BJ's retail media network: how BJ's Media Edge works and how to buy it

BJ's is a regional club, not a national one. Its 263 clubs sit in 21 states, mostly along the East Coast (BJ's 10-K, FY2025). In New England, where it opened its first club in 1984, BJ's runs nearly three times as many clubs as its next largest club rival (BJ's 10-K, FY2025). For a brand, that means dense reach in a few metro areas rather than national coverage. A beverage brand launching in Boston or New Jersey will find a strong club audience here; a brand needing Texas or California reach will not.

The second difference is how the program was built. Swati Bothra, who led it, started with a technology partner doing almost everything. Microsoft handled sales, account management and media activation on its PromoteIQ platform. In the second year BJ's brought sales and account management in-house, and she reported triple-digit growth in participating brands within three months (P2PI, 10 December 2024). A ten-person team then ran onsite, offsite, social and in-club work.

That launch partner no longer exists as a product. Microsoft "quietly shuttered PromoteIQ" in 2024 (AdExchanger, 14 May 2025). BJ's has not published which platform now serves its onsite ads. The Microsoft PromoteIQ profile and our page on retail media consolidation explain why platform exits matter to suppliers: reporting definitions and historical data can change with the vendor.

Finally, most of what BJ's sells is other companies' brands. Its private labels, Wellsley Farms and Berkley Jensen, make up about 27% of net sales excluding gasoline (BJ's 10-K, FY2025). The remaining sales, about 73%, come from other companies' brands, the natural buyers of club media.

Onsite. At launch, BJ's sold sponsored search ads on the homepage, product pages and search results, plus onsite display on the homepage and in browse pages (P2PI, 7 December 2022). Brands bought onsite and offsite media in one PromoteIQ interface. BJs.com and the app remain the main digital surfaces.

In-club. BJ's runs digital endcaps and display racks. In January 2026 it added interactive in-aisle screens, powered by Looma, in the beer, wine and spirits aisles of every club that sells alcohol (P2PI, 27 January 2026). The in-store retail media guide covers how such screens are bought and measured.

Offsite and social. The launch offer included open-web audiences, social ads on Facebook and Instagram, and Google search ads. BJ's later said it used Microsoft's tools for offsite as well as onsite media, and was the first club to test a digital circular with Meta (P2PI, 10 December 2024).

Every BJ's shopper must hold a paid membership. The Club tier costs $60 a year and Club+ costs $120 (BJ's 10-K, FY2025). Purchases in clubs, on BJs.com and in the app can therefore be tied to a member. BJ's also sells through the Instacart and DoorDash marketplaces; whether those orders feed Media Edge reporting is n/d.

BJ's described its member data as the basis of the program at launch, when it had 6.5 million members (P2PI, 7 December 2022). It has not published how audiences are shared offsite or whether a clean room is used.

At launch, advertisers got real-time analytics, while closed-loop measurement was still being built. By late 2024 BJ's said it had launched in-club attribution, which Bothra described as the first grocery program to tie in-club impact to media (company claim, P2PI, 10 December 2024). BJ's has published no accreditation, audit or incrementality method.

1. Start with your BJ's merchant. Media Edge sits close to merchandising, and BJ's has run supplier summits to present its offer.
2. Ask which platform serves ads today. PromoteIQ is gone, so confirm the current tool, its reporting and whether past campaign data carried over.
3. Begin onsite. Search and display on BJs.com reach members already shopping your category.
4. Add in-club screens where they exist. Alcohol brands can use the in-aisle screens; others should ask about endcaps and racks.
5. Agree measurement in writing. Confirm whether in-club sales are included, the attribution window and how new members are counted.

It suits:

• brands stocked in BJ's clubs, especially grocery, household and beverage;
• advertisers focused on New England and the East Coast;
• beer, wine and spirits brands that want screens at the shelf.

It suits less:

• brands needing national club reach, where Sam's Club Connect or Costco cover more states;
• advertisers who need a documented self-serve tool or public API;
• teams that require accredited or audited metrics.

• The ad platform BJ's uses after Microsoft closed PromoteIQ, and when it switched.
• Whether a self-serve tool exists for suppliers.
• Media Edge revenue, rate cards or minimum spend.
• Whether Instacart and DoorDash orders count in Media Edge reporting.
• Any accreditation or incrementality method.

1. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 31 January 2026 (filed 12 March 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1531152/000153115226000007/bj-20260131.htm
2. Path to Purchase Institute, "BJ's Debuts Retailer Media Network" (7 December 2022). https://p2pi.com/bjs-debuts-retailer-media-network
3. Business Wire, "BJ's Wholesale Club Announces Retail Media Program BJ's Media Edge" (1 December 2022; confirmed via search result, not fetched). https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221201005247/en/BJ%E2%80%99s-Wholesale-Club-Announces-Retail-Media-Program-BJ%E2%80%99s-Media-Edge%E2%84%A2
4. Path to Purchase Institute, "Bothra Honored as Executive of the Year" (10 December 2024). https://p2pi.com/bothra-honored-executive-year
5. Path to Purchase Institute, "BJ's Wholesale Club Adds In-Aisle Interactive Screens to Alcohol Departments" (27 January 2026). https://p2pi.com/bjs-wholesale-club-adds-aisle-interactive-screens-alcohol-departments
6. AdExchanger, "Microsoft Invest (Formerly Xandr DSP, And Formerly AppNexus Before That) Will Just Be Formerly" (14 May 2025). https://www.adexchanger.com/online-advertising/microsoft-invest-formerly-xandr-dsp-and-formerly-appnexus-before-that-will-just-be-formerly/