Giant Eagle retail media network: Leap Media Group, myPerks data and the Kroger deal

Leap grew out of an in-house agency, not an ad-tech purchase. In 2023 Damian Scott, who led retail media, said Giant Eagle had folded many outside agencies into one internal team. It holds media buyers, strategists and technologists (P2PI, 7 June 2023). By 2024 Leap still sold only managed campaigns. Brand teams plan with Giant Eagle people, and the network can build odd, local ideas. During the 2026 NFL draft in Pittsburgh, it signed up "tens" of brands to fund a motorised, branded shopping cart driving around the city (P2PI, 8 June 2026).

The footprint has shrunk since launch. In 2023 Leap counted more than 470 stores, including GetGo Café + Market convenience stores and their fuel pumps. Alimentation Couche-Tard, Circle K's owner, has since acquired GetGo (Couche-Tard, 11 February 2026). Kroger's July 2026 agreement covers 197 supermarkets and 11 pharmacies. Leap's own site still advertises GetGo pump and store transactions. Buyers should ask which banners' data a 2026 campaign really uses.

The biggest open question is ownership. Kroger runs its own network, Kroger Precision Marketing. The deal report does not mention Leap, and we found no statement on what happens to it after closing. Until then, Leap operates as Giant Eagle's network. Our retail media consolidation page tracks deals like this one.

In-store and out-of-home. Justin Weinstein, Giant Eagle's chief merchandising and marketing officer, lists grocery television and in-store displays among Leap's channels. Leap also sells out-of-home placements and one-off activations such as the NFL draft cart.

Digital. Leap sells sponsored search and placements on Giant Eagle's online properties and apps. The 2023 launch added social, influencer content and linear and connected TV (P2PI, 7 June 2023).

Offsite. Since June 2024, Rippl has carried Leap audiences to other channels. Leap runs onsite and in-store inventory while Rippl handles additional offsite activation (Grocery Dive, 4 June 2024).

Targeting starts with myPerks, Giant Eagle's loyalty program. At launch, Giant Eagle cited engagement with about 4 million households; Leap's site gives "over 1.5 million households" in myPerks (both company figures). Through Rippl, brands can also reach more than 70 million anonymised shopper profiles across regional chains, about 15% of them Giant Eagle shoppers. They can push audiences to The Trade Desk and LiveRamp or build them with Unified ID 2.0 (P2PI, 5 June 2024). Brands receive audiences and reports, not shopper records.

Leap reports return on ad spend and impressions, and its closed-loop measurement links ads to myPerks purchases. Joining Rippl let Leap combine that reporting with standardised metrics shared across the consortium. Weinstein called measurement "the most important" of Leap's four pillars in June 2026. We found no accreditation or independent audit. Retail media measurement standards explained lists what to ask for.

1. Contact Leap's partnership marketing team through the form on leapmediagroup.com, or through your Giant Eagle merchant.
2. Build an annual plan. Leap is managed-only, so campaigns are planned with the team rather than launched in a console.
3. Combine shelf and screen. Pair in-store displays or grocery television with a promotion your merchant already supports.
4. Use Rippl for wider reach. If you need one audience across regional grocers, buy it through Rippl.
5. Clarify scope before signing. Confirm which banners' data and sales are measured, and what the Kroger closing means for any multi-year commitment.

It suits:

• brands with strong distribution in western Pennsylvania, Ohio and nearby states;
• marketers who want hands-on planning and local, event-led activations;
• agencies already buying regional grocery audiences through Rippl.

It suits less:

• advertisers who want self-serve buying;
• brands that need stable multi-year terms while ownership is pending;
• teams that require accredited metrics.

• What Kroger plans for Leap after the deal closes.
• Current myPerks membership; the two company figures above conflict.
• The number of in-store screens and the vendors behind them.
• Revenue, rate card and minimum spend.

1. Path to Purchase Institute, "Giant Eagle Launches Retailer Media Network" (7 June 2023). https://p2pi.com/giant-eagle-launches-retailer-media-network
2. Leap Media Group, "LEAP with myPerks" (website, accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.leapmediagroup.com/
3. Grocery Dive, "Giant Eagle, Wegmans aim to boost retail media scale with new third-party tie-up" (4 June 2024). https://www.grocerydive.com/news/giant-eagle-wegmans-retail-media-network-regional-grocer-rippl/717878/
4. AdExchanger, "Why Regional Grocery Chains Are Buying Into Co-Ops" (4 June 2024). https://www.adexchanger.com/commerce/why-regional-grocery-chains-are-buying-into-co-ops/
5. Path to Purchase Institute, "Giant Eagle Enhances Retail Media Data, Targeting Capabilities" (5 June 2024). https://p2pi.com/giant-eagle-enhances-retail-media-data-targeting-capabilities
6. Path to Purchase Institute, "Retail Media Central to Giant Eagle's Strategy, Justin Weinstein Says" (8 June 2026). https://p2pi.com/retail-media-central-giant-eagles-strategy-justin-weinstein-says
7. Path to Purchase Institute, "Kroger to Acquire Giant Eagle for $1.65B" (1 July 2026). https://p2pi.com/kroger-acquire-giant-eagle-165b
8. Alimentation Couche-Tard, "Alimentation Couche-Tard Presents Its 2026 Business Strategy Update and New Long-Term Guidance" (11 February 2026). https://corporate.couche-tard.com/2026-02-11-ALIMENTATION-COUCHE-TARD-PRESENTS-ITS-2026-BUSINESS-STRATEGY-UPDATE-AND-NEW-LONG-TERM-GUIDANCE