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 (U.S.)
The Collective illustrated the effectiveness of its framework for measuring incremental return on ad spend (iROAS) by revealing an analysis of 42 campaigns that demonstrates significant variance in results depending on methodology choices. According to the network’s study, 83% of outcomes shifted from positive to negative results depending solely on how the metric was defined.
“Before reporting lift, we evaluate match quality and, where business context is required, we incorporate time-series modeling to account for trend and seasonality,” explained Liz Roche, VP of Media and Measurement, in a blog post. Roche detailed how the network’s methodological rigor achieves more accurate results by incorporating advanced matching methodologies grounded in predictive purchase behavior to construct credible test and control groups while also enabling in-flight optimizations.
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Amazon Ads (Europe)
Amazon Ads is working with DAX (Digital Ad Exchange), an arm of U.K. media firm Global Media Group, according to a report from Adweek. The collaboration would let brand advertisers use Amazon’s first-party data for campaigns using Global Media’s audio inventory, including its network of radio stations and streaming properties.
The opportunity would be the first of its kind in the U.K. audio market, and the latest extension of a model Amazon has undertaken in the U.S. — with the likes of Spotify, SiriusXM, and iHeartMedia — to grow the market share of its demand-side platform while giving advertising partners more offsite media opportunities.
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Cartology (Australia-New Zealand)
Cartology, Woolworths Group’s stand-alone retail media business, has introduced a Unified Planning Strategy designed to shift its partnership focus from providing individual media tools to implementing strategic full-journey campaigns. According to the network, this integrated approach can deliver twice the number of new customers and a 35% increase in average weekly sales by bridging the gap between in-store environments and on- and off-platform digital elements for advertisers.
“So often, brand and trade budgets are kept separate, leading to a disjointed and confusing experience for our customers on their journey through the messy middle of decision making,” said Robbie Lawson, Cartology’s General Manager of Commercial and Strategic Solutions for Everyday Needs. “Retail, however, is one of the few environments where mental and physical availability can meet in the same critical moment of choice.”
Cartology’s innovation roadmap also includes expanding offsite partnerships, evolving its self-servicee platform, and increasing investments in incrementality and other measurement upgrades, Mi3 reported.
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Costco Velocity (U.S.)
Costco is introducing AI-powered onsite ads from ad tech firm Moloco to scale its retail media platform — which was newly rebranded as Costco Velocity. The first new ad format is appearing in high-traffic areas such as the Costco.com homepage and search results.
Officially called “Reserved Display” ads, the format is designed to serve as “personalized digital endcaps” that replicate the warehouse club’s in-store “treasure hunt” experience in an online environment, according to Costco Assistant VP-Retail Media Mark Williamson in a LinkedIn newsletter.
By integrating Moloco’s AI engine directly with first-party shopper data, Costco Velocity aims to:
- target ads based on a member’s full omnichannel shopping history rather than a single browsing session.
- optimize campaigns in-flight based on actual sales outcomes rather than clicks and impressions.
- seamlessly activate a brand’s custom Costco audiences within onsite campaigns.
Beta access to the program opens this quarter, with wider availability, additional ad slots and formats, and programmatic buying via multiple external supply-side and demand-side platforms following soon.
Costco Velocity is also working to drive offsite discovery by teaming with the DoorDash-owned Symbiosys platform to let brand partners promote products in Google Shopping search results. Beta access for this opportunity opened in March, with brands initially able to track ecommerce sales in-flight and optimize to meet performance KPIs. Omnichannel sales attribution will follow.
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Gopuff Ads (U.S.)
Gopuff Ads is enhancing the always-on measurement tool it developed with commerce tech company Koddi to track shopper behavior up to 270 days following a test period, letting brands measure the long-term impact of campaigns, JR Crosby, the on-demand delivery company’s Director of Adtech and Data Partnerships, told Path to Purchase Institute. The capability has identified a 55% increase in transactions and revenue among shoppers who were exposed to ads (compared to a control group).
“ROAS on its own is not enough,” Crosby told P2PI. “Advertisers want to prove that the money they’re spending is driving incremental conversions, and they want the ability to separate those conversions from purchases that would have happened organically.”
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Instacart Ads (Canada)
Instacart Ads has extended its U.S. retail media partnership with The Trade Desk into Canada, allowing brands to use its audience segments and measure campaign impact at the on-demand delivery leader’s north-of-the-border retail partners.
