Retail Media Breakfast Club

What happens when a retailer decides to build a retail media network, only to discover that its customer data is scattered across multiple systems, disconnected, and difficult to trust? Before they can start selling media, they may need to fix their marketing technology foundations first.In part two of our Arming the Rebels series, I'm joined again by Anthony Rotio, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of GrowthLoop, to explore why retail media leaders are increasingly finding themselves tackling lifecycle marketing and customer data challenges before they can build their media businesses. We dig into how retailers can bring their data together, why identity resolution is often the biggest hurdle, and how a shared audience operating system can create value for both marketing teams and retail media networks.We also discuss why retailers should think carefully about the technology partners they choose, how better customer data can help brands access more sophisticated audiences, and why the opportunity goes well beyond simply generating advertising revenue. Could fixing your marketing technology actually be the smartest first step towards building a successful retail media business?This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline[00:40] – The hidden challenge facing new retail media leaders: discovering that customer data is scattered across disconnected marketing systems.[01:54] – Anthony explains why marketing technology sprawl happens and how retailers can start bringing their customer data together.[03:22] – Why identity resolution is often the biggest hurdle, and how retailers can turn what looks like a three-year data project into something achievable in months or quarters.[05:22] – Why lifecycle marketing and retail media should operate from the same customer data foundation, sharing audience insights and campaign learnings.[07:15] – How composable marketing technology is making it possible to create a shared operating layer for marketing and retail media.[09:07] – A retailer's approach to pitching retail media internally through the value it could deliver to the marketing team first.[10:16] – The bigger business opportunity: simplifying the technology stack, improving marketing outcomes and unlocking the high-margin growth potential of retail media.Links & ResourcesListen to part 1: Arming The Rebels Series | Part 1 : What's Holy?Check out GrowthLoop's new research report: The 2026 Commerce Media Investment IndexFollow Anthony Rotio, Co-Founder & Co-CEO at GrowthLoop, on LinkedInRead my related articles:Are Audiences The Golden Ticket For RMNs?AI Is Claiming Browsing Behavior. Commerce Media Must Compete On Its Data AdvantageDoes Size Matter in Retail Media? It Depends Who’s BuyingI'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

Amazon is the world’s third-largest digital advertising platform, and consumers actually love its ads. So why does Amazon consistently fail to make marketers’ top five preferred advertising platforms? In this episode I unpack a fascinating disconnect between consumer ad preferences and marketer perceptions, drawing on Kantar’s Media Reactions 2026 research and my recent column for The Drum.I explore why Amazon Ads may be suffering from an identity problem, how retail media’s reputation is influencing advertiser decisions, and what Amazon needs to do to win over brand marketers beyond its traditional retail media audience. From measurement and trust to creative perceptions and agency incentives, there’s a bigger opportunity here than many marketers realize. Could Amazon actually be advertising’s best-kept secret?This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline[00:24] – Amazon is the world's third-largest ad platform, but how do consumers and marketers actually feel about its advertising?[01:42] – Why Amazon is missing from marketers' top five preferred advertising platforms, despite strong consumer ad equity.[03:00] – TikTok's rapid rise in marketer trust challenges the idea that Amazon simply needs more time to build credibility.[05:55] – Why Amazon's DSP, Prime Video and advanced measurement capabilities aren't translating into stronger marketer preference.[07:26] – Amazon's biggest problem: being misfiled as retail media rather than a broader advertising platform.[08:38] – How retail media's reputation for performance marketing and uninspiring creative is holding back brand investment.[11:36] – What Amazon needs to do to win over non-endemic advertisers and turn consumer love into marketer trust.Links & ResourcesA version of this piece was published to my column at The Drum on November 3 as Why the world’s third-biggest ad platform can’t crack marketers’ top five. It is reproduced here with permission.Read my related articles:Retail media is a creative wasteland. So what.FTC v Amazon: Nothing ChangesWalmart’s Push For 25% Ad Spending Highlights Retail Media’s Trust ProblemCheck out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series where we talk shop.I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

