Key stat: 72% of US buy-side retail media advertisers say they are buying video ads offsite, second only to social media, according to a March RetailX survey commissioned by Koddi.

"In the space of what amounts to less than two years, we've seen commerce media evolve from an emerging idea to an industry pillar," said our analyst Sarah Marzano during a recent EMARKETER webinar.

“Shopper journeys are very complex, and retail media networks (RMNs) need scale to reach those shoppers, wherever they may be,” said Shawn McGahee, head of retail media at Google, during last week’s EMARKETER Summit on commerce media.

Just Eat Takeaway expands retail media offerings with Rokt partnership: The delivery company joins DoorDash, Instacart, and Gopuff in enhancing its ad capabilities

The 2024 holiday season is forecasted to top $1.353 trillion, according to EMARKETER. To thrive in this high-stakes period, businesses must embrace opportunities like AI-driven personalization, seamless payment options, and the longer gift-buying season.

Earlier this year, Best Buy partnered with CNET to expand advertisers’ reach among high-intent shoppers. This is a part of a larger trend where retail media networks (RMNs) team up with outside partners to expand their ad capabilities.

When retailers allow non-endemic brands to advertise, it benefits both sides. “Retailers can further monetize their data, while non-endemics, who have an appetite to expand their reach, are able to leverage that data,” our analyst Sarah Marzano said on an episode of the “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast. Here’s why major retail media players such as Walmart and Home Depot have recently opened up their offerings, along with three best practices to boost performance.

Walmart Connect today announced new in-store and off-site ad inventory, omnichannel measurement tools, and upper-funnel offerings. The retail media network (RMN) is providing advertisers with more opportunities to connect with customers on app, online, and in-store, Rich Lehrfeld, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart Connect, said in an interview with our analyst Sarah Marzano.

Larger retailers are beginning to act more like digital media companies by leveraging their web traffic and first-party customer data into ad businesses.