Retail Media Guide 2025 - How to Start Your Retail Media Ads
Retail media is reshaping how brands connect with consumers in 2025. No more guessing games or vague impressions. Today, it’s about precision targeting, real-time insights, and closing the loop between ad spend and actual sales. Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Instacart are turning their digital shelves into high-performance media networks — and brands that catch on early are gaining an edge.
Whether you’re a challenger brand or a category leader, retail media puts your products in front of high-intent shoppers exactly when they’re ready to buy.
Retail media is indeed revolutionizing brand-consumer connections in 2025, moving us far beyond the era of marketing guesswork. It signifies a pivotal shift towards precision marketing, fueled by real-time data and the ability to directly attribute advertising spend to tangible sales outcomes.
Think of it this way: major retailers – the digital giants like Amazon, the brick-and-mortar powerhouses like Walmart and Target, and the online grocery leaders such as Instacart – are evolving their online platforms into sophisticated retail media networks. These aren’t just places to buy products; they’re becoming dynamic advertising ecosystems.
For brands, this presents a powerful opportunity. Instead of casting a wide net and hoping to reach interested consumers, retail media allows for hyper-targeted campaigns. Imagine reaching shoppers who have previously browsed your product category or those actively searching for solutions your brand offers – all within the familiar and trusted environment of their preferred retailer.
This isn’t just about visibility; it’s about intent. Retail media intercepts consumers at the crucial point of purchase consideration. Whether you’re a challenger brand looking to disrupt a category or a category leader aiming to defend your market share, the ability to place your products directly in front of high-intent shoppers at the exact moment they’re ready to buy is a game-changer.
The beauty of retail media also lies in its measurability. Unlike traditional advertising methods, you gain access to granular data on campaign performance, allowing for continuous optimization and a clear understanding of your return on investment. This closed-loop system, connecting ad exposure to actual sales, provides invaluable insights for future marketing strategies.
In essence, retail media in 2025 is about leveraging the retailer’s direct access to consumer behavior and purchase data to deliver more effective and efficient advertising. Brands that embrace this evolving landscape early are strategically positioning themselves for significant growth and a stronger connection with their target audience.
Programmatic buying has long been the backbone of scalable, efficient digital advertising. As new channels emerge, they typically integrate into the programmatic ecosystem—just as traditional publishers did in the shift from print to digital, and as Connected TV (CTV) evolved from linear formats. Today, that evolution is happening in retail media.
As programmatic and retail media begin to converge, many retailers are approaching with caution. Retail media took off with Amazon and Walmart, who now dominate the space with $56.2B and $4.4B in annual ad revenue, respectively. In response, more than 200 retail media networks (RMNs) have launched, each bringing its own ad formats, targeting rules, and buying platforms. While Amazon and Walmart built custom, in-house ad tech, most other RMNs rely on third-party solutions to move fast and capture ad spend.
Despite offering access to on-site, off-site, and in-store inventory within their own “walled gardens,” many RMNs still fall short of the capabilities and scale of the giants. Their current go-to-market model—focused on direct ad sales and proprietary self-serve tools—is beginning to constrain growth. In fact, eMarketer projects that by 2025, Amazon and Walmart will capture 84.2% of all retail media ad spend, leaving the remaining 15.8% to be divided among hundreds of other networks.
Initially, many retailers resisted programmatic activation via demand-side platforms (DSPs) and supply-side platforms (SSPs), fearing it would compromise their customer experience. Sponsored ad activations often require advanced server-side integration, tight brand control, custom auction logic, and relevance algorithms tailored to the retail environment. Proprietary solutions and direct joint business plans (JBPs) felt like the only way to ensure yield and user satisfaction.
But the tide is turning. Advertisers now report increasing frustration with retail media’s buying complexity. Despite strong performance—thanks to rich first-party data and high user intent—brands want more. They’re demanding transaction-level data for media mix modeling (MMM), greater targeting flexibility, better measurement transparency, and easier cross-platform execution. Instead, they’re stuck navigating a fragmented landscape of managed services, self-serve platforms, and specialized tools—an approach that hinders scale and clouds performance clarity.
