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Retail Media Networks Statistics 2025: 92+ Stats & Insights [Expert Analysis]
- October 15, 2025
- 3:34 am
Retail media networks — ad networks operated by retailers, marketplaces, or commerce platforms — have evolved from a niche “add-on” tactic to a core digital channel. As brands increasingly compete for attention in digital commerce environments, RMNs offer unique advantages: first-party purchase data, closed-loop attribution, and access to high-intent audiences at the moment of shopping.
In this edition, we go deeper than aggregate forecasts. We survey the most current and credible data going into Q4 2025, analyze growth trends, compare regional and vertical breakdowns, and surface strategic lessons for marketers and retailers. Use this as your reference point and decision tool for 2025.
Table of Contents
Market size & growth
Global retail media ad spend estimates vary by source, but major forecasts show rapid double-digit growth from 2023–2026.
One forecast estimates the global RMN market at ~$30.0B in 2023 with a multi-year CAGR in the high single digits to low double digits.
Another widely-cited industry forecast projects the global retail media market could reach ~$179.5B in 2025 (Coresight/Dentsu estimates referenced by practitioners).
eMarketer notes that over 80% of worldwide retail media ad spending is expected to happen in China and the U.S. in 2025.
US retail media ad spend forecasts commonly place total U.S. RMN spend in the tens of billions (e.g., $60B+ guidance from multiple analysts).
Grand View projects the RMN market to grow to ~$56.97B by 2030 at ~10.5% CAGR (2024–2030).
Forecasts differ widely by methodology — some include marketplace/third-party programmatic spend, others count only retailer-owned channels; results therefore vary by tens of billions.
Retail media’s share of global ad budgets is rising; some analyses put RMNs at >20% of certain digital ad categories by mid-decade.
Retailers are increasingly monetizing inventory (homepage slots, search results, video, off-site DSP placements), creating new ad revenue lines.
Retail media platform vendors and technology providers form a sizeable submarket—separate from retailer ad revenue—projected to grow strongly (platform market estimates show ~USD16–17B+ in 2024).
Search and sponsored-product ad formats within RMNs are among the fastest-growing budget categories year over year.
Many forecasts expect retail media growth to outpace total ad market growth for the near future.
Major players & concentration
Amazon is the single largest retail media business globally and accounts for a very large share of retail media ad dollars.
Amazon ad revenue estimates used by industry forecasters for 2025 commonly appear in the tens of billions (WARC forecast example: ~$60.6B for Amazon ad revenue in 2025).
Walmart Connect is one of the fastest growing retailer ad businesses; public reporting showed ~$3.4B–$4.4B in recent fiscal years depending on the reporting period.
China’s marketplaces (Alibaba, JD, Pinduoduo) plus Amazon together account for the lion’s share of RMN dollars globally.
Many national supermarket chains (Kroger, Carrefour) and big box retailers (Target, Walmart) have scaled retail media offerings into multi-hundred-million or multi-billion dollar lines.
There are 200+ named RMNs and dozens more programmatic/managed solutions and tech vendors.
Brands commonly run campaigns across multiple RMNs — the average number of RMNs per brand is high (commonly 6–9 networks).
Market concentration matters: a few large retailer media businesses capture a majority of spend in many regions.
Smaller regional or vertical retail networks (e.g., pharmacy, DIY, grocery) are growing fast and often provide stronger category match for certain brands.
Retailers are bundling off-site DSP inventory, connected TV (CTV) placements and on-site search into unified offers to attract brand budgets.
Retailer ad revenue examples & growth
Amazon: analysts and media forecasters estimate Amazon ad revenue in the tens of billions annually (multiple forecasts put 2025 estimates near $60B).
Walmart: public reporting and media coverage place Walmart’s global ad revenue in recent years in the low billions (e.g., $3.4B in FY2024; some reporting shows $4.4B for later periods).
Kroger Precision Marketing leverages loyalty data (84.51˚) and is prominently positioned in grocery retail media growth.
