In 2025, retail media found itself at a turning point as networks, advertisers, and platforms pushed into new territory and redefined what the channel could be.
Here are five of our top stories from the year, from the challenges of tracking CTV campaigns to the evolving competitive landscape shaped by Amazon, Walmart, and a wave of innovative smaller networks.
Why retail media CTV campaigns are so hard to track
Why it mattered: Retail media connected TV (CTV) ad spend grew 38.0% in the US in 2025 as retail media moved up the funnel, according to our September forecast. Advertisers were drawn to the idea of retail media precision with premium video, but a fragmented landscape and a lack of standardization made measurement difficult.
This put pressure on retail media networks (RMNs) to team up with streamers for more accurate attribution. However, to keep advertiser dollars coming in, networks must continue to boost their measurement capabilities, providing full-funnel attribution.
Amazon’s retail media ad tech news: Good for brands, bad for vendors
Why it mattered: Amazon remained, and will remain, the biggest RMN in the US, raking in 79.9% of all retail media spend, according to EMARKETER's September forecast. And now, with the addition of its Retail Ad Service, Amazon has expanded its footprint even further by offering its ad tech to power other retailer networks. This effectively positions Amazon not just as the dominant RMN, but as the underlying infrastructure for the broader ecosystem.
While this was welcome news for brands craving more standardization, it also posed a real threat to RMNs trying to scale and to ad tech vendors hoping to sell their own infrastructure. For those players, Amazon’s entry into the “pipes and plumbing” of retail media raised the stakes and potentially shrank the space to compete.
Walmart expands fuel and convenience footprint
Why it mattered: If there was any RMN that was going to give Amazon a run for its money, it would be Walmart. The retailer’s main advantage over Amazon is its massive physical footprint, which it expanded even more this year to include additional fuel and convenience locations.
This move also showed how retail media is evolving into a data ecosystem, not just an ad channel. Fuel rewards, convenience purchases, and loyalty interactions feed Walmart’s first-party data engine, strengthening its competitive position with endemic and non-endemic brands alike.
Beyond Amazon: How smaller retail media networks are innovating to compete
Why it mattered: Though smaller networks will likely never reach the heights of Amazon or Walmart, it doesn’t mean they’re giving up. In 2025, many RMNs began to find ways to differentiate themselves from the competition, using smarter data use, creative partnerships, and off-site expansion.
But RMNs don’t just have to compete with other RMNs now, they’re competing directly with major digital platforms, like Google and Meta. As RMNs move further off-site and into social, publisher, and experiential channels, advertisers are evaluating them with the same expectations, raising the stakes for measurement, interoperability, and ease of buying.
The retail media squeeze: Navigating tariffs, budget cuts, and performance
Why it mattered: Tariffs were the big unknown in 2025. With advertisers bracing for budget cuts and shifting dollars toward channels that guarantee performance, RMNs suddenly faced a tougher fight to justify their value. The industry, which had been riding years of rapid growth, found itself navigating slower spend, higher scrutiny, and increased demand for measurable ROI.
At the same time, tariffs highlighted the increasing need for advertisers to deliver short-term results without sacrificing long-term brand strength. For RMNs, that meant evolving their offerings fast, providing clearer pathways from awareness to purchase.
This was originally featured in the Commerce Media Weekly newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.