This benchmark covers how ad buyers can calibrate their retail media ad spending and budget allocations against the market, and how publishers and solution providers can assess whether their ad revenues align with industry trends.​

TikTok advertising works differently than the platforms it competes with: its impact builds slowly, peaks late, and persists after campaigns end. Combined with TikTok Shop's commerce engine and new event-driven surfaces, the platform rewards advertisers who plan for demand-building rather than instant conversion. This FAQ covers TikTok's ad effectiveness evidence, the ownership-transition trust question, and how to buy the platform well in 2026.

51% of US digital food and beverage buyers purchased food or beverage on Amazon, including AmazonFresh and Whole Foods, in the past 30 days, according to a May survey from Bizrate Insights and EMARKETER.

Advertisers can now extend campaigns into AI conversations, signaling a faster push to monetize AI shopping.

Third-party marketplaces concentrate most of the world's online shopping, and the model keeps expanding: social platforms now run marketplaces, US retailers are opening their marketplaces to international shoppers, and Latin America has become the most contested battleground. This FAQ covers how marketplace power is distributed, where the growth is, and what sellers should do about it in 2026.

Lower energy prices mask stubborn costs for gas, groceries, and other essentials.

Legal cases over Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism pull Kenvue and retailers back into a fight that could test consumer trust.

Grocers are lowering prices to keep shoppers, yet CPG results suggest discounts alone won’t revive demand.

More flexible loyalty benefits could strengthen both customer retention and retail media appeal.

This FAQ covers private label's scale, where it is winning, and what the shift means for retailers and brand manufacturers.

Financial media networks’ transaction data across tens of millions of merchants and retailers gives advertisers a fresh angle when planning and measuring campaigns. This is a crucial value proposition made by PayPal Ads to advertisers looking to convert customers and compare allocations between various retail media networks.

Consumers are treating health and wellness as essential spending even in a tough economy. Social media and wellness culture are fueling demand for supplements, healthier food, and longevity products. At the same time, misinformation and pressure to stay healthy are increasing.

Retail media gets interoperable: Walmart Connect plugs into Yahoo and Magnite, bringing purchase data to open CTV workflows.

Retail media is concentrating as a scaled second tier takes shape and the long tail slips further behind. Growth will persist, but the hierarchy is sharpening, raising the stakes for how networks compete and where advertisers place bets.

As marketers increasingly bet on in-store commerce media and consumers shorten their shopping trips, GSTV argues that brevity is a reason advertisers should bet on convenience stores.

Digital shelf labels (DSLs) are gaining momentum in retail stores, as major players prepare to scale adoption. Walmart recently announced plans to roll out DSLs across its entire store fleet within the next year, while Kroger has already begun replacing traditional paper tags with electronic labels in its Cincinnati-area stores.

Both retailers are enhancing attribution capabilities as marketers demand better measurement.

Retailers have prioritized convenience while underestimating in-store behavior, said Placer.ai CMO Ethan Chernofsky at EMARKETER’s Commerce Media Summit.

Retailers that broke through the noise in February didn't necessarily spend the most, they just understood the moment better than their competitors. Here are the three winners from this month’s Unofficial Monthly Retailer Awards, according to a recent episode of “Reimagining Retail.”