Vizio’s SmartCast (acquired by Walmart) gives Walmart TV/streaming inventory to expand CTV ad reach.
India: leading e-commerce platforms reported advertising revenues growing year-over-year (e.g., Amazon/Flipkart/Myntra ad revenue increases reported in FY25).
Many retailers report RMN growth rates in the 20%+ year-over-year range during high-growth phases.
Retail media ad revenue is increasingly recognized on retailer P&Ls as a strategic margin driver (higher gross margins than core retail).
Retailers with loyalty programs or large email databases have higher monetizable data assets and therefore higher per-user ad yield.
Formats & channels
On-site search / sponsored products are a core revenue driver for marketplace RMNs.
Display ads (homepages, category pages) remain the largest format segment for many RMNs in 2024–2025.
Video ads and CTV placements are the fastest-growing ad formats inside many retail ecosystems.
Off-site retail media (programmatic, DSP buys leveraging retailer first-party data) represents a meaningful and growing share of budgets (examples put off-site near ~15–25% of total RMN spend).
Sponsored product/search ads typically deliver the most direct measurable conversion lift for e-commerce brands.
Measurement formats include store sales lift, online conversion lift, incrementality studies, and multi-touch attribution models.
Retailers increasingly offer “closed-loop” measurement (ad exposure → purchase) for brands — a key selling point for RMNs.
Creative formats now include shoppable video, recommendation widgets, in-checkout promotions, and email/native placements.
Retailers are packaging cross-channel buys (search + display + CTV) to simplify brand workflows.
Programmatic access to RMN audiences (via APIs/DMPs/SSPs) is increasing but often constrained by privacy and data-sharing rules.
Private marketplaces (PMPs) and direct deals remain common procurement methods for premium placements.
Many RMNs now provide audience segments built from loyalty and transaction data (e.g., “heavy snack buyers,” “premium beauty purchasers”).
Measurement, performance & ROI
Brands cite transparent measurement and standardized incrementality testing as top challenges inside RMNs.
Retail media campaigns commonly show higher return on ad spend (ROAS) vs. broad programmatic display because of purchase intent signals.
Criteo and other vendors report incremental sales lift from retail media campaigns in multiple regions (brands increasing RMN spend often see positive organic lift).
Brands that increase RMN spend without a strategy risk cannibalizing other channels if incrementality isn’t measured.
In closed-loop retail environments, measurement windows shorter than 30 days often capture most of the ad-to-purchase effect for low-consideration goods.
Search-sponsored formats show measurable CTRs and conversion rates that outperform generic display for many categories.
Incrementality tests are used by many retail teams to demonstrate true lift; these tests can show wide variation by category and campaign size.
Many advertisers use on-site conversion metrics combined with POS/loyalty data to quantify offline lift from online RMN campaigns.
Attribution complexity increases when retailers run campaigns across owned channels + off-site programmatic placements.
Ad fraud and brand safety are concerns; TAG certification and fraud prevention measures are increasingly promoted by RMNs.
Attribution to a single channel is less useful in omnichannel retail — multi-touch attribution and MMM (marketing mix modeling) remain important.
RMNs are investing in measurement partnerships (third-party panels, econometrics partners) to standardize reporting.
Price/performance benchmarks vary a lot by retailer, category, and seasonality — there is no single universal CPM/CPA benchmark.
Brands frequently combine RMN analytics with their own first-party analytics to validate performance.
Advertiser behavior & budgets
Major advertisers are increasing RMN budgets — surveys show a strong majority plan to raise RMN spend in the coming year.
Many brands shift money from lower-performing programmatic channels into RMNs for better targeting and closed-loop measurement.
Median number of RMNs used by active brands is in the mid-single digits; enterprise brands may use 8–12 networks.
Retail media budgets are often split between on-site search, on-site display, off-site retargeting, and audience buys.
Seasonal and holiday campaigns drive high RMN spend concentration in Q4 for many retailers.