What should retail media networks share with brand partners, and what should they keep sacred? In this first episode of Arming the Rebels, a four-part series for retail media networks that aren't Amazon or Walmart, I'm joined by Anthony Rotio, co-founder and co-CEO of GrowthLoop, to unpack one of the biggest strategic questions facing retailers today: how do you monetize your customer relationships without compromising what makes your business special?We get into the tension between audience monetization and customer trust, why unique retailer audiences are so valuable to advertisers, and how data governance, audience activation and lifecycle marketing can unlock new opportunities for retail media networks. We also explore what happens when retailers connect the dots across their entire customer data ecosystem, and why protecting the customer experience isn't just nice to have — it's a clear strategic advantage.This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline[00:31] – What's holy about a retailer's audience data, and how much customer access should brands actually get?[03:45] – Why unique retailer audiences matter to media buyers and how retailers can justify incremental advertising investment.[04:45] – Speed to first dollar: how quickly retailers can build, activate and monetize audiences.[06:00] – Connecting retail media and lifecycle marketing to unlock richer customer insights and incremental value.[09:10] – The surprising audience segments retailers can build using purchase behavior and contextual customer data.[12:30] – Why retailers need guardrails around self-service audience segmentation and protecting customer privacy.[14:45] – The Commerce Media Investment Index Report and what advertisers are looking for in retail media networks.Links & ResourcesCheck out GrowthLoop's new research report: The 2026 Commerce Media Investment IndexFollow Anthony Rotio, Co-Founder & Co-CEO at GrowthLoop, on LinkedInRead my related articles:Are Audiences The Golden Ticket For RMNs?AI Is Claiming Browsing Behavior. Commerce Media Must Compete On Its Data AdvantageDoes Size Matter in Retail Media? It Depends Who’s BuyingI'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

What if the biggest opportunity for advertising in AI isn't just converting shoppers who are ready to buy, but reaching them much earlier in their decision-making journey? Today I'm re-sharing the newest episode from my other podcast, AdGentic, where I was joined by Roger Dunn, Chief Commercial Officer at Thrad, to unpack why brands need to rethink how they approach advertising in AI environments.Roger brings a fascinating perspective from his 20 years in retail media, and together we explore how advertising in AI is evolving beyond traditional search and sponsored product placements. We discuss the full-funnel opportunity for brands, the emerging formats for AI advertising, the role of retailer and personal agents, and some important questions around brand-controlled information, consumer trust, and where this rapidly evolving channel is headed.This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline[00:00] - Introducing Roger Dunn, and exploring why AI is opening up an entirely new frontier for retail media and advertising.[02:38] - What advertisers get wrong about advertising in AI environments[04:24] - Show and Tell: Why AI advertising opportunities span the full funnel[06:33] - Why upper-funnel AI advertising could deliver greater incrementality[08:00] - Could AI conversations shift retail media investment beyond sponsored products?[09:33] - Who does an AI agent really work for: the shopper, retailer, or brand?[11:00] - Why brand-controlled information and AI accuracy matter more than ever[14:28] - What's next for sponsored agents and the evolution of AI ad formatsLinks & ResourcesThis episode is an AdGentic interview that was published on November 3rd, reproduced with permission, originally titled Ads in AI Aren't Just for the Bottom of the Funnel.AdGentic is part of the ReFiBuy Media Network, and you can subscribe to it wherever you best like to take in this kind of content:Substack NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotifyFollow Roger Dunn, Chief Commercial Officer at Thrad, on LinkedInRoger also writes the AI Commerce Brief, an excellent weekly LinkedIn newsletter that somehow keeps up with the firehose of announcements in this space.Thrad is an advertising infrastructure platform for conversational AIRead my related articles:Is advertising in ChatGPT kind of mid?Amazon is playing agentic commerce chicken. Other retailers should not.Agentic Shopping Poses an Existential Threat to Retail Media, Part 1 and Part 2 I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

