What is retail media?
Retail media is advertising sold by retailers and marketplaces that uses their own shopper data to target ads and measure results. Brands can advertise on the retailer's website and app, on screens in physical stores, and across other websites, apps and streaming services using the retailer's audiences. Because the retailer sees the sale, it can connect ad exposure to purchases.
A retailer's ad business is usually called a retail media network. Amazon Ads is the largest example, and many grocery, pharmacy, electronics and marketplace businesses now run their own.
How retail media works
Retail media usually falls into three areas:
Onsite: sponsored product listings in search results, sponsored brand placements and display ads on the retailer's own site and app.
Offsite: ads on other websites, apps and CTV, targeted with the retailer's shopper audiences and often bought through a DSP.
In-store: digital screens, displays and audio inside physical stores.
Buying happens in a few ways. Onsite ads are usually bought in the retailer's own self-serve console, often on a cost-per-click basis. Offsite and video placements are more often bought on a CPM basis through a DSP, using the retailer's audiences. Some networks also sell premium packages directly, such as homepage placements or in-store screen takeovers.
Targeting is built on the retailer's first-party data: what people browse, search for and buy. Measurement links ad exposure to sales in the retailer's own records, often called closed-loop measurement. For privacy-safe analysis that combines brand and retailer data, many networks offer a data clean room.
Why retail media matters
Purchase-based audiences: target people by what they actually buy, not just inferred interests.
Close to the sale: ads reach shoppers when they are ready to buy.
Sales measurement: report on attributed sales and ROAS, not just clicks.
Closed-loop optimization: sales data can feed back into bidding and targeting while the campaign runs.
Less reliance on cookies: the data comes from logged-in shoppers, which holds up better as cookie-based targeting weakens.
The catch is fragmentation. Every network has its own tools, data rules and metrics, and sales attributed by a retailer are not always incremental. Testing for lift helps separate new sales from ones that would have happened anyway.
Retail media vs trade marketing
Trade marketing is the money brands spend with retailers on promotions, shelf placement and in-store displays, usually measured loosely. Retail media turns part of that relationship into targeted, measurable media. Some brands now fund retail media from both trade and marketing budgets, which is why it often brings sales, shopper marketing and media teams to the same table. Measured well, it gives category and brand teams a shared view of what drives sales.
Retail media with AdGeeks
Through Amazon DSP, AdGeeks runs display and video campaigns that use Amazon shopping signals, on and off Amazon, with reporting tied to Amazon conversions. Our traders combine this with DV360 or Adform when you need wider reach beyond Amazon audiences. To start with retail media, request access.