CPG, beauty, electronics, and apparel categories are among the largest spenders in RMNs.
Smaller brands can access RMNs via self-serve platforms, managed service, or via agency trading desks.
Agencies are building retail media specialties and dedicated teams to manage cross-network buys.
Brands often negotiate measurement and exclusivity clauses (e.g., category exclusives) with large RMNs.
Some brands prefer marketplaces with full funnel attribution (e.g., Amazon, Walmart) because they can measure direct conversions.
Performance fees, minimum spends, and platform margins are common negotiation points.
Data, privacy & identity
First-party retailer data (transaction, loyalty, basket) is the core competitive advantage for RMNs.
Privacy regulations and cookie deprecation are accelerating advertiser interest in first-party data and RMN solutions.
Identity resolution inside RMNs uses hashed emails, loyalty IDs, and proprietary identity graphs — varies by retailer.
Off-site uses of retailer data are often mediated through secure clean-rooms or privacy-preserving APIs.
Trust and transparency in data sharing are deciding factors for some brands when selecting RMN partners.
Retailers with large loyalty programs generally deliver richer segmentation and better measurement options.
Closed-loop measurement that ties ad exposure to SKU-level sales is the most defensible use case for RMNs.
Some RMNs now offer differential privacy or aggregated reporting to address regulatory concerns.
First-party data monetization introduces governance needs (consent, opt-outs, data retention policies).
Data collaborations between retailers and DSPs/SSPs are increasing but require rigorous contracts and compliance checks.
Technology & platforms
Retail media platform vendors (SaaS/PaaS) form a distinct market estimated in the low-tens of billions for platform revenue potential.
Many retailers either build in-house ad stacks or partner with third-party ad tech platforms.
API access for campaign management, reporting, and bidding is a common premium feature.
Retailers increasingly integrate programmatic/RTB endpoints for off-site inventory.
Ad tech features being prioritized: automated bidding, SKU-level reporting, creative testing, and measurement integrations.
Machine learning models are used to optimize product-level bids and predict lift across assortments.
Data clean rooms (retailer + brand) are mainstream tools to measure incrementality without sharing raw PII.
Retail media tech is converging with commerce analytics (CAT = commerce ad tech + analytics).
Interoperability and standard APIs remain a friction point across networks.
Channels, categories & use cases
Grocery and CPG categories often show higher in-store lift from RMN campaigns due to frequent purchase cycles.
Beauty and apparel categories are high spenders because product discovery and repeat purchases are strong on marketplaces.
Electronics and home goods use RMNs for both awareness (video/CTV) and consideration (search).
Private label teams within retailers also use RMNs to promote in-house brands.
Localized targeting (by store/zip) is a growing RMN capability for driving brick-and-mortar visits.
Connected TV (CTV) and streaming inventory are being integrated into RMN offers to reach users outside the site.
Retail media helps drive incremental in-store and online basket growth when correctly targeted.
RMNs are used for product launches, brand awareness, clearance/markdown promotion, and loyalty activation.
Risks, challenges & outlook
Key challenges include measurement standardization, cross-network attribution, and fraud/brand safety.
Overreliance on a single large RMN exposes brands to platform policy risk and rising CPMs; diversification is common strategy.
Regulatory pressures (privacy, antitrust) and shifts in retail dynamics could reshape RMN economics over the next 3–5 years.
Retailers investing in ad tech, TV/CTV, and programmatic capabilities are likely to capture higher ad yields.
Retail media will continue to blur the lines between commerce, data, and advertising — making RMNs a strategic revenue engine for retailers.
Most experts expect RMNs to remain a top growth area in digital advertising budgets for the remainder of this decade.
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About the author, Bill Nash
Bill Nash is the CMO of Marketing LTB with over a decade of experience, he has driven growth for Fortune 500 companies and startups through data-driven campaigns and advanced marketing technologies. He has written over 400 pieces of content about marketing, covering topics like marketing tips, guides, AI in advertising, advanced PPC strategies, conversion optimization, and others.