Retail media strategies are diverging; Macy’s and Iceland show how retailers are choosing between faster scale through partners and deeper control through bespoke in-store systems.

Marketers across categories are calling for simpler, more intuitive advertising systems after years of growing fragmentation and technical overload. In interviews with EMARKETER, leaders from Criteo, LiveRamp, Reddit, Vistar Media, StackAdapt, and DoorDash all described a shift toward platforms that reduce effort, unify workflows, and provide clearer decision making. Buyers want fewer interfaces, standardized KPIs, easier activation, and more transparent insight into where ads run. The message is consistent: performance pressure amplifies the value of operational clarity. As the industry moves into 2026, platforms that eliminate friction—rather than add features—will gain share, while marketers who choose simplicity will gain speed and efficiency.

Retailers experimenting with agentic AI are doing so with commercial urgency, not curiosity. In an EMARKETER interview, Criteo’s Michael Greene said retailers now see onsite AI as “mission critical” for owning the shopping journey—especially as consumers increasingly use chat-based tools for early discovery. Generic LLMs lack real retail signals like inventory, regional availability, and nuanced category expertise, making proprietary data the retailer’s strongest edge. With Gen Z already leaning heavily on AI for purchase research, retailers must build systems that deliver more relevant, trustworthy guidance than general chat interfaces. The mandate is clear: build AI that improves baskets, conversion, and shopper retention.

The EU’s regulatory environment will hinder investment in AI-generated ads and agentic commerce in 2026. But TikTok Shop’s expansion will be a catalyst for live commerce.

AI, stricter safety rules, and new ad restrictions are reshaping the UK digital landscape as local sellers gain leverage, platforms face new friction, and advertisers adapt to a fast-changing regulatory environment.

Google and commerce media company Criteo announced an onsite retail media integration on Tuesday, marking the first of its kind for Google and opening opportunities for brands across digital commerce. Criteo and Google’s integration provides clear direction for advertisers struggling to capitalize on retail media’s potential, offering a seamless ecosystem that will connect brands with customers likely to take action.

The news: Meta is moving forward with its ad automation ambitions by introducing new options to consolidate ad targeting, per a company announcement. Meta’s Ads Manager page noted that “some detailed targeting options have been combined,” and that ads using now-unavailable options no longer deliver starting in January. Our take: Automated AI campaigns are the path forward as long as giants like Meta continue pushing for automation and away from manual—necessitating advertisers take key steps to adapt. Campaign goals must be reframed for an AI-first environment.

Criteo is modernizing retail media by launching a global auction-based ad platform and integrating with Mirakl to enable self-serve advertising for over 100,000 third-party sellers. This dual move addresses two persistent challenges: outdated fixed-price ad systems used by most retailers, and untapped ad spend from marketplace sellers. The auction system gives advertisers more control and performance insights, while Mirakl opens up a scalable, automated path for small sellers. Criteo also brings standardized attribution and reporting across retail partners—fixing transparency gaps. These changes position Criteo as a full-spectrum solution for brands, retailers, and sellers looking to compete in a fast-evolving market.

Retail media search ad spending propelled retail media ad spending to its current size. Now, more retail media networks are closing in on search feature parity, and advertisers are looking for ways to approach the critical channel.

Retail media ad spending in France, Germany, and the UK continues to rise, outpacing all other ad formats. The space is developing rapidly despite fragmentation and a lack of standards.

Google no longer plans to unilaterally eliminate cookies from its Chrome browser. After four years of begrudging preparation, the advertising industry is reeling.

Retail media networks (RMNs) have a lot of data and a healthy amount of inventory. But selling on-site inventory to advertisers can be complicated. Connecting retail media data with off-site ads on places like social networks and connected TV (CTV) is even more complicated. RMNs can’t do everything related to selling and serving ads on their own, especially if they want to capitalize on off-site placements.

Privacy Sandbox has a host of problems, partners say: Four ad tech partners released highly critical reports about Google’s embattled post-cookie solution.

Criteo’s layoffs can be linked to cookie deprecation: The ad tech firm laid off 140 employees months after saying cookie deprecation would cost it $40 million.

A lack of standardization across platforms was cited as US marketers’ No. 1 challenge with retail media networks (RMNs) as of last summer, according to the Association of National Advertisers.

Retail media’s positive hype is real. We expect it will disrupt the digital advertising landscape worldwide. In Canada, a handful of players—led by Amazon, Walmart, and Loblaw—have turned it into the fastest-growing ad segment in the country, and at scale.

ROAS is a widely used metric for advertisers to understand the effectiveness of their campaigns, and newly added data to Industry KPIs shows YoY changes in ROAS by industry. We recently added several important metric benchmarks to Industry KPIs, including cost per click (CPC) and ecommerce ad spend.

Asos is working with Criteo to expand its retail media business: The retailer hopes that retail media revenues can help it navigate the challenging economic environment.

Connected TV and programmatic video ad spending continues to exceed expectations in the US.

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