Loblaw Advance retail media network: PC Optimum data, formats and how to buy

Loblaw sells loyalty, media, data and advice as one product. When it launched the network in 2023, it merged PC Optimum sales, Loblaw Media, data insights subscriptions and consulting into a single entry point for brands (P2PI, 6 September 2024). A supplier can fund PC Optimum points offers, buy ads and license shopper insights through one team. Most networks keep loyalty promotions and media in separate budgets.

The second difference is the pharmacy. Shoppers Drug Mart sits inside the same network as the grocery banners, so health and beauty brands can reach shoppers in both. That reach brings extra care over health-related data. The pharmacy retail media guide explains why pharmacy networks treat some categories differently, and the same questions apply here.

Third, Loblaw outsources part of its sales. In August 2026 it made Criteo a preferred demand partner and direct sales agent for email display placements in Shoppers Drug Mart, PC Optimum and PC Express newsletters (Loblaw, 5 August 2026). Email is a large channel here, at about 25 million opted-in sends a week. Leanne Gibson, a former Walmart Connect and Spotify executive, became senior vice president on 6 January 2026 (P2PI, 3 November 2025).

Onsite. Sponsored products run on Loblaw's e-commerce sites. P2PI reported more than 10 million unique monthly visitors to Loblaw's digital platforms in 2024.

Email. Display placements run in loyalty-linked newsletters for Shoppers Drug Mart, PC Optimum and PC Express. Criteo now sells these alongside Loblaw Advance's own team.

In-store. Loblaw has expanded its in-store digital screen network using Stratacache technology. It has not published a screen count. The in-store retail media guide covers how such networks are measured.

Offsite. Programmatic display and online video extend PC Optimum audiences beyond Loblaw's own sites, bought through MediaAisle.

PC Optimum is the base. It had about 16 million active members in 2024 and more than 18 million by August 2026 (company figures, Loblaw, 5 August 2026). Members earn points across Loblaw grocery banners and Shoppers Drug Mart, which links purchases in both. Brands can buy data insights subscriptions as well as media.

Loblaw does not publish how audiences are matched offsite or whether a clean room is used. Advertisers receive segments and reports, not member records. Ask how health and beauty purchases from pharmacies are handled before building audiences on them.

MediaAisle provides closed-loop measurement with near real-time sales data for sponsored products and for programmatic display and online video (P2PI, 6 September 2024). The network describes its aim as high-quality, measurable solutions.

We found no MRC accreditation or third-party audit. A 2024 Mars United review of Canadian retail media networks rated several platforms on measurement and other capabilities. Ask for the control method and attribution window before comparing results with other networks.

1. Contact Loblaw Advance. Start with the Loblaw Advance team for a combined media and loyalty plan.
2. Start with sponsored products on Loblaw's e-commerce sites for products you already sell there.
3. Add email display through Loblaw Advance or Criteo if you already buy through Criteo.
4. Add in-store and offsite screens and programmatic video for awareness, using PC Optimum audiences.
5. Fund loyalty offers carefully. Decide which budget pays for PC Optimum points and measure them separately from media.

It suits:

• CPG brands sold in Loblaw grocery banners;
• health and beauty brands sold at Shoppers Drug Mart;
• advertisers who want loyalty offers and media in one plan.

It suits less:

• brands not stocked by Loblaw;
• advertisers who need audited metrics or a documented clean room;
• buyers who want a public self-serve tool.

• Loblaw Advance revenue in Canadian dollars for any period.
• Whether MediaAisle is open for self-serve buying, and on what terms.
• The size of the in-store screen network.
• The launch year of Loblaw Media before 2023 (a trade source says 2019; we could not read it).
• Minimum spend and rate cards.

1. Loblaw Companies Limited, "Criteo and Loblaw Advance Partner to Expand Advertiser Access to Premium Retail Media Network" (5 August 2026). https://www.loblaw.ca/en/criteo-and-loblaw-advance-partner-to-expand-advertiser-access-to-premium-retail-media-network/
2. Criteo, "Criteo and Loblaw Advance Partner to Expand Advertiser Access to Premium Retail Media Network" (5 August 2026). https://www.criteo.com/news/press-releases/2026/08/criteo-and-loblaw-advance-partner-to-expand-advertiser-access-to-premium-retail-media-network/
3. Path to Purchase Institute, "Advance Powered by Loblaw" (profile, 6 September 2024). https://p2pi.com/advance-powered-loblaw
4. Path to Purchase Institute, "Loblaw Advance Names Leanne Gibson as New Retail Media Leader" (3 November 2025). https://p2pi.com/loblaw-advance-names-leanne-gibson-new-retail-media-leader
5. Mars United Commerce, "Retail Media Report Card Canada Fall 2024" (23 October 2024). https://www.marsunited.com/retail-media-report-card-canada-fall-2024/