Retail Media

With RFPs in flux, diverse-owned media companies are finding ways to use their data to improve reach. Plus: Why we’re in retail media’s “potty-training” phase.

The IAB’s Connected Commerce event in New York City this week felt to me like the retail media industry’s first sit-down explanation to a child who is now a “big kid” and must act accordingly.

In-store audio ads grow, but attribution and headphones raise doubts; Hidden fees persist as drip pricing draws scrutiny; World Cup ad costs surge.

Medvi caught in AI deepfake scandal; Delta SkyMiles members get 24-hour free NYT access. Source Golf launches a YouTube network.

I’m keenly interested by emerging grocery aisle trends, snacks especially. So, I was quick to grab an interview with Andrew Thomas, head of marketing for the meat snack brand Archer, who was being offered to speak to a case study with GumGum regarding CTV pause ads.

The industry has spent years debating third-party cookies, but AI has settled the debate. First-party data isn’t just preferred; it’s structurally necessary. And the capital is already moving.

We open with insights from attending a duo of privacy conferences this week, the IAPP Global Summit and IAB Public Policy & Legal Summit, including one reason regulators are paying more attention to data privacy: Their constituents consider it a “kitchen table” issue. Then, we turn to the mash-up of retail media and sports, which is opening up new opportunities across media and ad tech.

The retail media revolution of data-driven, digital marketing monetization is coming to the sports industry.

MyFitnessPal has just announced the launch of a data-driven advertising business that draws on its wealth of user-provided meal planning, fitness and nutrition data.

Sallie, the major issuer of US education loans, is getting into the retail media network business.

The future of retail media depends on a shift away from siloed in-store and online metrics to a full-funnel approach that reflects how customers actually shop.

Infillion, an ad tech business built on M&A, is back with another acquisition. This time it’s Catalina, a century-old market research and shopper marketing company with roots in physical cash register machines.

“Fully a third of our profit in the most recent quarter was related to advertising and membership income,” Walmart CFO John David Rainey told investors on Thursday.

Why influencer marketing is all the rage; Target forays into ChatGPT ads; and Paramount Skydance’s difficult week.

The OAAA’s new content taxonomy introduces new subcategories that OOH media owners can use to classify their inventory in OpenRTB bid requests.

This Wednesday marks the beginning of Hershey’s first major brand marketing campaign since 2018

Retailers court luxury goods to compete with Amazon; indie agency Tombras acquires Opinionated; and talk of an AI bubble dominates discussion at Davos.

Retail’s Big Show, the annual NRF event in New York City, was big on agentic commerce, unsurprisingly, as well as influencer and creator marketing, which was an eye-opener.

The year ahead in commerce, with insights from the NRF Big Show conference, where retailers congregate every January. Plus, the 2026 privacy policy cheat sheet.

On Wednesday, retail and CPG data company SPINS added a new piece with its acquisition of MikMak, a click-to-buy ad tech and analytics startup that helps optimize their commerce media.

Believe it or not, car oil change service company Valvoline is in the midst of a fascinating retail marketing transformation.

Inside Coca-Cola’s pivot from TV advertising to influencer marketing; Netflix inks another exclusive video podcast deal with iHeartMedia; and Madison & Wall predicts slow US ad spend growth in 2026.

The grocery chain Albertson’s is trying to reduce the time and number of clicks it takes to add an item to an online shopping cart. It’s new click-to-cart product should help.

People tend to think of digital-native product brands as a single bucket. But there’s a huge difference between companies that are social natives, for instance, rather than an Amazon-based brand.

Shopify launched its latest advertising business line on Wednesday, called the Shopify Product Network.

Grocery TV’s Marlow Nickell joins AdExchanger’s Inside the Stack to explain why in-store retail media is “inevitable” and what brands miss when they overlook the shelf.

America’s biggest department stores are changing, and changing fast.

AI agents have infiltrated retail media. At least, that’s how it felt to big Wall Street advertising and tech investors, who brought a sense of existential dread to Criteo’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday.

PayPal Ads is continuing its new product announcement whirlwind with news that it’s partnering with the commerce media startup Rokt to bring non-endemic advertisers to some PayPal and Venmo post-payment pages.

Walmart’s AI shopping deal with ChatGPT might ding its retail media biz; the MRC shares updates on which platforms won and lost accreditation; and kids’ sports streaming is becoming a real media channel.