Japan’s retail media market is growing as retailers, convenience stores, and mobile payment apps expand their digital advertising capabilities. But Japan’s retail media ad market still lags many other markets due to outdated infrastructure and a risk-averse business culture that has been slow to digitize.

Japan’s fast-growing retail media sector is dominated by tech giants

Retail media will be one of the fastest-growing ad spending channels in Japan in 2026, rising 16.4% YoY, compared with total digital ad spending’s 9.2%, per our estimates.