Retail Media
Retail Media Trends 2027: what is scheduled, what is forecast and what is speculation
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Retail media trends for 2027 point to a bigger but slower market. WARC forecasts global spend of $223.4 billion in 2027, up 11.5%, with growth outside Amazon at 9.8%, the lowest it has recorded (The Desk on WARC, August 2026). The dated events are a merger, a court case over auction pricing and new in-store measurement rules.
Contents
Key facts
- Growth slows to its lowest rate. WARC expects retail media to reach $200.4 billion in 2026 and $223.4 billion in 2027, or 15.2% of global advertising, with 9.8% growth excluding Amazon (The Desk on WARC, 19 August 2026).
- Two networks hold most of the US market. Amazon took 78% of US retail media spend in 2025 and Walmart 7.5%, leaving 14.5% for every other network, according to Walrus Intelligence data cited by WARC (The Desk, 19 August 2026).
- The leaders still grow at different speeds. Amazon's advertising revenue rose 11% to $19.64 billion in Q3 2026, with Q4 guided to "the high teens" (PPC Land, 29 October 2026); Walmart's global advertising grew 38% in Q2 FY27 (Walmart, 20 August 2026).
- The largest merger in the category is now on a timetable. DoorDash agreed to buy Instacart for about $17 billion, with closing expected at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028 (DoorDash, 29 October 2026).
- Auction pricing is in court. The FTC and 22 states sued Amazon on 31 August 2026, alleging a hidden "soft reserve" in its sponsored ads auctions (TechCrunch, 31 August 2026).
- Stores are getting measurement rules. IAB Europe opened its in-store retail media measurement proposals for public comment on 17 September 2026 (ExchangeWire, 17 September 2026).
Definition
Retail media outlook: a dated register of what will change in retail media networks during one year. Each item is filed as a scheduled event with a source, a forecast with a named forecaster and date, or an opinion with its author.
The three labels matter because they carry different risk. A scheduled event can slip, but someone has committed to it in writing. A forecast is a model with a publication date. An opinion is one person's reading, and we name that person. This page covers retailers and marketplaces only. Banks, airlines, telecoms and delivery apps outside retail are covered in commerce media in 2027, and every public market forecast is compared side by side in retail media market size and share. Definitions and economics sit in the retail media hub.
Scheduled for 2027: dated events and deadlines
11 of 11 rows
Amazon retires standalone DSP and Sponsored Ads report pages | 31 Dec 2026 | Unified reporting replaces them | |
Walmart folds Vibe.co, its self-serve streaming TV platform, into Walmart Connect | 2027 | Deal completed 4 Aug 2026; product integration not yet announced | |
CES 2027, Las Vegas | 6 to 9 Jan 2027 | Event dates | |
NRF 2027: Retail's Big Show, New York | 10 to 12 Jan 2027 | Event dates | |
Instacart winds down its Caper smart-cart business | By end of Q2 2027 | Pre-tax charges of $55 million to $80 million | |
Shoptalk Europe, Barcelona | 1 to 3 Jun 2027 | Event dates | |
Cannes Lions | 21 to 25 Jun 2027 | Event dates | |
7-Eleven Australia expands its in-store screen network | During 2027 | Rollout "will expand further in 2027" | |
IAB Europe finalises in-store measurement and travel media addendum | n/d (comment opened 17 Sep 2026) | Five-zone framework and opportunity-to-see model proposed | |
FTC and 22 states v. Amazon, W.D. Wash. 2:26-cv-03097 | Trial date n/d | Case filed 31 Aug 2026 | |
DoorDash closes its Instacart acquisition | End of 2027 or H1 2028 | Needs Instacart shareholder vote, Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance, approvals in Canada and Israel |
Amazon retires standalone DSP and Sponsored Ads report pages
- Date
31 Dec 2026
- What is fixed
Unified reporting replaces them
- Source
Walmart folds Vibe.co, its self-serve streaming TV platform, into Walmart Connect
- Date
2027
- What is fixed
Deal completed 4 Aug 2026; product integration not yet announced
CES 2027, Las Vegas
- Date
6 to 9 Jan 2027
- What is fixed
Event dates
NRF 2027: Retail's Big Show, New York
- Date
10 to 12 Jan 2027
- What is fixed
Event dates
- Source
Instacart winds down its Caper smart-cart business
- Date
By end of Q2 2027
- What is fixed
Pre-tax charges of $55 million to $80 million
Shoptalk Europe, Barcelona
- Date
1 to 3 Jun 2027
- What is fixed
Event dates
Cannes Lions
- Date
21 to 25 Jun 2027
- What is fixed
Event dates
7-Eleven Australia expands its in-store screen network
- Date
During 2027
- What is fixed
Rollout "will expand further in 2027"
IAB Europe finalises in-store measurement and travel media addendum
- Date
n/d (comment opened 17 Sep 2026)
- What is fixed
Five-zone framework and opportunity-to-see model proposed
FTC and 22 states v. Amazon, W.D. Wash. 2:26-cv-03097
- Date
Trial date n/d
- What is fixed
Case filed 31 Aug 2026
- Source
DoorDash closes its Instacart acquisition
- Date
End of 2027 or H1 2028
- What is fixed
Needs Instacart shareholder vote, Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance, approvals in Canada and Israel
- Source
Table by AdSovereign, CC BY 4.0.
