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Retail Media in 2026: From Growth to Proof
Oct 25, 2026 · Read time: 2 min · DV8 Pacific
Retail media, advertising sold by retailers using their own shopper data, remains one of the fastest-growing ad channels in the US. But the growth is unevenly shared, and the questions advertisers ask have changed.
Concentration at the top
Industry forecasts expect Amazon and Walmart to capture most of the new money flowing into US retail media. Both report fast-growing advertising businesses in their earnings, growing faster than their overall sales. Every other network competes for what remains, which raises the bar for smaller networks to prove their value.
From growth to proof
The first phase of retail media was about building networks and capturing budgets. That phase is ending. The Interactive Advertising Bureau describes commerce media as moving past rapid expansion into a period where networks must prove business impact, standardize measurement and differentiate. Advertisers ask harder questions. Did the campaign create sales that would not have happened otherwise? Can results be compared across networks? Does the network work across online, offsite and in-store?
Many marketers plan to keep increasing retail media budgets, while fewer are confident that networks measure results well enough to prove added sales. Networks that cannot close that gap will lose share.
Five shifts to plan around
Full funnel. Retail media now spans streaming TV, video, display, offsite and in-store, not only sponsored products on a search results page.
Offsite growth. Retailer data increasingly buys inventory on streaming services, social platforms and publisher sites, then measures sales back at the retailer. Offsite is one of the fastest-growing parts of the market.
In-store media. Stores are becoming media environments, with screens and audio close to the point of purchase. The IAB has published standards for measuring in-store retail media, though proving exposure remains difficult.
Assistants as ad inventory. Amazon sells sponsored prompts inside its shopping assistant, Walmart is building ads around Sparky, and retailers and ad platforms have begun testing ChatGPT ad placements with their own shopper data.
Fragmentation. Large consumer goods advertisers commonly use several networks, each with its own dashboard, definitions and attribution rules. Comparing them has become a significant workload.
What this means for growth-stage brands
For brands with limited budgets, the concentration of retail media is both a warning and a guide. Spreading small budgets across many networks rarely works. Concentrating on the one or two retailers that matter most to your sales, where you have reliable distribution and stock, usually does. Ask every network for the same thing: not just attributed sales, but new-to-brand customers and evidence of added sales.
Sources: IAB, 2025 Annual Report and commerce media publications; IAB and MRC, "Retail Media Measurement Guidelines," January 2024; EMARKETER, US retail media forecasts, 2025; Amazon and Walmart quarterly earnings releases, 2026; NIQ and Sensor Tower retail media research, 2026; DV8 Pacific analysis.