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.)
Albertsons Media Collective has joined with Procter & Gamble to produce branded episodic entertainment content for retail media. The partners introduced the concept with “Rico’s Tacos,” a “micro-sitcom” series of short, scripted segments about a family’s taco business that was developed on bilingual entertainment platform Minivela. Designed for mobile viewing, the content will be distributed through Albertsons-owned YouTube, social, and in-store media platforms.
“Retail media is evolving beyond placements toward work that drives brand love, commerce, and measurement,” Brian Monahan, SVP- Retail Media at the Collective, said in a release. “With aggregated shopper insights that shape the creative and evaluate performance, brands have a clearer view of what is resonating with their customers and what is driving results.”
In other recent activity at The Collective, an expanded integration with global commerce platform Criteo is bringing sponsored product discovery into Albertsons’ AI-powered conversational search by surfacing paid ads at natural, relevant moments. Eligible sponsored products will appear within product carousels.
“As shoppers use AI and conversational experiences to explore options, brands have an opportunity to put customers first by connecting them to the right products in the moments that matter, meeting their needs with relevance while making retail media feel effortless and organic,” Jill Pavlovich, SVP of Digital Customer Experience for Albertsons Cos., said in a release.
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Amazon Ads (Global)
Amazon is billing its new Alexa+ Agentic Ads as the first ad format that can guide a user from initial ad view to third-party transaction entirely within the native AI conversation. Initially available only on Amazon-owned Echo Show devices for a limited set of U.S. launch partners, the experience will expand to Fire TV and other additional services and become available to more brands over time.
Amazon points to the conversational nature of the experience, which lets users ask questions and compare options prior to checkout, as a way to eventually deliver more personalized, relevant ads, according to Marketing Dive.
Separately, brands selling products on Amazon continue to gain new content automation tools through Responsive Ecommerce Creative (REC), Amazon’s global display ad format. REC automatically creates, resizes, and optimizes ads, dynamically adapting creative to match shopper intent, publisher context, and campaign objectives. Recent enhancements include rich media layouts, in-banner video, AI-powered animated visuals, and conversational prompts.
According to Amazon, those conversational prompts extend Alexa for Shopping beyond Amazon-owned properties for the first time. The interactive display ads allow shoppers to ask product questions on third-party publisher sites and continue the conversation later in Alexa for Shopping. “In Amazon stores, nearly 20% of shoppers who interact with a prompt continue the conversation with Alexa for Shopping, and seven in 10 customers who purchase after clicking a Sponsored Brands prompt are new to the brand,” said Fabrice Rousseau, Amazon Ads’ Director of Brand Product & Tech, in a release. “Now, we’re bringing this engaging ad format to third-party publishers.”
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Costco Retail Media (U.S.)
Costco Retail Media is working with Google Display & Video 360 to let brand partners activate the wholesaler’s audiences for campaigns on YouTube and third-party publisher inventory. The integration also facilitates SKU-level closed-loop measurement.
“We are helping our brand partners combine the high-impact storytelling of upper-funnel media with verified transaction signals,” said Mark Williamson, Costco’s AVP-Retail Media, who recently spoke with Mars United about current industry trends. “This is a critical component of building the ‘connected funnel’ ecosystem that can deliver impressions and sales velocity up and down the path to purchase.”
Kroger and Albertsons also recently unveiled DV360 partnerships.
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Dollar General Media Network (U.S.)
DGMN is also integrating with Google DV360, allowing advertisers to reach its shoppers on YouTube and premium publishers. The move includes first-party shopper data as well as SKU-level closed-loop conversion reporting.
“This unlocks a single platform to manage both brand and shopper campaigns with the same accountability, optimization, and performance expectations as broader enterprise media investments,” DGMN said in a release.
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Gulp Media Network (U.S.)
7-Eleven’s Gulp Media Network is rolling out “5-minute iROAS” measurement methodology for in-store Gulp Radio ad campaigns. The metric is designed to quantify the immediate sales impact of in-store audio advertising by pinpointing sales that occur within the first five minutes after an ad plays, then determining incremental lift by comparing those results to data from the same store and daypart when the ad didn’t run.