“Our syndicated Instacart off-the-shelf audience segments span a wide range of categories that can be a fit for a variety of brands,” Graham Edward, the ODD’s Head of Canada and Emerging Brand Partnerships, told Media in Canada. Pilot programs began in March, with a broader rollout planned for later this year.
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Kroger Precision Marketing (U.S.)
In an initiative that gained plenty of attention at Shoptalk Spring last month, KPM has become the first retailer to fully integrate its first-party shopper data and SKU-level closed-loop measurement with Google’s Display & Video 360 platform. The collaboration lets brands build and measure campaigns across YouTube, YouTube TV, and Google’s third-party inventory using Kroger’s purchase-based audiences, providing a unified view of how digital video ad spending impacts sales.
Historical shopper data “tells us a lot more about the consumer than a cookie ever could,” said KPM Group VP Christine Foster during a Shoptalk Spring panel discussion. Offsite partnerships like these allow brands to move from simple retail media activation full-funnel media planning “that is going to supercharge the system,” she said.
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Meijer Media (U.S.)
Meijer Media is working with retail media technology company Pentaleap to update its sponsored search capabilities. A new relevance-first approach will unify organic results and sponsored placements within a single ranking framework, ensuring that bid strength alone won’t determine the ads that Meijer shoppers see. The goal is to deliver stronger engagement and healthier advertising outcomes without sacrificing the shopper experience, per a media release.
The capability lets Meijer rapidly test and refine how sponsored products are ranked and displayed in search results, enabling a more data-driven retail media operation, according to the release. It brings the platform’s existing ad partners into a single system, enabling them to keep using their current tools and workflows while benefiting from more relevant ad placements.
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MercadoLibre (Latin America)
Ecommerce platform MercadoLibre is expanding into the grocery category through a deal to sell products from Brazilian retailer Assaí on its marketplace. The staged rollout began in March 2026 and will be national by the end of 2026.
MercadoLibre will store and deliver an initial assortment of 400 items in categories including nonperishable foods, personal care, beauty, and household essentials, with the number expected to increase over time.
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Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (U.S.)
Sam’s Club is bringing ad sales for the sample vending machines operated inside its stores by technology company Freeosk in-house. After rolling its own in-store sampling/demos business into the Sam’s Club Member Access Platform last year, the retailer is now adding the Freeosk program to better connect all in-store ad activation. Freeosk execution will now be treated like any other asset controlled by MAP, with lifecycle engagement data available for measurement and targeting purposes. Sam’s Club also plans to reskin the machines with its own branding.
“It felt very much like you were walking up to a different machine owned by a different company, with a different product than we were focusing on in the club,” Harvey Ma, VP and GM of Sam’s Club MAP, told Modern Retail. “Bringing that all together in one holistic experience and tying it into all of our advertising capabilities and assets [is] a winning formula for everybody.”
The retailer has also added interactive tablets (operated by Freeosk) to the live sampling/demo cart program, enabling shoppers to instantly provide reviews to be uploaded to a product’s page on Samsclub.com. “The ability to monetize and influence a single demo event with a tablet like that is part of what this connected ecosystem is all about,” said Ma. It also extends shopper identifiability and closed-loop measurement to the live activations.
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Uber Advertising (U.S.)
Uber has forged an exclusive multi-year agreement with digital promotions operator Ibotta to send product offers to shoppers throughout the ODD’s U.S. retail ecosystem. The Ibotta offers will initially debut within the Uber Eats app and later expand to both grocery and other product categories within the Uber and Postmates apps.
“Ibotta brings a best-in-class, performance-driven promotions network that connects brands to real retail outcomes at scale,” said Kristi Argyilan, Global Head of Uber Advertising, in a release. “Combined with Uber Advertising’s suite of full-funnel solutions, CPG brands can deliver the most relevant savings and offers to consumers throughout their entire journey, from consideration to decision and point of purchase.”
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Walmart Connect (U.S.)
Walmart is unifying the login procedure for new Vizio TVs to let customers use their Walmart account information to access smart TV features and simplify device setup. The ultimate goal is to link streaming viewership directly to store purchases, according to a release.
The integration will enable audience-based targeting and more accurate measurement across all Vizio ad inventory for advertisers. Additionally, Walmart is rolling out new shoppable product placements within Vizio’s operating system. The new formats will facilitate creative that links directly to Walmart.com product pages and other engagement touchpoints.
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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].
