Front Row Connection: DSW's retail media network for footwear brands

It was built for one category and one kind of shopper decision. Shoes are bought on style, fit and brand, and DSW sells many competing brands side by side. Epsilon's Adam Skinner said retail media had been "really centric around grocery and big box", and that footwear needs relevance and personalisation (Marketing Dive, 10 September 2025). DSW's Mike Donk framed the goal as helping brands promote "new arrivals or perennial best-sellers". A sneaker brand launching a colourway in spring is the obvious first customer.

The second difference is the self-serve start. Front Row Connection launched as retail media self-serve from day one. Skinner described a model where the largest brands sit at the top and smaller brands use a self-service option to "compete head on" with them. For a small accessories label, that means running campaigns itself rather than paying for a managed service. DSW has not published any spend floor.

Third, measurement rests on identity rather than cookies. Epsilon says the network applies AI to "person-first identity resolution in the ad server" and reports performance across digital and in-store channels (company claims, Epsilon, 10 September 2025). DSW operates about 525 stores in the US and Canada, so a large share of sales may happen offline. If the attribution works as described, a brand can see store purchases by people who saw its ad on DSW.com. No independent test of that claim has been published.

Onsite. Sponsored products place a brand's shoes higher in search results and category pages on DSW.com. Banners add brand messages on the same site. Both are described as "high-impact placements" at the digital shelf.

Offsite. No offsite product is listed. Skinner said the identity backbone lets DSW find potential customers on the open web and bring them back to its own channels. That describes how DSW drives traffic, not an ad product sold to brands.

In-store. No store media is sold. The onsite, offsite and in-store comparison explains what each surface adds and how it is measured.

DSW's first-party shopper data sits behind the targeting, matched by Epsilon's identity graph. Epsilon, owned by Publicis Groupe, describes its approach as connecting media performance "to real people", not cookies or proxies. Brands receive reports and performance metrics, not shopper identities.

The sources do not describe which audience segments a self-serve buyer can choose. They also do not say whether DSW's loyalty programme data is used. Ask both questions before you plan budgets around audience targeting.

Epsilon promises "transparent performance metrics across physical and digital channels". The headline feature is omnichannel attribution: linking an ad seen on DSW.com to a later purchase on the site or in a store. Settle the attribution window and whether store sales are reported separately. We found no Media Rating Council accreditation or independent audit for Front Row Connection.

1. Confirm you are a DSW brand partner. The network is for brands whose products DSW sells.
2. Get access to the self-serve platform. Ask your DSW contact or Epsilon Retail Media for an account.
3. Start with sponsored products on your core styles and new arrivals.
4. Add banners for launches or seasonal pushes.
5. Check the attribution settings. Confirm the window and how in-store sales appear in reports.

Before your first campaign, confirm:

• which search and category pages carry sponsored products;
• the bidding model and any minimum budget;
• whether audience targeting is available in self-serve;
• how store sales are matched and reported.

It suits:

• footwear and accessories brands ranged at DSW;
• smaller brands that want self-serve access without a managed-service fee;
• brands that care about store sales as well as online sales.

It suits less:

• advertisers who need offsite or in-store media;
• brands not sold at DSW;
• buyers who need audited measurement or published traffic figures.

• DSW.com traffic, the number of advertisers and any revenue from the network.
• Minimum spend, pricing model and fees.
• Whether DSW's loyalty programme data is used for targeting.
• Whether the network covers DSW's Canadian stores and website.
• Designer Brands' headquarters from a primary source.

1. Epsilon, "Epsilon to Launch 'Front Row Connection,' For DSW" (Irving, Texas, 10 September 2025; web page dated 11 September 2025). https://www.epsilon.com/us/about-us/pressroom/epsilon-to-launch-front-row-connection-for-dsw
2. Marketing Dive, "Why DSW teamed with Epsilon to bring footwear brands to retail media" (10 September 2025). https://www.marketingdive.com/news/dsw-teamed-epsilon-bring-footwear-brands-retail-media/759624/
3. Path to Purchase Institute, "DSW Launches Retailer Media Network" (news brief, 17 September 2025). https://p2pi.com/news-briefs/2025-09-17?article=dsw-launches-retailer-media-network