Forecast for 2027: who predicts what, and when
7 of 7 rows
Global retail media spend | WARC, August 2026 | $223.4 billion in 2027, +11.5%; +9.8% excluding Amazon | |
Retail media share of category media budgets | WARC, August 2026 | 55.8% of alcoholic drinks and 54.9% of food media investment in 2027 | |
European retail media | IAB Europe, October 2025 | €24.9 billion in 2027 | |
US offsite retail media (2026 base for 2027) | eMarketer, 2026 | More than $17 billion in 2026, +29.5% | |
Amazon advertising growth, Q4 2026 | Amazon (company guidance), 29 Oct 2026 | "High teens" year over year | |
Video on demand overtakes retail media in global ad investment | WARC, August 2026 | By 2028 | |
Retail media share of global ad revenue | Omdia, 2025 | 20% by 2030, about $300 billion |
Global retail media spend
- Forecaster and date
WARC, August 2026
- Figure
$223.4 billion in 2027, +11.5%; +9.8% excluding Amazon
- Source
Retail media share of category media budgets
- Forecaster and date
WARC, August 2026
- Figure
55.8% of alcoholic drinks and 54.9% of food media investment in 2027
- Source
European retail media
- Forecaster and date
IAB Europe, October 2025
- Figure
€24.9 billion in 2027
US offsite retail media (2026 base for 2027)
- Forecaster and date
eMarketer, 2026
- Figure
More than $17 billion in 2026, +29.5%
Amazon advertising growth, Q4 2026
- Forecaster and date
Amazon (company guidance), 29 Oct 2026
- Figure
"High teens" year over year
- Source
Video on demand overtakes retail media in global ad investment
- Forecaster and date
WARC, August 2026
- Figure
By 2028
- Source
Retail media share of global ad revenue
- Forecaster and date
Omdia, 2025
- Figure
20% by 2030, about $300 billion
- Source
Table by AdSovereign, CC BY 4.0.
Speculation: opinions, labelled with who said them
6 of 6 rows
The market is "maturing and consolidating" and is weaker at long-term brand building | Alex Brownsell, head of content, WARC | August 2026 | |
Amazon's underlying ad growth has stepped down from the low twenties to the high teens | PPC Land analysis of Amazon's Q3 results | 29 Oct 2026 | |
In-store media will be "a big part" of large retailers' future retail media opportunity | Andrew Lipsman, Media, Ads + Commerce | September 2026 | |
The merger will let more grocers run their own retail media networks | DoorDash and Instacart (company claim) | 29 Oct 2026 | |
Auction transparency becomes a standard contract term at every network in 2027 | Our reading | 9 Nov 2026 | None by design |
In-store budgets follow standards, not the other way round | Our reading | 9 Nov 2026 | None by design |
The market is "maturing and consolidating" and is weaker at long-term brand building
- Who said it
Alex Brownsell, head of content, WARC
- When
August 2026
- Source
Amazon's underlying ad growth has stepped down from the low twenties to the high teens
- Who said it
PPC Land analysis of Amazon's Q3 results
- When
29 Oct 2026
- Source
In-store media will be "a big part" of large retailers' future retail media opportunity
- Who said it
Andrew Lipsman, Media, Ads + Commerce
- When
September 2026
The merger will let more grocers run their own retail media networks
- Who said it
DoorDash and Instacart (company claim)
- When
29 Oct 2026
- Source
Auction transparency becomes a standard contract term at every network in 2027
- Who said it
Our reading
- When
9 Nov 2026
- Source
None by design
In-store budgets follow standards, not the other way round
- Who said it
Our reading
- When
9 Nov 2026
- Source
None by design
Table by AdSovereign, CC BY 4.0.
