Marketing

Retail media is on the brink of reinvention. Fueled by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, shifting consumer expectations, and the growing demand for incremental brand investment, the category is entering a transformative era. In 2026, retail media will no longer be a siloed ad channel — it will become the operating system of retail, where…

Artificial intelligence can identify your target audience in seconds, optimize campaigns in milliseconds, and generate hundreds of creative variations in minutes. Marketing automation has never been more powerful — or more tempting. Yet the marketers winning right now aren't the ones automating everything. They're the ones who know exactly what not to automate. Because while…

Over the last few years, most retail organizations have gone all-in on "digital transformation." They’ve bought the software, hired the data experts, and built impressive tech stacks. But here’s the reality: even with all those tools, many marketing teams still feel like they’re driving a Ferrari on a dirt road. If the data says on…

Retail media’s rise has been fast and decisive. Spending is projected to reach $71.1 billion in 2026, with nearly every major retailer now offering advertisers some version of a retail media network. The names leading the charge are familiar: Amazon.com, Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons. These platforms have proven that when purchase data, media inventory, and measurement…

The retail media sector is expanding rapidly. In Europe, it’s growing at nearly four times the pace of the wider digital advertising market, according to figures from IAB Europe, and it’s forecast to hit €31 billion by 2028. For all its potential, retail media can also be complex and demanding, particularly for smaller advertisers with…

For years, the role of a marketer was to tell the brand’s story, build awareness and drive demand. While campaign reporting was part of the job, deeper questions around profitability lived mainly with finance or analytics teams. Today, marketers are still storytellers, but they’re also expected to understand how their decisions affect revenue, retention and…

Retail media is having its gold-rush moment. Nearly every retailer now claims to operate a “retail media network.” The enthusiasm is understandable. Margins are high, the data is valuable, and the investor story practically writes itself. There’s only one issue: most of these so-called networks aren’t networks at all. They’re ad products. Good ones, but…

2025 was the stress test. 2026 will expose who actually learned from it. Retailers now face higher landed costs, compressed contribution margins, and rising pressure on customer acquisition. For example, the removal of the de minimis exemption didn’t just hit retail logistics. It’s rewired the P&L by forcing retailers to face a broader issue that’s…

We’re living in the era of “do not disturb.” Consumers mute notifications, skip ads, and unfollow brands without hesitation. Marketing channels are saturated and attention is strained. Trust is harder to earn because audiences are more selective about what they let in. Success in breaking through hinges on understanding the signals audiences are sending and…

I once had a boss I thought was kind of ridiculous. A larger-than-life persona topped off with a pair of ludicrous luxury sneakers. You can imagine my surprise when, six months later, I bought the same pair. Those shoes, which I whimsically tried on following a small windfall at work, were comfortable and looked amazing.…