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Section 4: Walmart, Amazon, and other key players. Walmart, the dominant retailer in digital grocery, is expected to grow its share of total sales over the next 2 years. Instacart dominates the grocery delivery space, though DoorDash and Uber are slowly increasing in market share. In 2025, Uber and DoorDash will be among the fastest-growing players in digital grocery.

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.

Walmart and Amazon see (mostly) clear skies ahead while Target warns of headwinds. Mass merchants Amazon, Walmart, and Target presented varying pictures of consumer spending in Q3.

Amazon, Walmart, and Stitch Fix lead retailers when it comes to AI implementation: But retailers of all sizes are leveraging the technology to drive sales and improve CX, according to a report provided exclusively to 蘑菇AV.

By comparison, sales at general merchandise stores such as Walmart and Target fell 1.7% YoY in February. Behind the trend: Warehouse clubs are one of the few bright spots in an otherwise difficult retail landscape.

Amazon and Walmart show ads to virtually every shopper on virtually every search result page. Collectively, the two powerhouses claim over 80% of retail media ad spending; Amazon comprises three-quarters, and Walmart comes in at a distant second.

Walmart. Warner Bros. Discovery.

That reluctance extends even to big players like Walmart and Amazon. Some advertisers are walking away from joint business planning (JBP) negotiations with the former, feeling 鈥渟hook down鈥� as brands increasingly sense retailers are using their market power to demand more spending, regardless of performance.

That could complicate its ability to keep prices low, opening the door for competitors like Walmart. Go further: Check out our US Amazon Ecommerce Forecast, as well as our latest reports on the Impact of Tariffs on US Businesses and The First 100 Days of Trump.

Consumer pessimism is spreading: Dollar General鈥檚 view of the strain on lower-income consumers echoes similar observations from Walmart, McDonald鈥檚, and Kohl鈥檚, to name but a few. Walmart CEO Doug McMillan noted in a February interview that stretched consumers are switching to smaller pack sizes by the end of the month because 鈥渢heir money runs out before the month is gone.鈥�.

Loblaw and Walmart tick the boxes on a handful of in-store features, including digital out-of-home, a variety of formats utilizing digital screens, and in-store audio. Sources. Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada). Mars United Commerce. Retail Council of Canada.

Efforts by key retail partners such as Walmart to curb retail theft by locking up products also affected sales, Hieronimus said. Looking ahead: For all the difficulties it faces in the US, the company is better positioned than most beauty brands to navigate tariffs.

Urban Outfitters and Pacsun are tapping into Pinterest and in-person experiences to get students and families shopping, while Meijer, Walmart, and Target are focused on value. Those are just a few brands that made our Unofficial Most Interesting Retailers List, Back-to-School Edition, for July 2024.

Fewer, smaller discounts could make Prime Day less enticing to shoppers鈥攐pening the door to competitors like Walmart that are able to offer better value.

Amazon and Walmart combined will gobble up more than 84% of all retail media ad spending in 2025, representing a pervasive and unyielding dominance within the channel. The share of ad spending allocated to all other RMNs increased by less than 1 percentage point between 2019 and 2024.

But Klarna鈥檚 recent moves like its Walmart and JPMorgan Payments tie-ups can help it maintain its growth as it figures out what鈥檚 next for its IPO.

Those investments are helping to boost ecommerce penetration throughout the region, which in turn is enabling the retailer to maintain its breakneck growth and fend off competition from Amazon, Walmart, and other local players. Go further: Read our report on 25 Years of Mercado Libre in Latin America.

At the same time, Walmart has gained traction with affluent shoppers鈥擳arget鈥檚 core audience鈥攖hanks to low-priced groceries, revamped stores, and improved private label offerings. Target also remains vulnerable due to its reliance on discretionary spending, which continues to soften as consumers tighten their wallets.

Our take: The restructuring highlights TikTok鈥檚 broader struggle to reach its lofty expectations for TikTok Shop in the US鈥攁 market where expectations are high, trust is hard-won, and competition from entrenched players like Amazon and Walmart is fierce. Marketplace safety is a core pillar of ecommerce success, particularly for platforms seeking to win over skeptical consumers and brand partners.

Platforms like Amazon, Walmart Connect, and Instacart rely on steady product availability, competitive pricing, and strong shopper demand鈥攁ll of which are now at risk. Tariffs on imported goods, especially from China, are squeezing marketplace sellers鈥� margins, pushing prices higher, and softening demand.

The broader perspective: Pressure from major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot has reportedly played a role in the administration鈥檚 shifting stance, with executives warning that current tariffs could lead to price spikes and product shortages.

Albertsons is also working with vendors to lower prices, but its smaller size relative to companies like Walmart and Costco gives it less room to negotiate concessions鈥攚hich was one of the considerations that pushed it to seek a merger with Kroger. One lever it can pull to help margins is to increase its penetration of private labels, which accounted for 25.4% of Q4 sales.

But that hasn鈥檛 stopped retailers from trying: Walmart, Costco, and Target are among those pressuring manufacturers for lower prices鈥攁nd are likely to be at least somewhat successful, given their considerable market power. Any concessions will come at the expense of manufacturers鈥� already razor-thin profits.

Why it matters: While overall retail media spending is growing at a healthy pace鈥�20.2% this year, per our forecast鈥擨nstacart鈥檚 share of retail media dollars is slipping as larger players like Walmart and Amazon scoop up a greater share of budgets and CPG advertisers experiment with new networks.