To keep the industry updated between the periodic editions of our Retail Media Report Card, Mars United monitors the efforts at leading retailers and platforms around the globe to improve and expand their capabilities and services. We focus on the initiatives that are expected to impact the way advertisers effectively plan, execute, and measure their marketing programs on these networks, either directly through new behind-the-scenes tools and capabilities, or indirectly through new engagement opportunities that will enhance (or at least alter) the way they interact with shoppers.
The Retail Media Report Card is available for five markets: the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia-New Zealand, and Latin America.
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Albertsons Media Collective
Albertsons Media Collective and NBCUniversal have introduced closed-loop measurement for connected TV. The data collaboration links NBCU’s streaming TV ads with Albertsons shopper data using LiveRamp’s clean room technology.
The capability builds on a prior deal to make NBCU ad inventory available through Albertsons Media Collective campaigns.
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Amazon Ads
A less-discussed solution among the many revealed during Amazon’s unBoxed conference in November was the introduction of location-based interactive video ads on Prime Video, which lets brands customize creative for ZIP codes or states within a single national media buy.
Elsewhere, Amazon DSP advertisers in the U.S. now have access to omnichannel metrics for additional product categories including consumer electronics, apparel, home goods & furniture, home improvement, and toys & games. Previously available primarily for grocery categories, the solution leverages Amazon’s first-party data alongside third-party purchase signals to connect ad exposure with offline transactions.
The retailer also expanded conversion path reporting worldwide following a beta launch that began in North America last January. Now available to self-service Amazon DSP accounts in 29 countries, the metric tracks 30-day customer journeys across sponsored ads and DSP formats. It will expand to managed-service DSP accounts during first-quarter 2026.
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Chemist Warehouse
Australian pharmacy chain Chemist Warehouse has become a foundational partner for the new Retail Plus retail media offering from Foxtel Media, which is the advertising arm of Australian subscription TV company Foxtel Group. The two are working together to shape new ad products and content experiences.
In one inaugural partnership, viewers of second-screen engagement platform allt.tv can have the content they watch connect with the apps used on their phones: A grocery shopping app, for example, can pre-fill the user’s cart with ingredients viewed in a cooking program.
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Coles 360
Coles has declared itself the first major Australian retailer to deploy OpenAI’s premium subscription for businesses, ChatGPT Enterprise, at scale. Slated for completion by February 2026, the full workforce rollout at Coles is intended to speed up research, reduce administrative tasks, surface data insights, support compliance, and fuel idea generation, according to a release.
The company is also working with OpenAI to explore how emerging AI capabilities can reshape the shopping experience in more personalized, convenient, and connected ways.
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David Jones Amplify
David Jones is giving non-endemic brands targeted ad opportunities on post-purchase order confirmation pages via Rokt.
The agreement lets Australia-based David Jones “enhance relevancy at checkout and unlock new opportunities that support our broader omnichannel strategy,” said CMO James Holloman in a release.
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Dollar General Media Network
DGMN has rolled out designated market area-level targeting capabilities for onsite display placements, which now also include search and branded PDPs.
The network additionally introduced exclusive brand PDP sponsorships; flat-fee, tiered pricing for brand term sponsorships; and a self-serve option for commerce display products. And it will soon open new audience segmentation for shoppers who’ve chosen a DG Delivery-enabled store.
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Instacart Ads
A new data integration agreement with TikTok makes Instacart Ads the first retail media network to offer brands end-to-end capabilities natively on the social media platform, according to a release.
These include direct access to high-intent audience segments, dynamic grocery item selection, and closed-loop measurement for campaign performance.
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Kroger Precision Marketing
KPM is leaning on automation and AI for a new suite of insights capabilities, beginning with “Agent Monday.” This customized, weekly summary of brand performance is exclusive to platinum subscribers to the 84.51° Stratum insights tool, which also will gain an interactive AI chat function available to all users.
In early 2026, KPM intends to launch consolidated dashboards that the network says will streamline insights discovery, as well as a self-service interface for data orders that lets brands connect outputs into dashboards, enrich data lakes with their own additional context, and support advanced modeling.
Elsewhere, KPM has added an onsite ad format in the form of video carousels that appear directly alongside shoppable products. Offsite, self-service audiences are now available for Meta ad campaigns via data solution partner LiveRamp, which recently made Meta attribution insights available through its clean room tool.
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Loblaw Advance
Canadian retail media network Loblaw Advance is feeding its in-store sales data to media and entertainment company Bell Media for a closed-loop measurement solution available to the latter’s video advertisers.
The service is available now for advertisers buying Bell Media’s linear TV and select connected TV inventory but is expected to expand to all CTV opportunities by the end of 2025. Key metrics include sales lift and return on ad spend.
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Petco Spot Media
Petco Spot Media has expanded access to non-endemic brands through ecommerce technology provider Rokt.
Tony Gabriele, Petco’s VP of Digital Strategy, says the goal is to enhance the digital journey for its shoppers by giving them additional highly relevant offers.
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Tesco Media & Insight Platform
In the UK, Tesco has upgraded Sphere, the AI-powered ad platform that unifies planning, activation, and measurement, with several new features:
- Tesco Media Creative Studio automatically generates fully compliant ads in multiple formats for Tesco.com and social channels using real-time price and promotion feeds. The tool can customize creative for current customers, lapsed buyers, and new shoppers.
- Self-service multichannel campaign management allows brands to activate across in-store, onsite, CRM, and offsite media from a single dashboard.
- Enhanced measurement tools facilitate live optimization and reporting through such metrics as multi-channel incrementality and multi-touch attribution.
The network also introduced new opportunities to reach audiences, from premium video formats and online brand zones to in-store options including “till takeovers, digital screen rollouts, special builds and working with influencers,” according to a release.
Meanwhile, recent integrations enable brands to activate, optimize, and measure Tesco Media sponsored product ad campaigns through the Pacvue and Skai DSPs. Publicis Groupe’s Epsilon Retail Media and dunnhumby power the process.
Tesco and Pacvue have also co-developed a custom “Sales at Checkout” reporting metric tailored to the former’s fulfillment-based attribution model and standardized within the latter’s DSP to allow cross-retailer comparability.
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TWC Connect
In other news from Australia, TerryWhite Chemmart is expanding its TWC Connect retail media network through the addition of in-store digital screens in high-traffic areas, including front-of-store and pharmacy-adjacent.
The first 200 screens will roll out to 100 stores by January 2026. The company intends to expand the initiative to all 620 stores over the next year.
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Mars United Commerce is a leading global commerce marketing practice that aligns people, technology, and intelligence to make the business of our clients better today than it was yesterday. Our worldwide capabilities coalesce into four key disciplines — Strategy & Analytics, Content & Experiences, Digital Commerce, and Retail Consultancy — that individually deliver unmatched results for clients and collectively give them an unparalleled network of seamlessly integrated functions across the entire commerce marketing ecosystem. For more information about our commerce media practice, contact Willy Blesener, SVP-Media, at [email protected].