Five retail media network trends for 2027, in order of certainty
1. Growth slows, and the top two keep most of it
WARC's forecast is the clearest signal for 2027. Spend still rises by about $23 billion, from $200.4 billion to $223.4 billion, but growth outside Amazon drops to 9.8% (The Desk on WARC, August 2026). WARC also cites research that Amazon, Home Depot, Macy's and Walmart each serve more than 20 ads per page. That points to a ceiling on onsite ad load.
The leaders are not slowing at the same rate. Amazon blamed its 11% third quarter on Prime Day moving into June (PPC Land, 29 October 2026). Walmart Connect in the US grew 43% excluding VIZIO in Walmart's second fiscal quarter, to July 2026 (Walmart, 20 August 2026). Our reading: with 85.5% of US spend at two companies, a mid-sized network needs a reason to exist beyond reach. Its own data, a niche audience or a vertical are the usual answers. Network-level detail is in the Amazon Ads and Walmart Connect profiles.
2. Consolidation moves from rumour to filings
DoorDash agreed on 29 October 2026 to buy Instacart for $65 a share, an equity value of about $17 billion, paid at least 75% in cash (DoorDash, 29 October 2026). Instacart's advertising and other revenue was $331 million in its third quarter, roughly 30% of its revenue (Grocery Dive, 29 October 2026). The companies will run separately until closing, which they expect at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028.
So for all of 2027, Instacart Ads and DoorDash Ads remain two networks with one future owner. Brands buying both should expect no combined product before closing. Walmart's purchase of Vibe.co, a self-serve streaming TV buying platform, is already done: it completed on 4 August 2026 (Walmart via Vibe.co, 4 August 2026). The question for 2027 is how Walmart Connect folds it into its own buying tools. Trade press put the price at $1.4 billion (invidis, 24 June 2026). What these deals mean for tier-2 retailers is covered in retail media consolidation.
3. Auction pricing goes to court
The FTC and 22 state attorneys general filed a deception case against Amazon on 31 August 2026 in the Western District of Washington (PPC Land, 1 September 2026). The complaint alleges that Amazon told advertisers they paid one cent above the runner-up, but from 2019 added an undisclosed "soft reserve". As a result, Sponsored Products advertisers paid their full bid close to 80% of the time, the FTC claims (TechCrunch, 31 August 2026).
Amazon called the lawsuit "misguided" and says advertisers never paid more than their bid. No court has found liability, and no trial date is public. Our reading: whatever the outcome, buyers will ask every network in 2027 to state its auction type, reserve logic and cost per click (CPC) rules in the contract. A network that can show its pricing logic in writing will close those negotiations faster.
4. Offsite and CTV become the growth line
eMarketer forecasts US offsite retail media above $17 billion in 2026, up 29.5% (Marketing Dive, 1 June 2026). Walmart opened its data to Yahoo DSP and Magnite on 1 June 2026, after its exclusive deal with The Trade Desk ended in fall 2025. In April it had launched Connect Select, a curated marketplace inside Walmart DSP with VIZIO, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery inventory (Walmart Connect, 27 April 2026).
Amazon took the other route. On 29 September 2026 it folded Amazon DSP into one platform called Amazon Ads Agent and renamed the buying product DVA (PPC Land, 29 October 2026). WARC puts connected TV at 23% of retail media spending already (The Desk, August 2026). The data flows and clean room requirements are in offsite retail media explained.
5. Stores get rules before they get budgets
Stores ring up most retail sales but earn about 5% of retail media revenue, an Omdia estimate reported by MarketScale (MarketScale, 2 November 2026). IAB Europe's September proposal is the first attempt to fix that with common rules. It defines five store zones, an opportunity-to-see model built on six inputs, and a 28-day sales reporting window (ExchangeWire, 17 September 2026).
Retailers are building supply ahead of the standard. Walgreens began adding Looma screens to 1,200 stores in October 2026, and CVS expected about 11,000 digital screens this year (Modern Retail, 11 September 2026). Albertsons moved 3,000 screens to Creative Realities (invidis, 18 August 2026). Target is still only considering screens (Adweek, 19 October 2026). How the three surfaces compare is in onsite vs offsite vs in-store retail media, and store media in depth in in-store retail media.
Quarter-by-quarter watchlist for 2027
5 of 5 rows
Q4 2026 | Amazon's unified reporting cutover on 31 Dec 2026 (PPC Land, 29 Oct 2026) | Scheduled | Sets the buying tools brands start 2027 with |
Q1 2027 | CES (6 to 9 Jan) and NRF (10 to 12 Jan); Amazon Q4 results against "high teens" guidance; Hart-Scott-Rodino review of DoorDash-Instacart | Scheduled and forecast | First test of WARC's slowdown call |
Q2 2027 | Caper wind-down complete; Shoptalk Europe (1 to 3 Jun); Cannes Lions (21 to 25 Jun); final IAB Europe in-store standard, if published | Scheduled | Store media and partnership news cluster here |
Q3 2027 | WARC's next commerce media report, if it follows the August 2026 timing; FTC v. Amazon motions | Forecast and our reading | First full-year read on 2027 growth |
Q4 2027 | Earliest DoorDash-Instacart closing window; 7-Eleven Australia screen expansion | Scheduled | Decides whether the merger lands in 2027 or 2028 |
Q4 2026
- Watch for
Amazon's unified reporting cutover on 31 Dec 2026 (PPC Land, 29 Oct 2026)
- Label
Scheduled
- Why it matters
Sets the buying tools brands start 2027 with
Q1 2027
- Watch for
CES (6 to 9 Jan) and NRF (10 to 12 Jan); Amazon Q4 results against "high teens" guidance; Hart-Scott-Rodino review of DoorDash-Instacart
- Label
Scheduled and forecast
- Why it matters
First test of WARC's slowdown call
Q2 2027
- Watch for
Caper wind-down complete; Shoptalk Europe (1 to 3 Jun); Cannes Lions (21 to 25 Jun); final IAB Europe in-store standard, if published
- Label
Scheduled
- Why it matters
Store media and partnership news cluster here
Q3 2027
- Watch for
WARC's next commerce media report, if it follows the August 2026 timing; FTC v. Amazon motions
- Label
Forecast and our reading
- Why it matters
First full-year read on 2027 growth
Q4 2027
- Watch for
Earliest DoorDash-Instacart closing window; 7-Eleven Australia screen expansion
- Label
Scheduled
- Why it matters
Decides whether the merger lands in 2027 or 2028
Table by AdSovereign, CC BY 4.0.
Event dates for the full year are kept in the retail and commerce media events calendar.
What we could not verify
- Launches reported for autumn 2026 without a company release are left out of this page. Confirmed launches are tracked in the retail media networks directory.
- eMarketer has not published, in a form we could read, a 2027 US retail media total. The US figure in this page is for offsite in 2026.
- No trial date or scheduling order in FTC v. Amazon was found.
- The date by which IAB Europe will finalise its in-store standard is not public.
FAQ
What are the biggest retail media trends for 2027?
How big will retail media be in 2027?
Is retail media growth slowing?
What does the DoorDash-Instacart deal mean for advertisers?
What is the FTC lawsuit against Amazon's ads about?
Which in-store retail media trends matter in 2027?
How this works on owned infrastructure
Every trend on this page moves a decision toward the retailer. Platforms are merging, auction rules are being tested in court, and offsite data now flows to several DSPs at once. For a retailer, the 2027 question is which layers it should own before its platform partner changes hands or changes its pricing. AdSovereign provides DSP, SSP and DMP components that a retailer deploys on infrastructure it controls. The auction logic, reserve rules and shopper data then sit in the retailer's own systems and can be shown to buyers line by line. The architecture page shows where each component runs, and the deployment review page describes how one workflow is assessed with the retailer's team.
Sources
- The Desk, "WARC: Retail media ad market to top $200 billion as growth slows" (19 August 2026). https://thedesk.net/2026/08/warc-retail-media-ad-market-to-top-200-billion-as-growth-slows/
- PPC Land, "Amazon ad revenue growth drops to 11% after Prime Day moves to June" (29 October 2026). https://ppc.land/amazon-ad-revenue-growth-drops-to-11-after-prime-day-moves-to-june/
- Walmart, "Walmart Releases Q2 FY27 Earnings" (20 August 2026). https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2026/08/20/walmart-releases-q2-fy27-earnings
- DoorDash, "DoorDash to Acquire Instacart" (29 October 2026). https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-to-acquire-instacart
- Grocery Dive, "DoorDash to buy Instacart for $17B" (29 October 2026). https://www.grocerydive.com/news/doordash-to-buy-instacart-for-17b/872978/
- Grocery Dive, "Instacart stops smart carts business" (27 October 2026). https://www.grocerydive.com/news/instacart-stops-smart-carts-business/872824/
- TechCrunch, "FTC accuses Amazon of running a 'secret ad surcharge scheme' in new lawsuit" (31 August 2026). https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/31/ftc-accuses-amazon-of-running-a-secret-ad-surcharge-scheme-in-new-lawsuit/
- PPC Land, "Amazon charged advertisers their full bid 79% of the time, FTC says" (1 September 2026). https://ppc.land/amazon-charged-advertisers-their-full-bid-79-of-the-time-ftc-says/
- US Federal Trade Commission, "FTC, States Sue Amazon Over Secret Ad Surcharge Scheme" (August 2026; verified via search snippet). https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/08/ftc-states-sue-amazon-over-secret-ad-surcharge-scheme
- Marketing Dive, "Walmart Connect expands offsite advertising ambitions with Yahoo, Magnite" (1 June 2026). https://www.marketingdive.com/news/walmart-connect-expands-offsite-advertising-ambitions-with-yahoo-magnite/821575/
More sources (15)
- Walmart Connect, "New pathways to programmatic CTV at scale" (27 April 2026). https://www.walmartconnect.com/resources/articles/2026/new-pathways-to-programmatic-CTV-at-scale
- invidis, "Walmart Acquires Vibe.co for USD 1.4 Billion" (24 June 2026). https://invidis.com/news/2026/06/ctv-walmart-acquires-vibe-co-for-usd-1-4-billion/
- PPC Land, "Amazon Ads Agent: the agent is still closed beta, manual DSP controls reach only some US advertisers" (29 October 2026). https://ppc.land/amazon-calls-its-ad-platform-an-agent-but-the-agent-is-still-closed-beta/
- ExchangeWire, "IAB Europe Advances In-Store & Travel Media Measurement with New Proposals Open for Public Comment" (17 September 2026). https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2026/09/17/iab-europe-advances-in-store-travel-media-measurement-with-new-proposals-open-for-public-comment/
- MarketScale, "Stores ring up most retail sales but earn 5% of retail media revenue" (2 November 2026). https://www.marketscale.com/industries/retail/stores-ring-up-most-retail-sales-but-earn-5-of-retail-media-revenue
- Modern Retail, "Walgreens says it's focused on 'higher-performing' ad placements as it tries again with digital screens" (11 September 2026). https://www.modernretail.co/marketing/walgreens-says-its-focused-on-higher-peforming-ad-placements-as-it-tries-again-with-digital-screens/
- invidis, "CRI Takes Over Albertsons from Stratacache" (18 August 2026). https://invidis.com/news/2026/08/retail-media-cri-takes-over-albertsons-from-stratacache/
- Adweek, "Target Cautiously Considers Placing Digital Screens for Ads in Stores" (19 October 2026). https://www.adweek.com/commerce/target-cautiously-considers-placing-digital-screens-for-ads-in-stores/
- Supermarket News, "7-Eleven Australia Launches Dedicated Retail Media Network" (6 October 2026). https://supermarketnews.co.nz/c-store/7-eleven-australia-launches-dedicated-retail-media-network/
- PPC Land, "European retail media spending reaches €13.7 billion with 21.1% growth" (11 October 2025). https://ppc.land/european-retail-media-spending-reaches-eu13-7-billion-with-21-1-growth/
- Consumer Technology Association, CES 2027 (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.ces.tech/
- National Retail Federation, NRF 2027: Retail's Big Show (accessed 9 November 2026). https://nrfbigshow.nrf.com/
- Shoptalk Europe 2027 (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.shoptalkeurope.com/
- Cannes Lions 2027 (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.canneslions.com/
- Walmart, "Walmart Completes Acquisition of Vibe.co", republished by Vibe.co (4 August 2026). https://www.vibe.co/blog/whats-new/walmart-completes-acquisition-of-vibeco
Changelog
- 9 November 2026: first edition. Three labelled tables and the 2027 watchlist.