H-E-B retail media network: how H-E-B Retail Media works and how brands buy it

H-E-B sells local density. Its footprint is Texas plus a business in Mexico, not a national map. Sean Ransenberg, who runs the network, framed the June 2025 tools as a way for brands "to connect with local Texas communities" (Epsilon, 11 June 2025). For a national brand, that makes H-E-B a regional buy with unusually deep reach inside Texas. Weekly reach of 8 million households is a company claim that has not been audited.

The second difference is choice of buying route. H-E-B did not build one closed console. Promoted products can be bought self-serve in Epsilon Retail Media, and Skai adds another way in for agencies that already plan there. Epsilon's Adam Skinner said this answers brands' "calls for standardization and increased access to buying options" (same source). An agency running ten grocers can therefore keep H-E-B inside tools it already uses.

The third point is a puzzle buyers should raise. Topsort publishes a case study in which H-E-B launched sponsored products on Topsort's platform in late 2024 and grew advertiser spend 82.6% while cost per click fell 30.2% (vendor claim, Topsort, accessed 9 November 2026). The case study names Mexican retailers Liverpool and La Comer as peers, which points to H-E-B's business in Mexico, but it never says so. If that reading is right, H-E-B runs two ad stacks in two countries.

Onsite. Promoted product ads appear on heb.com and in the My H-E-B app. Advertisers manage products, keywords and bids, and can pause or activate campaigns in bulk.

In-store. Looma, which places video screens next to the products they promote, lists H-E-B among its retail partners (Modern Retail, 11 September 2026). H-E-B has not published a screen count. The in-store retail media guide explains how such screens are sold and measured.

Offsite and email. H-E-B lists both channels. It has not published which offsite platforms or which email programmes carry the ads.

H-E-B describes its campaigns as "data-driven" and running "online, in-store, and everywhere Texans shop" (same source). It has not said which signals feed targeting, such as purchase history or app behaviour. It has also not said whether brands can match their own data in a clean room. Ask for the audience list and its data sources before you commit budget.

Self-serve reports run around the clock and include sales, cost per click and click-through rate, with pacing by time period (Epsilon, 11 June 2025). Reporting sales next to clicks implies a link between ad exposure and purchase, but H-E-B has not described its attribution window or whether store sales count. We found no Media Rating Council accreditation. Retail media measurement standards explained lists the questions to put.

1. Pick your route. Use the Epsilon Retail Media self-service console, or buy through Skai if your agency already runs campaigns there. Both are described on the Epsilon Retail Media vendor profile.
2. Start with promoted products. They run on heb.com and the app and report sales directly.
3. Talk to the H-E-B Retail Media team about offsite, email and in-store packages, which the release lists but does not price.
4. Add in-store screens where shelf placement matters, through the H-E-B team or Looma.
5. Fix the measurement plan. Agree the attribution window and whether store purchases are included.

It suits:

• brands with strong distribution in Texas;
• local and regional brands that sell mainly in H-E-B's markets;
• agencies that already buy through Epsilon Retail Media or Skai.

It suits less:

• brands that need national reach from one grocer;
• advertisers that require accredited metrics or independent audits;
• brands with little H-E-B distribution, since sales reporting needs H-E-B sales.

• The network's launch date. The earliest H-E-B statement we found is from June 2025.
• Whether the network covers H-E-B's stores in Mexico, and which platform serves them.
• Specific data signals and any clean room.
• The number of in-store screens, offsite partners and email placements.
• Revenue, rate card and minimum spend.

1. Epsilon, "H-E-B Launches New Self-Service Capabilities in the H-E-B Retail Media Network" (11 June 2025), joint announcement quoting H-E-B. https://www.epsilon.com/us/about-us/pressroom/h-e-b-launches-new-self-service-capabilities
2. Mass Market Retailers, "H-E-B expands retail media network with new self-service capabilities" (26 June 2025). https://massmarketretailers.com/h-e-b-expands-retail-media-network-with-new-self-service-capabilities/
3. 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/
4. Topsort, "How a Major Supermarket Chain Grew Ad Spend 82.6% While Cutting Cost Per Click by 30%" (undated case study, accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.topsort.com/casestudy/heb