When Liquid Death's Chief Media and Digital Commerce Officer, Benoit Vetere, says retail media will take more than half of the brand's media spend by 2027, you know he's putting some serious money behind the channel. But what's even more interesting is how he thinks about retail media's role in driving growth, winning shelf space, and getting consumers to try new products. I recently listened to Benoit on The CPG Guys podcast with Sri Rajagopalan and Peter V.S. Bond, and there were so many insights worth unpacking.In this episode, I share six takeaways from Benoit's conversation that I think brands and retailers need to hear. I get into why even retail media's biggest believers are sticking with the major networks, how Liquid Death's brand fandom can drive shoppers into stores, what nobody has figured out about AI shopping yet, and why retail media doesn't need to be a creative showcase. Plus, I unpack what Liquid Death really wants from retail media networks, including better inventory visibility, audience activation, and stronger merchant partnerships. If you're thinking about where retail media is headed, this is a conversation worth paying attention to!This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline[01:29] Why even retail media believers are prioritizing the biggest networks over smaller players.[04:00] How Liquid Death's brand fandom can drive shoppers into retailers like Walmart for exclusive products.[06:15] Why nobody has AI shopping figured out yet, and what brands are doing to adapt.[08:00] Why retail media doesn't need to be a creative showcase to deliver results.[11:15] How retail media can protect physical shelf space and help challenger brands steal market share.[12:39] Why retail media technology matters more than retailers might realize.[15:15] Benoit's retail media wish list: real-time inventory, audience activation, and merchant buy-in.Links & ResourcesListen to the full CPG Guys episode with Benoit: Liquid Death's Benoit Vatere - Brand Disruption in the Agentic AgeSubscribe to The CPG Guys on Apple Podcasts and YouTubeFollow Benoit Vatere, Chief Media & Digital Commerce Officer at Liquid Death, on LinkedInRead my related articles:Retail media is a creative wasteland. So what.Drama and deceit in the world of retail mediaHow Alliances Could Solve Retail Media's Fragmentation Problem (Part 1)How RMNs & Vendors Can Market Themselves BetterWhy RMNs Keep Their Tech Stacks SecretCheck out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series talking shop: latest episodeI'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

The honeymoon is over for retail media. Sponsored products are reaching saturation, and the networks looking for their next growth opportunity are facing some pretty unattractive trade-offs. So what if there's another way to generate high-margin revenue without building a sales team, disrupting the customer experience, or cannibalising existing advertiser relationships?In this special episode of Retail Media Breakfast Club, I'm pressure testing Nift, a commerce media marketplace that lets brands offer customers gifts at key moments in their journey. I look at whether this really is a win-win-win for advertisers, retailers, and customers, and why so many retail media networks are still sleeping on it. From the economics and customer experience to the operational hurdles, ownership questions, and where Nift actually makes sense, I'm digging into what retailers need to know before they jump in.What I cover:Why sponsored product ads are reaching saturation and where retail media growth could come from next.How Nift works and why gifts might be a better customer experience than traditional advertising.What Planet Fitness and Foot Locker are seeing from Nift partnerships.The revenue opportunity, margins, and the business case for retail media networks.The biggest objections from retailers, including control, ownership, and advertiser relationships.Where Nift fits into a retail media strategy, and where it doesn't.An important disclaimer: this edition was commissioned by Nift to provide an independent assessment of its commerce media offering. Nift engaged me knowing I’d be including my usual spicy take and seeking anonymous feedback from the RMN community. That’s why this bonus edition of Retail Media Breakfast Club is called ‘Pressure Test’.Timeline00:00 – Why the retail media honeymoon is over and the search for the next revenue opportunity.02:46 – What Nift actually is: a marketplace connecting brands, retailers, and customers through gifts.04:20 – Are gifts genuinely better than ads? What Planet Fitness and Foot Locker say about customer experience.07:34 – Why Nift's advertiser demand could be a major advantage for retail media networks.09:37 – The three big objections retailers have: control, size of the prize, and doing something new.10:30 – The revenue opportunity: what a retailer could realistically make from a single placement.13:13 – Where Nift makes sense for retail media networks, and the organisations most likely to benefit.15:06 – My verdict: should retail media networks adopt Nift, and what does it mean for the future of commerce media?Links & ResourcesHuge thanks to Nift for sponsoring this episode! Learn more about NiftRead the newsletter version of this podcast: The future of retail media is.... gifts? [PRESSURE TEST]Read my related articles:Beyond banner ads: how retailers are monetizing the moments that actually matter (The Drum)Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

