Retail media
Sponsored ads on the sites where people already shop, planned as one budget instead of five separate logins.
What is retail media?
Retail media is advertising you buy from a retailer, shown to shoppers on that retailer’s own site while they are looking for something to buy.
Amazon Ads is the one most people know. Walmart Connect, Target Roundel, Instacart and the rest work the same way: the retailer sells the ad space on its own search results and product pages, and it knows exactly what sold afterwards because the sale happened on its site.
That closeness to the transaction is what makes it different from ordinary display advertising. You are not paying for someone to remember your brand later. You are paying to be on the shelf at the moment somebody reaches for one.
Why it gets bought
The shopper is already in a buying mood.
- Intent is high: they searched for the product
- The sale is measured, not modelled
- You reach people who never visit your site
- Your competitor is already there
Where it goes wrong
Usually structure, not spend.
- Each retailer run by a different person
- Budget set by habit, not by return
- Ads sent to listings that do not convert
- No single view of total spend
What we do
- 01Amazon AdsSponsored Products, Brands and Display, the largest retail media network and usually the first one worth fixing.
- 02Walmart ConnectSponsored search and display on Walmart, where competition is still thinner than on Amazon.
- 03Other networksTarget, Instacart, Kroger and the rest, added when your products are actually sold there.
- 04Budget planningOne budget split across retailers by return, reviewed monthly, instead of a fixed amount each.
- 05Listing readinessWe check the listing converts before we spend on sending traffic to it. Ads to a weak listing waste money quietly.
- 06One reportEvery network in one monthly report, so you can see total spend and total return in one place.
What it looks like
Two promotions we built and ran, for two brands in the same group.
Questions people ask
How is retail media different from Google Ads?
Google shows your ad when someone searches the web. Retail media shows it when someone is searching a shop. The buyer is closer to the till, and the retailer can tell you exactly what sold, because the purchase happened on its own site.
What is a retail media network?
The advertising business a retailer runs on its own property. Amazon Ads and Walmart Connect are the two biggest in the US. Each one sells ad placements on its search results, category pages and product pages.
Do I need to sell on a retailer to advertise there?
Yes. Retail media places ads against products in that retailer’s catalog, so your products have to be listed and in stock before the advertising can run.
Which network should I start with?
Wherever you already sell the most, which for most brands is Amazon. Starting where you have sales history gives the ads something to work with, and the audit will show you which listings are ready.
Related services
Want your numbers in black and white?
Send us your store or your ad account. We'll send back a free audit that says what's working, what isn't and what we'd do first.