Meanwhile, RMNs are also feeling the strain. Expanding advertiser demand, optimizing yield, and maintaining a seamless customer experience are becoming more difficult. Traditional shopper marketing budgets are being pulled in new directions—now expected to support not just conversions but also in-store activations, digital content, and brand collaborations. This fragmentation risks capping the growth potential of retail media.
At its core, retail media refers to digital advertising placed on eCommerce or retailer-owned platforms. This includes sponsored product placements, banner ads, video content, and even on-site search results. Think of it as paid search — but happening on Walmart.com or Instacart instead of Google.
Unlike traditional digital ads, retail media delivers:
- First-party data access
- Real-time purchase intent
- Closed-loop attribution
🔐 First-Party Data Access — Retailers: The Ultimate Source of Shopper Intelligence
Keywords: first-party data in retail, customer data platform, shopper behavior analysis, targeted advertising
Retail media provides brands with access to invaluable first-party shopper data, meticulously collected directly by retailers from their own digital platforms. This encompasses a wealth of information, including browsing patterns on Target.com, shopping lists created on Instacart, and comprehensive order histories from Walmart.com. This data is characterized by its:
- Authenticated Nature: Tied to logged-in users, ensuring accuracy and reliability.
- Real-World Basis: Derived from actual purchase behavior, reflecting genuine consumer actions.
- High Relevance: Filtered to your specific product category and target audience, maximizing impact.
By leveraging this anonymized, high-intent data, brands can execute laser-targeted campaigns directly on the digital shelf, precisely where it matters most in influencing purchase decisions.
⚡ Real-Time Purchase Intent — Capturing Consumers at the Moment of Decision
Keywords: intent-based marketing, purchase funnel optimization, moment marketing, high-intent audiences
Move beyond the limitations of vague “interest-based” targeting. Retail media strategically engages shoppers at the crucial moment of decision. Consider these scenarios:
- A shopper actively searching for “diapers size 3.”
- A consumer adding “organic cold brew” to their virtual shopping cart.
- A customer comparing various “protein bars” in the digital aisle view.
These actions represent live purchase intent – and retail media ensures your product is prominently displayed at precisely these critical junctures. This isn’t just advertising; it’s facilitating conversion in real-time.
Keywords: marketing attribution models, return on ad spend (ROAS), campaign performance measurement, ecommerce analytics
In the realm of traditional digital advertising, measuring the direct impact of ad spend on actual sales can often feel like a shot in the dark.
However, retail media revolutionizes this with closed-loop attribution, providing a clear and comprehensive view of the entire customer journey within the retailer’s ecosystem.
Here’s how it works:
- A shopper sees your ad on Kroger.com.
- The shopper clicks on the ad.
- The shopper adds your product to their online cart.
- The shopper completes the purchase.
The result? A fully tracked and verified sale directly attributed to your specific advertising spend.
Why this is crucial:
- ✅ Real ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Gain precise knowledge of which advertising dollars directly drove specific sales.
- 🧠 Smarter Optimization: Identify high-performing campaigns and strategically allocate resources accordingly. Eliminate underperforming initiatives.
- 📈 Growth with Proof: Move beyond vanity metrics and demonstrate clear, undeniable performance data.
RMIQ automates this loop across retailers so your team doesn’t have to guess, chase, or stitch data together. You get the “what worked” report — daily. Retail media doesn’t guess. It tracks.
The digital cookie jar is officially empty. And we’re happy about it!
The demise of third-party cookies isn’t an end; it’s the explosive genesis of a smarter, sharper, and frankly, better way to connect with your customers.
Here’s why retail media is booming:
- The death of cookies means first-party data is gold.
- Retailers are now media companies, monetizing their shopper traffic.
- CPG and DTC brands are shifting budgets toward performance-driven channels.
Retail media closes the loop between discovery and conversion, offering unmatched visibility into what actually drives sales.
Why Retail Media Is Exploding in 2025
Retail media isn’t just another marketing buzzword—it’s the fastest-growing channel in digital advertising. And in 2025, it’s become mission-critical for brands that want to drive real results.
