Retail Media Networks

Retail media has transformed the “shelf” from a physical space into an omnichannel one—in-store, online, and in-app. It gives brands direct control over visibility at the point of sale, backed by closed-loop measurement. For retailers, it’s a high-margin business (often 70–90%, versus 2–3% in grocery), which is why most retail media networks have surged since 2020.

Unlike many paid media partners, we’ve been building retail media strategies since 2011—starting with early luxury commerce leaders like Net-A-Porter and brands including Belmond and Aether Apparel. Since then, we’ve navigated the rise of Europe's Fastest Growing grocery delivery app, supported major U.S. retailers, and executed global retail media programs for perishable categories like California Table Grapes.

Here’s what global brands need to know about retail media—and how to evolve their strategy from here.

The IAB calls retail media networks the "third wave" of digital advertising. But unlike social, digital's "second wave" which demanded oceans of new content from brand marketers, retail media is dominated by the paid media buying opportunity. It is, by comparison, content-light in terms of creative burden for brands, but can be investment-heavy if not calibrated correctly.

Retail media is controlled by a small group of giants—and even on these platforms, the advertiser and shopper experience is often sub-par. Search Amazon for “toilet paper,” and you may be served a sponsored placement for a $1,500 Toto toilet. The algorithm prioritizes potential order value, not relevance or usefulness.

Walmart Connect (and Walmex) suffers from similar issues: even category-leading CPG brands often appear in low-quality, blurry sponsored placements. And when brands buy across multiple networks, each platform’s “closed-loop” reporting tends to claim full credit for the same sale, obscuring which channel actually drove performance.

This creates what many marketers call retail media roulette: unclear attribution, inconsistent reporting, and the pressure to keep spending simply because no one can confidently say what would happen if they stopped.

Retail media networks are often “frenemies”: inconsistent data, limited ad formats, and high costs—yet difficult for brands to ignore. As retail media specialists, we help clients break out of these unhealthy dynamics through structured testing that clarifies the real cost and real return of each network.

Much of the value hinges on unique buyer data and the effectiveness of each network’s “shelf-space” ad products. In some cases, independent shopper apps can offer lower-risk access to high-intent audiences—especially for brands entering new markets or taking a cautious approach - see our case study on growing ZEISS sales +14% in Walmart, one of the largest retailers in the US.)

According to BCG, retailers capture 70–90% margins on onsite/in-app retail media, versus 20–40% on offsite tactics. If retailer data is weak—or similar to what your brand already owns—that offsite premium becomes an unnecessary 20–40%(1) markup with no added value.

As shown below and discussed briefly above, 40% of all retail media network investment globally is spent in the US. This means the international media buying opportunity outside the US is immense.

Source: eMarketer, 2025

Asia, the global leader in mobile adoption, blurred the lines between content and commerce years ago with the rise of mega-apps. But in Europe, LATAM, the Middle East, and Africa, retail media is still early-stage. We work with both dominant and emerging retailers to localize international expansion efforts across these markets.

The takeaway: Outside the U.S. and Asia, retail media networks remain nascent and underfunded relative to their potential. With rates growing 15–30% annually, early movers gain a significant advantage in shaping—and benefiting from—these emerging ecosystems.

To succeed in retail media, advertisers must innovate—even when platforms don’t. This is where specialized retail media agencies add real value. We bring multi-advertiser insight, platform fluency, and strategic rigor that go far beyond what any single brand can learn from a sales rep.

From selecting the right networks to targeting the right audiences, we help ensure retail media delivers the strongest possible return. Since 2011, Criterion Global has been an early pioneer in retail media, trusted by clients for strategies that outperform platforms’ default recommendations. Contact us to learn about our retail paid ads services to seize the potential of retail media.