蘑菇AV

With origins in performance advertising and a focus on efficiency, retail media is likely to remain resilient, even amid an economic upheaval exacerbated by US tariffs. However, impacts won鈥檛 be evenly felt, leaving some players better positioned to withstand headwinds.

The news: Lowe鈥檚 launched a home improvement creator network as part of a strategy to reach younger audiences through social media personalities. The network, which Lowe鈥檚 framed as key to deepening its connection with Gen Z and millennial consumers, features MrBeast as its first high-profile partner. Our take: Reaching younger generations is crucial for sustained growth, and as influencer marketing surges, Lowe鈥檚 strategy could prove effective at bridging the gap with young homeowners. Influencer collaborations are most likely to be effective when the creator is seen as unbiased and honest, authentic, entertaining, and educational.

More than half (58%) of advertisers are interested in advertising on non-retail media networks, according to a December 2024 Skai and Path to Purchase Institute survey. The primary objectives of commerce media campaigns are sales/conversions (26.3%) and brand awareness (21.4%), per a January M+C Saatchi survey.

At Cannes Lions 2025, commerce media partnerships once again reigned supreme. Once the domain of digital shelf tactics and retail data, commerce media is now reshaping how brands show up across social platforms, connected TV (CTV), and in-store displays. This year鈥檚 festival offered a glimpse into a more integrated, AI-driven future鈥攐ne where conversational ads, programmatic pipes, and real-world touchpoints blur the lines between media and purchase.

US financial media network ad spend will soar to $1.22 billion in 2026, nearly doubling from $640 million in 2025鈥攁 66.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), per our May 2025 forecast.

Kroger has consolidated its retail media, consumer insights, and loyalty marketing capabilities under the Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) brand.

That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 focused on controlling the controllables: improving the omnichannel experience to make shopping more convenient for customers, building incremental revenue streams like its third-party marketplace and retail media network, and maximizing operational efficiency. But the landscape is not favorable to Best Buy.

US ad spend on financial media networks (FMNs) will more than double in 2025 and again in 2026. But with just $710 million projected in US ad spend in 2025, per June 2024 蘑菇AV forecast, FMN ad spend will be 18 times smaller than retail media network (RMN) ad spend.

鈥淲e鈥檙e never going to be a retail media network that necessarily can bring people into our own platforms, especially for broader media spend, because, quite frankly, our scale isn鈥檛 there,鈥� said Johnson. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e looking to think about how we can remedy some of those challenges we鈥檝e heard from advertisers.鈥�. The result is a partnership model that avoids building another walled garden.

Here鈥檚 how ad buyers ranked the retail media networks of 14 leading CPG-focused retailers鈥攊ncluding Ahold Delhaize, Albertsons, Amazon, Costco Wholesale, CVS, Instacart, Kroger, Target, and Walmart鈥攁ccording to the attributes they value most.

Why this matters: Chase understands the value of targeted, personalized shopping and advertising platforms, with its retail media network (RMN) central to capturing and using spend data from consumers.

Connected TV (CTV) is now an integral part of retail media. Media networks can offer rich third-party data, while CTV platforms have advanced targeting capabilities and an engaged audience. But just how big is the opportunity?

That momentum will continue as we expect Walmart will earn more non-Amazon search ad revenues than all other retail media networks combined. Our take: Walmart continues to prove its resilience in a shaky macro environment through its relentless focus on value and convenience.

Western Union has become the latest financial company to launch a media network, joining the likes of Chase and PayPal. 鈥淭he biggest advantage [financial media networks] have is just breadth. So, unlike a retail media network, they capture the entire spending history that a customer has,鈥� said our analyst Maria Elm on an episode of our Behind the Numbers podcast.

Marketers are interested in exploring upper-funnel tactics while continuing to invest in lower-funnel strategies, requiring retail media networks (RMNs) to provide a combination of ad formats for a full-funnel effect. In addition, marketers want access to high-quality data for better targeting and personalization, and look to RMNs for enhanced measurement and optimization techniques.

The outlook for retail media ad spending remains bright throughout most of the world, even as ad budgets are increasingly constrained in the face of economic storm clouds.

Tariffs threaten to reduce US digital ad spending growth this year. This series explains the effects tariffs will have on ad spending in search, social, CTV, and retail media鈥攁nd which parts of each might fare best and worst.

This sponsored article by Tinuiti will explore iROAS in retail media.

The news: Global ad spend growth is slowing but staying positive, with WARC projecting a 6.2% rise to $1.16 trillion in 2025 and MAGNA forecasting a 4.9% climb to $979 billion. Retail media is outpacing linear TV for the first time, and Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon continue to control the majority of digital revenues. Measurable channels like short-form video, retail media, and ad-supported VOD are gaining ground. Our take: Amid economic pressures and trade concerns, advertisers are prioritizing performance, shifting budgets geographically and platform-wise. With elections, AI, and major global events on the horizon, platforms that prove outcomes鈥攏ot impressions鈥攚ill shape the next era.

Ad spending on US commerce intermediaries is set to approach $4 billion by 2027, outpacing other nonretail media cohorts. Key players like DoorDash and Instacart are evolving from delivery apps into full-scale media networks, driving performance and reshaping the commerce media landscape.

Our predictions for retail media networks, smart TV watching, and generative AI.

While the retail media opportunity is massive, it requires reaching consumers across a growing number of channels and adapting in real time. Google鈥攚hich receives billions of searches daily鈥攃an help capture new demand, and turn that demand into purchases, by bringing in valuable first-party data to a brand鈥檚 retail media program.