This store-level, time-based control also allows campaigns to run throughout the full 7-Eleven footprint by eliminating the need to suppress media in traditional test/control stores, the company said.
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Kroger Precision Marketing (U.S.)
KPM heavily showcased its PrecisionView 360 cross-channel media measurement solution and unified retail media strategies at Cannes. Discussion topics included the network’s new integration with TikTok, which lets advertisers reach purchase-based Kroger shopper audiences directly within the social media giant’s own ad platform to conduct relevant influencer campaigns.
“Brands want to use retail audiences to amplify messages that are timely and relevant, but they also need the flexibility of self-service management in the platforms they already use,” Christine Foster, KPM’s Group VP, said in a release. “By enabling our audiences in the TikTok advertising platform, we are reducing the complexity and friction in media buying.”
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LS Eleven Media Services (Europe)
Asda will become the first retailer outside of the U.S. to deploy Amazon Retail Ad Service for its online platforms, with a phased rollout planned to start in the fourth quarter. The move is designed to unlock richer audience targeting based on real shopper behavior and intent, provide clearer insights, and deliver consistent cross-platform reporting, the retailer said in a release. Brand partners will also be able to extend campaigns beyond Asda’s owned properties into Amazon Ads inventory.
“[This] creates a stronger retail media proposition, giving our [brand partners] the signals, measurement, and scale they need, in a way that is seamless and familiar from day one,” said Rachel Eyre, Asda’s Chief Customer and Digital Officer.
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Roundel (U.S.)
Roundel is piloting a streaming TV integration with DirecTV. The program applies the network’s first-party data to help brands identify more relevant video environments for campaigns throughout DirecTV Advertising platforms, including home screen placements, commercials during live programming, and video ads in travel settings including planes and hotels. This reportedly marks the first time a retail media network has bought into the DirecTV Remote out-of-home service.
According to Roundel, the pilot is unique in its ability to let brands see whether ads are followed by a purchase at Target. It also offers access to marquee programming from major sports leagues as well as “Pause Ads” that surface when a viewer pauses their screen. The program is launching in the coming months with Danone as initial ad partner; Roundel is actively recruiting additional brands.
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Sam’s Club Connect (U.S.)
The erstwhile Sam’s Club’s Member Access Platform has been rebranded as Sam’s Club Connect to better align with a new unified global ad strategy that has Walmart increasing coordination across its retail media businesses — Walmart Connect U.S., Walmart Connect International, and Sam’s Club Connect — through shared technology, tools, platforms, and capabilities.
The goal is to “combine scale, full-funnel solutions, and measurement signals to drive durable business growth for advertisers” as well as deliver “more relevant shopping experiences,” the retailer said in a corporate post.
“The future of commerce media isn’t about advertising in a single channel but understanding and serving customers and members whenever and however they choose to shop,” said Walmart Chief Growth Officer Seth Dallaire, who is heading up the unified commerce media approach.
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Walmart Connect (U.S.)
Walmart is acquiring self-service, connected TV ad platform Vibe.co in a deal expected to close by the end of fiscal 2027. The platform brings direct supply-partner integrations, proprietary ad technology, and performance-driven optimization that can help Walmart Connect advertisers access premium CTV inventory more efficiently, the retailer said in a release.
The integration is also intended to reduce advertiser friction in planning, targeting, creative development, activation, measurement, and optimization within Walmart’s growing CTV ecosystem, particularly for small and mid-market businesses without large media teams or specialized resources.
The move aligns with the content-to-commerce advertising product Walmart touted at Cannes: premium branded content specials developed and distributed by Walmart Connect and Walmart-owned smart TV platform Vizio. The programs organically weave multiple products into the storyline, route viewers to Walmart for checkout, and track purchases. The first iteration was a springtime “Backyard Escapes” program; the next, college student-themed special is set to air in August.
“For too long, the advertising industry has treated storytelling and commerce as separate disciplines,” Vizio GM Courtney Narudo said in a release. “We’re changing that. Walmart is creating a new model where content, media, and commerce work together as one connected experience.”
Also in June, Walmart Connect was among the networks connecting with Google DV360, enabling brands to use Walmart audience data to manage and measure YouTube campaigns.
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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].
