Every company from retailers to banks are looking to cash in on ad revenue.
The rise of retail media promises advertisers the ability to target and measure ads using first-party data like sales, email addresses, and loyalty programs.
Non-retailers like United and JPMorgan Chase as well as specialty retailers like Sephora have jumped into advertising to entice brands with prominent placements on ecommerce websites and data to better target programmatic and social ads. Retailers are also looking for new ways to pitch in-store advertising to brands—formats like digital billboards and signage.
But Amazon’s dominance looms over these companies’ efforts. Advertisers are expected to spend $140 billion globally on retail media this year with Amazon netting $104 billion of that money, according to Emarketer. Within the US, Amazon is expected to make $42 billion, Walmart is expected to make $4 billion and Target is expected to make $1.76 billion from advertising this year.
ADWEEK identified 15 specialty ad networks and the executives leading them. This list is not inclusive of all retail media networks—retail tech firm Mimbi estimates that there are more than 200 retail media networks. This list is based on our reporting and is based on factors including a company’s volume of ecommerce sales, demand from advertisers, and companies with executives who specifically are responsible for leading ad businesses.
Below are the ad networks in alphabetical order by company name.
CVS
Executive: Parbinder Dhariwal, vp and general manager of CVS Media Exchange
With 74 million members, CVS Media Exchange is banking on data from its 23-year-old ExtraCare loyalty program to differentiate itself in retail media. But industry challenges have plagued the business this year, with leaders announcing a $2 billion cost-cutting plan during a quarterly earnings call on August 7.
Still, the 61-year-old company continues to invest in retail media infrastructure both in ecommerce and in-store ads. CVS partnered with Pinterest and The Trade Desk to run offsite ads. And the retailer is adding 2,000 in-store digital screens to store with plans for more next year. CVS currently has around 9,000 locations that engage roughly 5 million people each day.