Here’s why:
1. The Death of Cookies = First-Party Data Is King
With third-party cookies going extinct and privacy rules tightening, advertisers are turning to the one data source that’s still rich, accurate, and compliant: first-party retailer data.
That means actual shopping behavior—what people buy, browse, and search for—straight from the source.
2. Retailers Are Now Full-Fledged Media Companies
Walmart, Amazon, Instacart, and Target aren’t just retailers—they’re high-traffic ad platforms.
They’ve built internal media networks that monetize shopper eyeballs the way Facebook and Google once did.
Now, brands can place ads right where purchase decisions happen—inside the digital aisle.
3. Ad Budgets Are Shifting to What Works
CPG and DTC brands are moving fast. Awareness-only ads are out; performance-driven channels are in.
Retail media offers real attribution, high-intent audiences, and ROI you can actually prove—all of which matter more than ever in a tighter economy.
4. It Closes the Loop
Most digital channels split discovery from conversion. Retail media does both.
When someone searches, clicks, and buys—all on the same platform—you get full visibility from ad to purchase.
That’s not just efficient—it’s transformative.
The Takeaway
In 2025, retail media isn’t optional—it’s essential.
It combines data, intent, visibility, and performance in one place—and with the right platform (like RMIQ), brands can finally unlock the scale, efficiency, and results they’ve been chasing.
Want help making retail media work harder for your brand? We’d love to show you how.
Objective: Drive impactful business outcomes across the customer journey, including acquiring new customers.
Measure What Matters (Not Just ROAS)
Retail media isn’t just about return on ad spend. You should be tracking:
- New-to-brand metrics
- Incremental sales
- Organic lift from paid
- Category share growth
Use attribution windows and A/B tests to get a clearer read on impact.
Here’s how retail media fuels each stage:
- Boosting Awareness: Effectively introduce new products and broaden the reach of existing categories, reaching potential new customers.
- Driving Consideration: Increase engagement by directing relevant traffic to product detail pages (PDPs), attracting both existing and new shoppers.
- Maximizing Conversion: Optimize sales performance for key priority SKUs, while also focusing on first-time purchases.
To keep a close eye on our progress, these Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are crucial:
- ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.
- TACoS (Total Advertising Cost of Sale): Indicates the percentage of total sales attributed to advertising costs.
- CTR (Click-through rate): Shows how often people click on your ads after seeing them.
- CVR (Conversion rate): Tracks the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, like making a purchase.
- Share of voice (SOV): Represents your brand’s visibility compared to competitors within a specific advertising space.
- New-to-Brand Rate: Tracks the percentage of conversions attributed to customers making their first purchase from your brand.
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Let’s delve deeper into The Fragmentation Problem within retail media: a significant hurdle created by disparate jargon, inconsistent Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and incompatible reporting structures.
The uncomfortable truth is that the retail media landscape is far from unified. Each platform operates within its own silo, leading to a complex and often frustrating experience for advertisers.
Consider the fundamental issue of differing definitions. A seemingly straightforward metric like Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) can have vastly different interpretations across platforms. For instance, ROAS calculations on Amazon might incorporate the “halo effect”—sales of other products driven by an ad for a specific item. Conversely, Instacart’s ROAS likely focuses solely on direct attribution. This lack of a standard definition makes direct comparison and performance evaluation incredibly challenging.
Furthermore, each platform often touts its own custom KPIs, making it difficult to establish a universal understanding of success. While some metrics might overlap, their calculation methods and significance can vary considerably.
Delayed reporting cycles exacerbate this problem. The time lag between campaign execution and accessible performance data differs across platforms, hindering timely optimization and strategic adjustments.
Perhaps the most significant contributor to fragmentation lies in inconsistent attribution models. How a sale is credited to a specific ad interaction can vary dramatically. As highlighted, Walmart might attribute a sale to an ad click within a 14-day window, while Kroger might use a shorter 7-day lookback period. These discrepancies make it virtually impossible to achieve accurate benchmarking or gain a holistic view of campaign effectiveness without significant data manipulation.
Examples of this fragmentation are abundant:
- The varying definitions of ROAS, as mentioned with Amazon’s potential inclusion of halo effects versus Instacart’s direct attribution.
