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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Amazon Ads (U.S.)
Amazon Ads is making it easier for advertisers to use third-party AI agents as the interface that operates their media campaigns by launching an open-standard Model Context Protocol (MCP) server.
Unveiled at IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting in Palm Springs, CA, and currently in open beta, the server integrates with Amazon Ads’ campaign management tools to act as a translation layer, using natural language prompts to let AI agents such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini check performance reports, adjust account settings, and view financial data — without requiring bespoke connections for each workflow.
“It’s a lot of heavy lifting to teach the agent how all of this works,” Paula Despins, Amazon Ads’ VP of Ads Measurement, told Adweek. The new MCP adapts Amazon’s systems to the way AI agents already operate, streamlining operations at scale, she said.
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Cencosud Media (Latin America)
As part of an overall plan to invest $600 million in its business in 2026 (a level similar to last year), Chilean multi-brand retail conglomerate Cencosud has earmarked 30% to strengthen its retail ecosystem: accelerating digital transformation, expanding ecommerce and the Cencosud Media retail media business, and enhancing logistics and operational capabilities.
The other 70% of the investment has been allocated to growth initiatives, primarily the opening of 20 stores: seven new The Fresh Market locations in the U.S., plus 10 supermarkets and three unspecified formats in Latin America. The company also plans to renovate other stores and expand some of its shopping centers, among other initiatives.
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Coles 360 (Australia-New Zealand)
Coles 360 has integrated Snapchat’s “Promoted Places” into its advertising suite, allowing brands to run proximity-based ads on the social media app’s popular map feature. The aim is to drive store visits by surfacing brands to Snapchat users when they approach a Coles location. Coles 360’s measurement platform will link Snapchat ad engagement to in-store and online sales data to quantify ROI and sales uplift.
“Being the first retail media network in Australia to unlock Promoted Places is a significant milestone for Coles 360,” Bec Penn, the retailer’s Head of Product, told AdNews Australia. “This partnership puts the customer at the center, allowing brands to engage shoppers in a way that feels natural, timely, and genuinely useful — bridging digital discovery with real-world shopping.”
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CVS Media Exchange (U.S.)
Continuing to build out in-store media opportunities, CMX intends to add front-entrance screens to another 500 stores as well as expand self- and managed-service audio buying options in 2026, Modern Retail reports. Those efforts build on 2025 investments that placed front-entrance screens in an initial roughly 500 stores and waiting-area screens in 2,000 pharmacies.
CMX expects its total screen count to reach roughly 11,000 by yearend, including digital endcap screens in some 600 stores and POS systems running checkout ads in about 7,000 locations.
Parbinder Dhariwal, VP/GM at CMX, told Modern Retail that 54% of surveyed shoppers find the screens useful and 20% have taken action after seeing the messages. The pharmacy screens have proved particularly effective because they engage shoppers before they exit the area and move back through the store, he said.
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DoorDash Ads (U.S.)
DoorDash Ads is rolling out a series of new targeting and measurement capabilities for U.S. brand advertisers. Among them:
- Audience targeting based on specific food preferences (identified through restaurant ordering behavior) for sponsored product and sponsored brand ads.
- Retailer-specific targeting for sponsored products (previously only available for sponsored brands).
- Self-service access to reporting on category share via sales, units sold, and impression volume — including retailer-level data — as well as benchmarking against the top five competitors by share of sales.
“Our latest tools help CPG brands understand their category position, refine audience strategy, and tap into what’s distinct about DoorDash,” said Katie Daleo, GM of CPG Ads at DoorDash, in a release.
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Hy-Vee RedMedia (U.S.)
Hy-Vee RedMedia has added video capabilities to its homepage banners/“Swim Lanes,” rows of ad placements that direct shoppers to a curated landing page or let them add products to their cart.
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Kroger Precision Marketing (U.S.)
Kroger has introduced video screens to the wine & spirits departments of roughly 600 stores nationwide. Undertaken in partnership with in-store media platform Looma, the rollout expands on a multi-year pilot Kroger conducted in roughly 50 locations that drove measurable gains in category sales, improved endcap execution, and provided advertised alcohol brands with significantly higher iROAS, according to a release.
In other in-store news, Kroger’s digital screen partnership with global retail design company Barrows has moved beyond the trial phase and will expand to an unspecified number of stores in new markets nationally in 2026. The screens will be positioned on endcaps, in upfront locations, and in the frozen section.
“We’re focused on signage that is native to the environment within the store that can spotlight complementary products,” Christine Foster, SVP of Commercial Strategy and Operations at KPM, told Modern Retail.
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Lowe’s Media Network (U.S.)
Lowe’s has augmented Mylow, its AI-powered home improvement advisor, with voice capabilities, Joe Cano, SVP-Digital Commerce, told Retail TouchPoints. Because Mylow users typically seek help with comprehensive projects rather than specific products, they are “a higher-spend customer and we need to help them more,” he said.
The retailer is also prioritizing and personalizing home-page video content based on the viewer’s individual search history, via AI-powered video commerce solutions from Firework, Cano told the publication. The initiatives illustrate Lowe’s’ efforts to enhance the shopper experience through curated content, he said.
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Valiuz (Europe)
France-based Valiuz has launched a programmatic in-store audio offering, with The Trade Desk and SoundCast as media buying partners. The solution lets brands automatically insert targeted ads into in-store playlists based on criteria such as location, broadcast time, and real-time shopper flows. The offering is powered by in-store audio technology provider midiA, whose intelligent audio system collects visitor count data.
“Inspired by American initiatives, this offering is a pioneering venture in Europe: it is the first time that in-store audio media buying is made possible via an open programmatic protocol,” said Eva Galand, Head of Revenue Development at Valiuz, in a release. “This launch marks a strategic turning point in utilizing retail audio spaces. It ushers in a new era for brands looking to engage consumers directly in-store.”
Available to both endemic and non-endemic advertisers through self-service and managed-service buying, the innovation first rolled out in Boulanger appliance and electronics stores last November but is expected to quickly expand to other retailers in the Valiuz network.
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Walmart Connect (Canada)
The network has launched an ad-certification program awarding LinkedIn-verified credentials that’s intended to optimize campaign performance by accelerating fluency in the Walmart Connect ad ecosystem.
Following the lead of a U.S. program that rolled out in 2023, the Canadian launch starts with modules on retail media and sponsored products. “Future modules will focus on onsite solutions and in-store opportunities, allowing learners to continue building their understanding as the platform evolves,” Lesley Conway, Head of Walmart Connect Canada, told Retail Insider.
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Walmart Connect (LatAm)
Walmart Connect Mexico is adding Swiss-based technology company Advertima’s Audience AI solution to both digital and static in-store media touchpoints in what the companies are calling “the world’s largest in-store audience intelligence rollout for in-store retail media.” The project will span thousands of sensors in hundreds of stores.
Advanced AI computer vision and sensor technology capture and anonymize shopper age, gender, and group composition data, which is then combined with contextual and retailer first-party data to build audience segments that can be activated with real-time targeted ads across in-store touchpoints. Initial activity will be used to establish a measurable foundation for in-store retail media, according to the companies.
“Walmart Connect has always built retail media around audiences, performance, and measurable outcomes,” said Jonatan Fasano, Business Development Director for Walmart Connect Mexico, in a release. “When we looked at how in-store retail media needs to evolve, it was clear that the same principles must apply inside the physical store as well.”
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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].