What happens when shoppers stop searching with keywords and start having conversations with retailers? And what does that mean for the future of retail media?In this episode, I'm revisiting my recent article for The Drum and unpacking some fascinating insights from Forrester on the future of conversational commerce and why the humble retail search bar might be about to undergo its biggest transformation in decades. I explore what this shift means for retailers, brands, and retail media networks, from AI-powered shopping assistants and conversational ad formats to the infrastructure retailers need to build to keep up. If you've been thinking about AI shopping, agentic commerce, and where sponsored product advertising goes next, these are insights you should be paying close attention to.This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline[00:55] – Why a chatbot-style government website offers a glimpse into the future of retail website design.[02:13] – How Google and AI assistants are changing shopper search behaviour, and why traditional retail search struggles to keep up.[04:05] – Forrester's ADVICE framework: the three requirements retailers need to understand for conversational search.[06:46] – Why keyword-based sponsored product advertising breaks down when shoppers start asking conversational questions.[09:33] – Kroger's conversational ads and why automatically extending existing campaigns into shopping assistants is an interesting starting point.[10:58] – The shift from “search and select” to “review and accept,” and what that could mean for retail media economics.[12:52] – Why retail media leaders should use the AI shopping opportunity to finally fix product catalogs, taxonomy, and underlying retail technology.Links & ResourcesAn earlier version of this piece was published to my column at The Drum on October 27 as 'Retail media was built on the keyword search bar. Its days are numbered'. It is reproduced here with permission.Forrester: Agentic Commerce? Conversational Commerce? The Future Of Owned Digital Shopping Experiences by Emily Pfeiffer Forrester: To Prepare For The Future Of Owned Search, Take Our ADVICE by Emily PfeifferFollow by Emily Pfeiffer, Forrester Principal Analyst, on LinkedInRead my related articles:Should retail media get back to what it does best? (The Drum)The Political Gift of an AI Mandate‘I’m a realist’: Gopuff’s head of ads on why it handed its onsite adtech to Instacart (The Drum)Check out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series where we talk shop.I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

Are ChatGPT ads actually delivering results, or are advertisers paying a premium to be part of the AI hype cycle? I've been hearing from performance advertisers for a while now that ChatGPT ads aren't pulling their weight. And a new academic working paper, published by Christian Schulze, seems to reinforce that concern, finding that ChatGPT ad visits generate significantly less revenue than paid Google search visits.But then there's a very different story from measurement firm WorkMagic and supplement brand Dose, which found that ChatGPT ads drove 2.3 times more orders than click attribution gave them credit for. So how can both findings be true? In this episode, I dig into what each study actually measured, why Amazon halo sales could be an important missing piece of the puzzle, and whether advertisers are simply paying too much for the privilege of experimenting with a brand-new ad platform. I also share the two questions I'd want answered before putting more money into ChatGPT ads.This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline[00:00] Are ChatGPT ads underperforming? Why new research suggests advertisers aren't getting the returns they're paying for.[00:55] Two studies, two different stories: Comparing the academic research with the Dose and WorkMagic case study.[01:56] ChatGPT ads versus Google Search: What the research reveals about revenue per visit and advertising costs.[04:16] The Dose case study: How ChatGPT ads generated 2.3 times more incremental orders than click attribution reported.[06:36] The Amazon halo effect: Why ChatGPT ad performance might be better than website click data suggests.[08:00] Is the ChatGPT ad premium justified? Comparing a brand-new advertising platform with Google's established search ecosystem.[09:48] Two questions advertisers should ask before investing more in ChatGPT ads: What's happening after the click, and will CPCs normalize?Links & ResourcesRead the newsletter version of this episode to get a clear breakdown of the different studies: Is advertising in ChatGPT kind of mid?Christian Schulze, a professor at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, shared a new working paper on LinkedIn this week under the line "ChatGPT's ads don't pay"Follow Professor Christian Schulze on LinkedInA case study that did the rounds a few weeks ago, from measurement firm WorkMagic and supplement brand Dose. It found ChatGPT ads drove 2.3x more orders than click attribution gave them credit for.Read my related articles:ChatGPT Ads Are Here. I'm Not Panicking.What it means for retail media when AI chat has only 2 ad slotsAmazon Extends Its DSP Into ChatGPT AdsCheck out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series where we talk shop.I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

