media networks rank among the highest-ROI channels for advertisers.
Retail media forecast to top $200 billion in 2026
MediaPost’s Rob Williams reports that WARC Media forecasts global retail media spending will hit $200.4 billion in 2026, then climb 11.5% to $223.4 billion in 2027. The growth keeps outpacing most other ad channels as retailers expand where sponsored placements can appear.
Ace Hardware’s RedVest adds incrementality, influencer and DoorDash tools
Almost one year in, Ace Hardware’s retail media network RedVest Media unveiled new features at its inaugural upfront: incrementality measurement, influencer marketing via Publicis-owned Influential, a DoorDash ad partnership and weather-triggered programmatic campaigns.
FTC filing accuses Amazon of tilting its own ad auctions
The FTC alleges Amazon has overcharged advertisers for years by putting a thumb on its ad auction mechanics, according to columnist Kiri Masters. She argues advertiser trust is damaged even though spending on the platform is unlikely to move.
Amazon adds AI scam-checker to Alexa for Shopping
TechCrunch’s Sarah Perez reports that Amazon is rolling out an AI feature in Alexa for Shopping that checks whether a suspicious email, text, or other message actually came from the company.
WTF is the Amazon ad surcharge lawsuit?
Digiday’s Seb Joseph reports that the FTC and 22 state attorneys general allege Amazon secretly abandoned its second-price search ad auction, inserting a fake “soft reserved” bidder to push prices higher.
Amazon’s Alexa can now nudge you to buy before you even ask
TechCrunch’s Sarah Perez reports that Amazon launched “Update Me When,” an Alexa for Shopping feature that sends personalized alerts on new product lines, show seasons, concert tours or book releases tied to a shopper’s interests.
Amazon Ads bundles retail, streaming and IRL events into one back-to-college push
markets.ft.com’s Amazon Music reports that Amazon Ads launched First Day Ready, pairing Gatorade, Michael Kors and SharkNinja with influencers across shoppable video, brand storefronts, a Wisconsin campus block party and a Kane Brown concert streamed on Prime Video, Twitch and Fire TV.
Ritson: retail media is cannibalizing brand budgets, not adding new dollars
AdExchanger reports that Mark Ritson argues at Adweek that marketers are wrongly raiding brand-building budgets to fund retail media, treating it as incremental when it is really just point-of-sale promo marketing rebranded.
Nike revives commercial chief role, taps Walmart’s Jane Ewing
Retail Dive’s Cara Salpini reports that Nike named 14-year Walmart veteran Jane Ewing chief commercial officer, starting Sept. 7, reviving a role it eliminated in December. Ewing will lead global marketplace operations, overseeing sales and Nike Direct, reporting directly to CEO Elliott Hill.
Retail media ad impressions fell to 107.4 billion in Q2 2026
eMarketer’s Use Case reports that retail media ad impressions dropped to 107.4 billion in Q2 2026, according to EMARKETER data. The decline marks a pullback in inventory volume even as retail media remains one of the fastest-growing ad categories overall.
Simon Property Group launches a retail media network for its malls
AdExchanger’s James Hercher reports that the world’s largest mall operator debuted Simon Media Network, a programmatic ad vehicle built on loyalty data, opted-in WiFi location tracking and licensed third-party purchase data.