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.
Commerce media growth outpaces teams’ full-funnel tools, EMARKETER finds
EMARKETER reports commerce media spend keeps climbing while marketing teams lack the tools to run full-funnel campaigns — buyers want awareness and conversion in one system.
Walmart’s ad business jumps 38%, lifting full-year guidance
TVREV’s Jason Damata reports that Walmart’s global ad business grew 38% in the second quarter — Walmart Connect up 43% in the U.S. excluding VIZIO — helping lift total revenue to $187.9 billion and beat earnings estimates.
Brands use TikTok Shop to seed demand, then let Amazon close the sale
Modern Retail’s Julia Waldow reports that sellers report a “halo effect”: TikTok Shop virality drives Amazon sales at 1.5–3x the TikTok volume, per Million Dollar Sellers — shoppers discover on TikTok, then buy on Amazon for Prime shipping, reviews and price.
The Drum’s commerce media series probes who now controls product discovery
The Drum’s documentary series returns, featuring leaders from TikTok and Google discussing how commerce media is reshaping product discovery. The episode examines who now decides what consumers buy as retail, search and social converge into one purchase funnel.
EMarketer: commerce media spend hits $83.71B as focus shifts to trust, ROI
EMarketer forecasts US commerce media spend at $83.71 billion this year, 20.5% of digital ad spend. Its analysts say the channel is maturing past growth-for-growth’s-sake into a phase demanding measurable results and consumer trust.
Topgolf launches media network to sell out-of-home ad inventory
Modern Retail’s Mitchell Parton reports that Topgolf’s new CEO David McKillips is building out a retail media and licensing business, launching Topgolf Media Networks in July. The unit combines sponsorships, retail media and licensing across 103 venues, 28,000 screens and a mobile app.
Ad frequency capping fails despite mature retail data tools, eMarketer finds
Colgate-Palmolive’s Keith Lehmann says the tech to stop retargeting past buyers already exists, but campaign volume and disconnected data cause repeat ads anyway. One pharma brand hit him with 24-25 ads in a single session.
Urban Outfitters mines Reddit and 27,000 brand ambassadors for dorm trends
Modern Retail’s Melissa Daniels reports that Back-to-college spend tops $100B this year, with $14B on dorm furnishings. Urban Outfitters’ merchandising chief details using an Insiders ambassador program and Reddit to catch trends like “bed parties” before rivals do.
Commerce media growth accelerates to 25% in Q2, outpacing retail
Madison and Wall reports that Madison & Wall reports U.S. commerce media grew 25% year-over-year in 2Q26 excluding political spend, up from 24% in 1Q26. E-commerce sales grew 12% versus 6.7% for total retail, fueling the channel’s lead.
Walmart, Target ad units post double-digit growth in Q2
Adweek reports that Walmart’s global ad revenue grew 38% year over year, with Walmart Connect up 43%, prompting a raised full-year guidance. Target’s Roundel grew 28.6% to $279 million, helping fuel the retailer’s broader recovery.
Walmart’s ad business grows 38%, fueling raised full-year guidance
Adweek reports that Walmart’s global ad revenue jumped 38% in Q2, with Walmart Connect up 43% in the U.S. excluding Vizio, prompting the retailer to raise its full-year earnings guidance amid strong ecommerce and tariff refund tailwinds.
WARC: Retail media to top $200B in 2026 as growth slows to single digits
Inside Radio reports that WARC projects global retail media spend hits $200.4B in 2026, $223.4B in 2027. Excluding Amazon, growth falls to 9.8% in 2027, the category’s slowest pace since WARC began tracking it.
Target’s ad business Roundel grows 29% as retailer’s profits double
Adweek reports that Target’s Q2 net sales rose 5.3% to $26.5 billion while profit more than doubled to $1.87 billion, aided by tariff refunds. Roundel, its ad network, grew ad revenue 28.6% to $279 million, outpacing overall retail growth.
ANA warns marketers not to over-rely on retail media data
Marketing Dive’s Peter Adams reports that ANA is urging marketers to lean more on independent third parties rather than trust retail media networks’ own numbers. The warning comes as truly neutral measurement vendors in the space grow scarcer.
Retail media becomes brands’ stake in AI shopping recommendations
The Drum reports that Epsilon argues AI shopping agents lean on retailers’ first-party data to decide what to recommend, so brands with weak retail media presence cede control over how they’re described to third-party feeds.
Walmart closes $1.4B Vibe.co deal, pushes into ad-supported streaming
Adweek’s Brittaney Kiefer reports that Walmart finalized its acquisition of Vibe.
Citi buys Kard Financial to build its own financial media network
eMarketer reports that Citi acquired Kard Financial, instantly giving it a financial media network to rival Amex, Chase and PayPal. It can now monetize transaction data from 35 million cardholder accounts via targeted merchant offers.
Academy Sports launches retail media network, teams with Instacart
Adweek reports that Academy Sports + Outdoors debuts its own ad business and strikes an Instacart Marketplace deal for same-day delivery. It’s another mid-size retailer proving retail media has spread well past grocery and mass merchants into specialty categories.
Electronics shoppers research for weeks, wait for deals to buy
eMarketer reports that Criteo finds 39% of electronics shoppers research two-plus weeks before buying, far longer than fashion or beauty. That gives challenger brands a real window to win consideration before Black Friday or Prime Day discounting even starts.
Walmart, Target, Best Buy reshuffle C-suites around AI and retail media
Modern Retail’s Mitchell Parton reports that Big-box retailers are elevating execs who built AI, retail media and e-commerce units over traditional merchandising leaders. It signals org charts built for buying and selling inventory no longer match where the growth and power actually sit.
Walmart, Amazon lead AI search on groceries, but name brands aren’t shut out
EMARKETER data shows Walmart’s and Amazon’s private labels top ChatGPT mention rates, but gaps to name brands stay narrow across most categories. Grocery brands can still compete by optimizing content for LLMs and striking retailer partnerships before ground is ceded.
Walmart Connect adds negative keywords after years of advertiser pressure
Modern Retail’s Mitchell Parton reports that Walmart Connect now lets sponsored-products advertisers exclude search terms, six years after Amazon added the feature. It curbs wasted spend on irrelevant or branded queries, a change brands and agencies had pushed for since the pandemic e-commerce boom.
Delivery apps pitch themselves as game-day retail media networks
eMarketer’s Christopher Wood reports that Delivery apps like DoorDash and Instacart are positioning game-day ordering data as a commerce network for advertisers targeting sports fans. It gives marketers a closed-loop way to reach fans mid-event and tie ad spend directly to purchases.
Walmart Connect adds TikTok, Snapchat, Roku to retail media network
Retail Dive reports that Walmart Connect now lets brands buy TikTok, Snapchat and Roku inventory through its own platform, keeping first-party data and measurement in-house. It’s a bid to chase Gen Z dollars and close the gap with Amazon’s ad business.
Non-endemic brands quietly become Amazon’s next ad growth engine
The Drum’s Kiri Masters reports that Banks, airlines and pharma firms are targeting shoppers who’ll never buy their products through Amazon, using its consumer-behavior data instead.