Walmart just made a pretty big move toward the future of AI shopping, and I think there are some important implications for retail media that brands and agencies need to be paying attention to.In this episode, I'm resharing and unpacking Doug Chavez's analysis of Walmart's new operating rules for AI shopping agents, including why he believes the shelf is becoming an API, how agentic commerce could fundamentally change brand choice and repeat purchases, and what this means for retail media monetization, measurement, and product data. I also share a few additional thoughts on Walmart's Agent Gateway, the advertising opportunities already emerging for machines, and why Amazon is taking a very different approach to AI-powered shopping.Are we looking at the next major evolution of retail media? And are brands actually prepared for a world where machines, rather than humans, are making more of the shopping decisions?This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline[00:00] – Introducing Doug Chavez's perspective on AI shopping agents and why AI assistants might actually consolidate the shopping journey.[01:36] – Walmart's new AI agent operating rules explained: agent profiles, the Agent Gateway, and the terms governing agent shopping.[02:45] – Five implications of agentic commerce for brands: intent, repeat purchases, retail media monetization, measurement, and trust.[05:19] – Why agentic commerce is no longer a future experiment and what brands need to do to prepare their product data, content, and media plans.[07:17] – My take on Walmart's Agent Gateway, Sparky, and the emerging possibility of advertising formats designed for AI agents.[10:03] – Walmart versus Amazon: why their competing philosophies on third-party AI shopping agents could reshape retail media.Links & ResourcesThis piece by Doug Chavez originally ran on the Mars United Commerce blog on October 27, 2026, and is republished with permission.Doug's piece from August actually set this concept up, well before Walmart's announcement: The Shelf Is Becoming an APIFollow Doug Chavez, Global EVP, Mars United Commerce/Publicis Commerce, on LinkedInWalmart just published its operating rules for AI agents shopping on a customer’s behalf.Walmart's Agent Gateway is still a beta for companies and developers.Walmart says outside agents connect through Sparky, its own shopping assistant. Sparky has been running ads — sponsored prompts — since earlier this year. Read my related articles:Amazon is playing agentic commerce chicken. Other retailers should not.Agentic Shopping Poses an Existential Threat to Retail Media, Part 1 and Part 2 I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

In 2020, I co-authored the book Instacart for CMOs because I believed Instacart was one of the most under-recognized marketing channels available to consumer brands. Fast-forward six years, and Instacart's advertising business has become a major revenue driver. And now, DoorDash is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire the company for around $17 billion. While the headlines will focus on delivery and competition with Amazon and Walmart, I think the real story is what this deal could mean for retail media.In this episode, I break down three reasons why a combined DoorDash and Instacart could be good for the retail media ecosystem, even if the implications for advertisers are less clear. From creating a stronger challenger to Amazon and Walmart, to bringing on-site and off-site retail media technology together under one roof, there are some compelling opportunities here. But what happens to advertiser leverage, competition, and costs when two major platforms become one? I'd love to hear where you land on this one.This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline[00:00] Why Instacart's advertising business is at the center of the potential DoorDash acquisition.[02:08] Why combining DoorDash and Instacart could create a stronger challenger to Amazon and Walmart in retail media.[05:45] How Instacart's Carrot Ads and DoorDash's Symbiosis technology could give regional grocers a more complete retail media solution.[07:36] Why retail media standardization and consolidation could be essential for regional grocers.[08:35] What the potential deal could mean for advertisers, especially smaller and challenger brands.[09:36] Why established CPG brands may still need both platforms, and how a merger could reduce their negotiating leverage.[10:15] My overall take on the acquisition and why I'm inviting the industry to weigh in.Links & ResourcesIn 2020, I co-authored a book called Instacart for CMOs. It was the follow-up to Amazon for CMOs.Check out Andrew Lipsman's comments about Instacart on LinkedInCheck out my LinkedIn poll about the Instacart acquisitionRead my related articles:‘I’m a realist’: Gopuff’s head of ads on why it handed its onsite adtech to Instacart (The Drum)Check out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series talking shop: latest episodeI'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn