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    Retail Media

    First-Party Data Monetization for Retailers (No Data Sales)

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    By Art Kukharenko

    First-Party Data Monetization for Retailers (No Data Sales)

    Shopper data monetization can mean selling advertising, measuring permitted outcomes or building a useful merchant offer program. Begin with the customer relationship and the purpose for which information was collected. Define what may be used, what may leave the retailer’s systems and how shoppers can exercise their choices before choosing an activation platform.

    Key facts

    • Spend is small and growing fast. eMarketer's January 2026 forecast puts US financial media network ad spend at $680 million in 2025, rising to $3.15 billion in 2028 (eMarketer, State of Financial Media Networks 2026).
    • The largest bank network reports merchant spend, not revenue. Chase Media Solutions powered 18 billion offers worth $12 billion in customer spend in 2024, up 31% (Adweek, 2025), and $11.2 billion in 2025 (chase.com, accessed 17 October 2026).
    • Only one network has audited ad revenue. Klarna disclosed $180 million of advertising revenue for 2024, 6% of revenue, up from $13 million in 2020, in its F-1 filed 14 March 2025 (Payments Dive, 19 March 2025).
    • Card networks entered in October 2025. Mastercard Commerce Media launched 1 October 2025 claiming 25,000 advertisers and 500 million enrolled consumers (Marketing Dive, 1 October 2025); Amex Ads launched 6 October 2025 for 34 million US consumer card members (Axios, 6 October 2025).
    • Offsite is the exception, not the rule. PayPal is the only payments company selling open-web display, video and CTV on its own purchase graph, in the US since 29 April 2025 and in Germany and the UK since 17 September 2025 (PayPal, 17 September 2025).
    • Banks are tightening what platforms see. Cardlytics stopped reporting monthly active users on 1 January 2025 because newer bank partners do not provide equivalent user data, and reported 224.2 million monthly qualified users for 2025 instead (Cardlytics 10-K, FY2025).

    Definition

    First-party data monetization earns value from permitted uses of a company's own customer relationships, including advertising and measurement, without requiring a sale of customer records.

    Evaluate the workflow

    Shopper data is the most valuable asset retailers possess, worth billions when monetized correctly. Yet many retailers hesitate, fearing privacy violations or customer backlash. This guide explains how to monetize shopper data ethically and profitably without ever "selling" it, using on-premise infrastructure to maintain control and compliance.

    The Value of Shopper Intent Data

    Why is shopper data so valuable? Because it captures purchase intent with perfect accuracy. Unlike social media platforms that infer interest from likes and clicks, retailers know exactly what customers bought, when, and at what price point.

    Monetization Without Selling Data

    Example: A cereal brand uploads their own customer list to the clean room (hashed), matches it against your shopper database (also hashed), and identifies overlap. They can now target that overlap segment on external platforms, and you get paid for the data access, but no raw PII ever leaves your infrastructure.

    Clean Room Collaboration Models

    Data clean rooms are the technological foundation of privacy-safe monetization. They enable multi-party computation where brands and retailers collaborate without exposing raw data.

    How It Works:

    • Retailer and brand upload their respective datasets (customer IDs, emails, device IDs) in hashed form
    • Clean room performs secure matching using cryptographic techniques (no plaintext PII exposed)
    • All queries are logged for audit and compliance purposes

    On-Site vs Off-Site Activation

    On-Site Activation (Retail Media Core): This is where most retailers start, sponsored product ads on search results, display banners on category pages, video ads in apps. Revenue model is typically cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM).

    Off-Site Activation (Retail Media Advanced): This extends your shopper data to external inventory, programmatic display, social, CTV. Brands pay for access to your audience segments, which you activate via DSP while keeping the underlying data secure.

    Revenue Projections: CPM Benchmarks & Take Rates

    On-Site Advertising CPMs:

    Off-Site Activation Fees:

    Privacy & Compliance Guardrails

    Shopper data monetization only works if customers trust you. Non-negotiable requirements:

    Read the current references

    Read the retail media guide for the broader decision framework.

    FAQ

    What is a financial media network? A financial media network is an advertising business run by a bank, card network, payments company, BNPL provider or wallet that sells advertisers access to its customers using the transaction data it already holds. eMarketer forecasts US spend on these networks at $680 million in 2025 and $3.15 billion in 2028 (eMarketer, January 2026 forecast).

    How is it different from card-linked offers? Card-linked offers are one product inside a financial media network, and for most banks the first one. A network also sells onsite media (Klarna, Amex Ads), offsite audiences (PayPal) or runs a platform inside other banks (Cardlytics). Chase treats offers as its media format and charges only on purchase (chase.com, accessed 17 October 2026).

    Do banks sell customer data to advertisers? The live networks do not transfer transaction records. Advertisers buy a targeted placement and receive a report; United, Marriott and Chase all state that advertisers get no personally identifiable information. In the US, Regulation P requires notice and an opt-out before nonpublic personal information is shared with non-affiliated third parties outside the service-provider and joint-marketing exception (12 CFR 1016.10).

    How much do financial media networks make? Only Klarna has disclosed audited ad revenue: $180 million in 2024, 6% of revenue (Payments Dive, 19 March 2025). Chase reports merchant spend driven, $11.2 billion in 2025, not media revenue (chase.com, accessed 17 October 2026). Revolut has not disclosed an ad line.

    Can a bank run a financial media network in the EU? Yes, with a separate lawful basis for marketing use of payment data under GDPR and PSD2, consent for anything beyond the payment service, and no transfer of records to third parties. Klarna (Sweden), Revolut and Zilch (UK) and PayPal (Germany, UK) operate under those rules; see GLBA and advertising with bank data for the US side and the directory for the EU entries.

    How this works on owned infrastructure

    AdSovereign provides an enterprise RTB stack for deployment inside a customer’s own infrastructure. Use the architecture to map the relevant components, the security controls to evaluate access and data boundaries, and the pilot to define a bounded evaluation. Compare the operating responsibilities and commercial terms against your own requirements. Infrastructure control does not establish demand access, legal permission or a measured performance improvement on its own.

    Sources

    1. eMarketer, "The State of Financial Media Networks 2026" (January 2026 forecast). https://www.emarketer.com/content/state-of-financial-media-networks-2026
    2. eMarketer, "Financial media ad spend will top $1 billion by 2026" (May 2025). https://www.emarketer.com/content/financial-media-ad-spend-will-top--1-billion-by-2026
    3. Adweek, "Chase's Ad Business Drove $12B in Customer Spend Last Year" (2025). https://www.adweek.com/commerce/chases-ad-business-drove-12b-in-customer-spend-last-year/
    4. Chase Media Solutions site (accessed 17 October 2026). https://www.chase.com/mediasolutions/home
    5. Business Wire, "Chase launches Chase Media Solutions" (3 April 2024). https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240403664648/en/
    6. Payments Dive, Klarna F-1 advertising revenue (19 March 2025). https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/klarna-buy-now-pay-later-bnpl-merchant-advertising-revenue/742883/
    7. Internet Retailing, Klarna Ads Manager (2023). https://internetretailing.net/?p=70426
    8. PPC Land, "Klarna solves profitability puzzle through millions in ads business" (2025). https://ppc.land/klarna-solves-profitability-puzzle-through-millions-in-ads-business/
    9. Klarna Group plc, Full Year 2025 Results (26 February 2026). https://s205.q4cdn.com/644747736/files/doc_news/Klarna-Group-plc-Publishes-Full-Year-2025-Results-2026.pdf
    10. Marketing Dive, Mastercard Commerce Media (1 October 2025). https://www.marketingdive.com/news/mastercard-bigger-grab-commerce-media-dollars-new-network/761568/
    11. Axios, "American Express launches Amex Ads" (6 October 2025). https://www.axios.com/2025/10/06/amex-ads-american-express-media
    12. Citigroup, Kard acquisition (13 August 2026). https://www.citigroup.com/global/news/press-release/2026/citi-expands-customer-engagement-commerce-media-capabilities-kard-addition
    13. Zilch, ASPN opened to third parties (June 2023). https://www.zilch.com/news/zilch-opens-its-revolutionary-aspn-to-third-parties-across-the-globe-advancing-a-multi-trillion-dollar-payments-and-advertising-marketplace/
    14. Crowdfund Insider, Zilch run rate (July 2024). https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/?p=198301
    15. PYMNTS, Afterpay Ads (24 August 2021). https://www.pymnts.com/bnpl/2021/bnpl-firm-afterpay-debuts-ads/
    16. FF News, Revolut advertising formats (9 June 2023). https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/revolut-to-roll-out-new-advertising-solutions-to-help-brands-connect-with-its-growing-customer-base/
    17. Marketing Beat on FT, Revolut ad target (23 April 2024). https://www.marketing-beat.co.uk/2024/04/23/revolut-ad-sales-market
    18. Digiday, PayPal ads business (2024). https://digiday.com/?p=580721
    19. PPC Land, PayPal Offsite Ads (29 April 2025). https://ppc.land/paypal-launches-offsite-ads-with-transaction-data-targeting/
    20. PayPal Newsroom, Offsite Ads in Germany and the UK (17 September 2025). https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2025-09-17-PayPal-Expands-Offsite-Ads-to-Germany-and-the-UK
    21. Cardlytics investor presentation (risk factors naming Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo). https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/sa_presentations/292/93292/original.pdf
    22. Cardlytics, Form 10-K FY2025. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1666071/000166607126000010/cdlx-20251231.htm
    23. Cardlytics, Q4 and FY2025 results (4 March 2026). https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260304946746/en/Cardlytics-Announces-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2025-Financial-Results
    24. CFOtech on SAS, "Banks tap financial media networks for ad revenues" (December 2025). https://cfotech.co.uk/story/banks-tap-financial-media-networks-for-ad-revenues
    25. eCFR, 12 CFR 1016.10 (Regulation P, limits on disclosure). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1016/subpart-B/section-1016.10
    26. eCFR, 12 CFR 1016.13 (service provider and joint marketing exception). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1016/subpart-C/section-1016.13
    27. EDPB, Guidelines 06/2020 on the interplay of PSD2 and GDPR (final version, December 15, 2020). https://www.edpb.europa.eu/sites/default/files/files/file1/edpb_guidelines_202006_psd2_afterpublicconsultation_en.pdf
    28. usd AG, PCI DSS v4.0.1 future-dated requirements (2025). https://www.usd.de/en/pci-dss-future-dated-requirements/
    29. Beet.TV, CVS Media Exchange and Reddit clean room (16 July 2025). https://www.beet.tv/2025/07/from-retail-media-to-reddit-cvs-media-exchange-celebrates-five-years.html

    Changelog

    • October 18, 2026: aligned the approved search title and heading; retained the original publication date.

    • October 17, 2026: updated search phrasing, source-linked reference context, author and dates. Withheld numerical claims without inline sources.

    What to read next

    Continue with the retail media reference guide.