- Different platforms prioritizing unique custom KPIs beyond standard metrics like CTR or CVR, making cross-platform performance comparisons opaque.
- The range of reporting cycle lengths, which can span from near real-time to several days or even weeks, impacting the agility of campaign management.
- The diverse attribution windows (e.g., 1-day click, 7-day click, 14-day view-through) that platforms employ, leading to conflicting interpretations of campaign impact.
This fragmented environment makes benchmarking performance across different retailers nearly impossible without dedicated effort to normalize the data. Advertisers are often left juggling multiple dashboards and wrestling with inconsistent metrics, hindering their ability to make informed decisions and optimize their overall retail media strategy.
Pro Tip: To navigate this complex landscape and regain control over your data, leverage cross-platform analytics toolslike RMIQ. These solutions are designed to standardize your data, providing a unified view of performance and significantly reducing the chaos associated with disparate reporting systems. By normalizing metrics and offering a centralized platform, these tools empower advertisers to gain meaningful insights and make data-driven decisions across their entire retail media portfolio.
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Let’s shed light on some common pitfalls that even seasoned marketers can stumble into when navigating the complexities of retail media. Steer clear of these Rookie Mistakes to maximize your impact:
It’s surprising how often advertisers undermine their own efforts by running ads to weak Product Detail Pages (PDPs). Think of your PDP as the final destination for your ad clicks. If it lacks compelling content, clear information, high-quality images, or easy navigation, you’re essentially pouring valuable ad spend into a leaky bucket. A poor PDP experience will inevitably lead to low conversion rates and wasted investment, regardless of how well your ads perform initially.
Another frequent misstep is using the same strategy across all platforms. Each retail media ecosystem operates with its own nuances, audience behaviors, and ad formats. A one-size-fits-all approach neglects these crucial differences and limits your ability to capitalize on the unique strengths of each platform. What works effectively on Amazon might not resonate on Walmart.com or within Kroger’s digital environment. Tailoring your campaigns to the specific context of each platform is essential for optimal results.
Overlooking the power of organic presence is another critical error. Ignoring organic rank and reviews means you’re leaving valuable, often free, traffic and social proof on the table. A strong organic ranking complements your paid efforts, increasing overall product visibility and building long-term brand authority. Similarly, positive customer reviews act as powerful endorsements, influencing purchase decisions and boosting conversion rates. Neglecting these elements creates a fragmented approach and misses opportunities for synergistic growth.
Finally, becoming fixated on chasing only short-term ROAS can lead to short-sighted decisions that harm long-term brand building and customer acquisition. While immediate profitability is important, solely focusing on immediate returns can cause you to miss opportunities for brand awareness, new-to-brand customer acquisition, and fostering customer loyalty. A balanced perspective considers both immediate performance and sustainable growth.
Here’s how to fix these common mistakes and build a more robust retail media strategy:
- Invest in compelling product content: Elevate your PDPs with detailed descriptions, high-resolution images and videos, customer testimonials, and comprehensive FAQs. Ensure a seamless and informative user experience that encourages conversion.
- Diversify placements and tailor strategies: Understand the unique audiences and ad formats available on each platform. Customize your targeting, creative, and bidding strategies to align with the specific environment and objectives for each retailer.
- Think beyond just paid advertising: Implement a holistic strategy that integrates paid media with efforts to improve organic search ranking (SEO) and encourage positive customer reviews. A strong organic presence amplifies the impact of your paid campaigns.
- Adopt a balanced, long-term perspective: While monitoring ROAS is crucial, also track metrics related to brand awareness, new-to-brand acquisition, and customer lifetime value. A sustainable retail media strategy considers both immediate returns and long-term growth.
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Let’s explore the exciting phase of Scaling Up your successful retail media initiatives, transitioning from initial tests to full-scale implementation.
Once your initial campaigns have demonstrated consistent Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and you’ve gained confidence in your targeting parameters, it’s time to amplify your efforts and unlock greater growth. This involves strategically expanding your reach and sophistication.
