The news: Advertisers are sharpening their focus on retail media networks (RMNs) as a critical marketing channel, according to an April UPS report. Seventy-three percent of advertisers noted plans to spend more on RMNs in the future than they do currently, while 38% of brands have plans to increase RMN spending this year.

Our retail media forecast reaffirms UPS’ findings: US retail media ad spending will grow 18.7% YoY in 2026 to $71.98 billion and continue growing through 2030, when spending will exceed $113 billion.

Zooming in: Retail media’s marketing importance is growing for several reasons:

• Retailers with strong first-party relationships, such as membership programs, are well-positioned to boost monetization while preserving the customer experience. First-party data enables precise targeting and measurement that is essential for effective campaigns.
• That data advantage gives retailers insights into what shoppers browse, add to their carts, and buy—which helps power closed-loop measurement where ad impressions are tied directly to transactions.
• 40% of advertisers regard retail media as capable of delivering full-funnel results, outpaced only by social media, per Infillion.