Not on scale; nobody outspends Amazon or Walmart. Mallazzo's alternative is structural: brands pooling audiences and underwriting shared affiliate content, which he calls growth guilds, to buy performant inventory collectively. Trust is the ceiling. Costco's Mark Williamson has said the network's job is to be a treasure map for the treasure hunt, not a toll booth.

Retail media is advertising sold by a retailer across its site, app, stores, and partner channels using first-party shopper data. Retail media networks monetize purchase intent through sponsored search, display, connected TV, creator content, and in-store placements.

The Future Commerce outlook: the next fight is not for shelf space or inventory. It is unsolved “mid-funnel” activation in channels that have historically courted TOFU budgets with BOFU metrics.

Explore the research Read FC’s POV

$175Bglobal retail media ad spend in 2025 (WARC)

$1.3Tcommerce media’s total value by 2026 (McKinsey)

50% → 20%share of purchase decisions made in-store — collapsed in three years

Future Commerce’s Point of View

Retail media’s second act begins where purchase intent ends

Amazon proved that the moment of purchase can be more profitable than the product. That does not mean every retailer can copy Amazon. Most networks are good at capturing demand that already exists. Far fewer can educate an undecided shopper, compare performance across channels, or add advertising without making the customer experience worse.

The mid-funnel problem

Retail data can identify a likely buyer, but a data signal is not a reason to care. Solving the gap requires useful content, creative, creator partnerships, and in-store experiences. Another banner beside the buy button will not do it.

Trust sets the ceiling

Shopper data only remains valuable while customers believe the retailer will use it to improve discovery rather than strip-mine attention. Costco’s formulation is the right test: retail media should be a treasure map for the treasure hunt, not a toll booth at the door.

What’s Inside

The Retail Media Funnel, and Where It Breaks

Below we break down the four customer stages (and two tests) to show where retail media creates value and where it breaks down...

Discovery

CTV, social, creator, and in-store media should introduce something relevant. Measure incremental reach and qualified attention.

Consideration

Editorial content, comparison tools, video, and sampling should help an undecided shopper choose. This is the mid-funnel gap.

Conversion

Sponsored search, product placements, and offers make purchase easier. The risk is capturing existing demand and claiming to have created it.

Loyalty

Personalized offers, replenishment, and member media should recognize what matters to the customer. Measure repeat purchase, lifetime value, and renewal.

Measurement

Use incrementality and comparable standards across networks. A last-click sale does not prove the ad changed behavior.

Trust

Every placement spends customer attention and data. If monetization weakens discovery or the membership promise, it damages the asset that made the network valuable.

The Lexicon

Key terms defined by Future Commerce

Terms used in retail and commerce media, including Future Commerce executive network contributions.

Commerce is the final form of media

FC’s contributor claim (Mallazzo): the largest marketplaces became marketplaces for ad revenue; every transaction surface is, at its basest, media inventory.

Retail Media is The Final Boss

TABULA RASA: the last, hardest level of eCommerce, where retailers become media operations or get commoditized.

The mid-funnel problem

It’s the gap between what retail media networks do well and what they’re missing: content that actually educates an undecided shopper.

The halo effect / incrementality

The off-channel, full-funnel lift retail-media spend creates beyond the last click. The measurement question that separates a real growth engine from a commodity ad tax — and the proof the mid-funnel is solvable.

Retail → commerce media rebrand

United, Uber, Marriott sell the same audiences; “retail” was too narrow for a $1.3T sector.

The store as a media surface

Every physical touchpoint (screen, shelf, decal, audio) is monetizable inventory; the store becomes a media property.

FAQ

Questions we get asked

What is a retail media network?

A retail media network is the advertising business a retailer operates using its customer relationships, first-party data, and shopping surfaces. It may sell sponsored search, display, off-site audiences, connected TV, creator programs, and placements inside physical stores.

What is the difference between retail media and commerce media?

Retail media begins with retailers and their shopper data. Commerce media is the broader category: airlines, hotels, delivery platforms, banks, and other businesses can also turn transactional audiences into advertising products. The operating questions are largely the same (identity, relevance, measurement, and trust).

What is the mid-funnel problem?

Retail media is strongest near conversion, where purchase intent is already visible. The mid-funnel problem is its weaker ability to educate an undecided shopper and create preference. To close that gap, retailers need content and creative capabilities in addition to ad inventory.

How should brands measure retail media?

Start with the objective and funnel stage, then measure the behavior the campaign is meant to change. Use incrementality, new-to-brand customers, assisted conversion, basket lift, repeat purchase, and comparable cross-network standards alongside ROAS. A last-click sale does not prove the ad created demand.

Can anyone challenge the Amazon-Walmart duopoly?

Not on scale — nobody outspends Amazon or Walmart. Mallazzo's alternative is structural: brands pooling audiences and underwriting shared affiliate content, what he calls growth guilds, to buy performant inventory collectively. Trust is the ceiling on all of it. Costco's Mark Williamson has said the network's job is to be "a treasure map for the treasure hunt," not a toll booth.

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Retail Media: What It Is and How Retail Media Networks Work

Retail media’s second act begins where purchase intent ends

The mid-funnel problem

Trust sets the ceiling

Before we build it, we have to envision it.

The essentials

The Retail Media Funnel, and Where It Breaks

Discovery

Consideration

Conversion

Loyalty

Measurement

Trust

More from the archive

Key terms defined by Future Commerce

Questions we get asked

Related frontiers

Every retailer is a media company now. The only question is whether yours knows it yet.