One key step in scaling is to test additional SKUs or retailers. Having found success with a core set of products or on a specific platform, the next logical move is to broaden your scope. Introduce new products from your catalog to your winning campaigns or explore opportunities on new retail media platforms. This allows you to tap into new customer segments and revenue streams. Remember to apply the learnings from your initial tests to these expansions, but also be prepared to iterate and optimize based on the new performance data.
Another powerful scaling tactic is to run branded versus non-branded keyword splits. This strategy provides valuable insights into how different search queries drive performance. Branded keywords target consumers specifically searching for your brand, often indicating higher purchase intent and conversion rates. Non-branded keywords, on the other hand, target broader product-related searches, allowing you to reach new customers who may not yet be familiar with your brand. By separating these keyword types, you can optimize bids and messaging accordingly, maximizing both direct conversions and brand discovery.
Capitalizing on seasonal peaks is crucial for scaling revenue. Expand budgets during seasonality to align with increased consumer demand and search volume during key shopping periods (e.g., holidays, back-to-school). Failing to increase investment during these high-traffic times can result in missed opportunities and lost market share. Ensure your inventory and fulfillment capabilities can support the anticipated surge in sales.
To further refine your targeting and reach more relevant audiences, layer in audience data and custom segments. Retail media platforms often provide access to valuable first-party and third-party data, allowing you to target specific demographics, purchase behaviors, and interests. Creating custom audience segments based on your customer data or platform insights can significantly improve ad relevance and efficiency, leading to higher conversion rates and a more effective use of your ad spend.
Pro Tip: To effectively manage the increased complexity of scaled campaigns, set automated rules using platforms like RMIQ or Pacvue. These rules can automatically adjust bidding thresholds based on performance metrics, protect your profit margins by adjusting bids based on cost of goods sold (COGS), and ensure your campaigns remain within your target ROAS range, even as you scale your investment and reach. Automation frees up valuable time for strategic analysis and further optimization.
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Win the Digital Shelf — Without Losing Your Mind (or Budget)
Retail media isn’t just another line item. It’s the frontline of modern commerce.
📈 Brands that win the digital shelf aren’t just chasing clicks — they’re earning cart share, shopper loyalty, and prime visibility across Amazon, Walmart, Instacart, and beyond.
But here’s the truth: it’s noisy out there. Data’s messy. Channels are fragmented. And your time is limited.
That’s where RMIQ steps in.
✅ Built to scale your retail media ads fast
✅ Optimizes shopper targeting across top RMNs
✅ Turns spend into actual sales (not just dashboards)
Start small. Move fast. Measure what matters.
And when the chaos hits? That’s exactly why we built RMIQ — to turn messy media into measurable growth.
Ready to win the shelf?
🛒 Top U.S. Retail Media Networks
Tip: Choose platforms where your customers already shop. Don’t spread thin.
Keywords: best retail media platforms, amazon ads vs walmart connect, instacart ads guide
The industry giant, with end-to-end ad solutions from DSP to Sponsored Products.
Walmart’s full-funnel retail media offering with in-store and digital touchpoints.
Target’s in-house media agency with strong audience data and omnichannel reach.
Ads across online grocery journeys — great for CPGs and new product discovery.
Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM)
A powerful media arm using 1st-party shopper data from Kroger’s loyalty programs.
Electronics-focused retail media platform combining tech sales and media precision.
A health and wellness-focused media network using CVS shopper data.
Walgreens Advertising Group (WAG)
Walgreens’ media platform focused on pharmacy and personal care verticals.
Offers scalable retail media through Albertsons’ chain of grocery brands.
Ads for home improvement brands reaching DIYers and contractors alike.
Ulta’s network for beauty brands, leveraging loyalty and purchase data.
Powered by Lowe’s extensive customer data and media inventory.
Reaches fashion, beauty, and home shoppers through Macy’s digital platforms.
Taps into its loyalty-driven customer base to deliver targeted retail ads.
7-Eleven’s new media platform using real-time shopper behavior.
Offers sponsored listings and promotions in food and convenience delivery.
On-demand retail media — rapid delivery meets product discovery.
Pet-focused RMN targeting high-intent pet parents across channels.
Ecommerce advertising across millions of product listings and shopper segments.
While not yet fully public, Costco is reported to be developing its own RMN.
