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2026-08-25 17:11 UTC → 2026-09-07 12:52 UTC ·
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Major retailers are experiencing rapid growth in advertising revenue, which is currently outpacing the growth of core merchandise sales. Companies like Walmart and Target are expanding their reach through various formats, including video and connected TV, to leverage transaction data for high-margin revenue. As the The global retail media market is projected to exceed $200 billion by 2026, with U.S. advertising spend expected to reach approximately $71.09 billion that year. While the sector is seeing significant concentration. expanding, growth rates are beginning to decelerate; excluding Amazon, global growth is projected to drop to 9.8% by 2027. Market concentration remains extremely high. In the United States, Amazon and Walmart are expected to absorb approximately roughly 89% of new retail media spending in 2026. While Amazon’s dominance is also evident in Europe, where it controls more than two-thirds of investments in several major markets, including France. In the market U.S., Amazon alone captured 78% of spending in 2025, while generating $76 billion in advertising revenue over the last 12 months. Retailers are leveraging these high-margin segments to bolster profitability. Walmart reported $6.4 billion in advertising income for 2025, a 46% year-over-year increase. Notably, while Walmart’s traditional retail business operates on approximately a 4% margin, its retail media segment achieves around 70% profitability. Other players, including Target, Instacart, and DoorDash, are also seeing substantial growth. Retail media is becoming a dominant force primary channel for specific sectors like food and alcoholic beverages, growth rates excluding Amazon are projected sectors, expected to slow account for 55.8% of global media investments for alcoholic beverage brands and 54.9% for the food sector by 2027. Experts have noted concerns regarding the potential for increased However, experts warn that an increasing number of advertising formats to degrade and interruptions could potentially “degrade the shopper experience. experience and impact campaign efficiency.”