Pentaleap retail media: unified ranking, pricing model and alternatives

Pentaleap starts from a complaint many retailers share: sponsored products are less relevant than organic results. Its site argues that legacy ad server algorithms are "less advanced than your existing enterprise search and personalization AI", so paid listings get fewer clicks and can erode shopper trust (Pentaleap).

Its answer is unified ranking. Instead of an ad server filling fixed sponsored slots, one decision layer ranks paid and organic products together on the same grid. Pentaleap says this builds on the retailer's existing search and personalisation, which the retailer has already paid for. It also says A/B tests "consistently demonstrate ad revenue lifts of 80-140%" (company claim, no study published, Pentaleap).

The second job is demand. Pentaleap acts as a mediation layer: direct sales, the retailer's existing systems and outside bidders compete in one auction. It names Google, Amazon Ads and Teads as connected demand sources, and says it handles billing and commercial coordination with them (Pentaleap, demand).

Worked example. A shopper searches "cordless drill". The organic engine ranks drill A first, drill B second and drill C third. A brand bids for drill C. In a fixed-slot setup, drill C jumps into a sponsored slot above drill A even if few shoppers buy it. With unified ranking, the bid raises drill C's score but relevance still counts, so drill C may land second. The retailer earns ad revenue, and the page still shows products people buy.

The demand side works through real-time bidding. On 24 July 2025 Pentaleap and Teads launched what they called the first programmatic way to buy sponsored product ads across several retail networks, through Teads Ad Manager (PPC Land, 25 July 2025). Macy's cited the same logic in January 2026: brands can buy Macy's sponsored products "across multiple ad tech platforms where they already manage retail media investments" (Pentaleap, 22 January 2026). The network itself is profiled at Macy's Media Network.

Pentaleap now also works as a component inside other platforms:

Where a ranking layer sits between the catalog, search and the ad server is drawn in retail media network architecture.

Pentaleap does not publish prices, and no dated trade report of its fees was found. Its sales offer is a side-by-side test: "Prove the lift and move forward only if it works" (Pentaleap). Ask how fees are set after the test, and how demand from Teads or Amazon Ads is billed, so you can work out your take rate.

Strengths

• Relevance as the selling point. Unified ranking addresses the most common shopper complaint about sponsored products.
• Large US references. Macy's, The Home Depot and CVS are named on its site.
• Open demand. Teads, Amazon Ads, Google and commerce tools such as Skai and Pacvue can reach Pentaleap-ranked inventory.
• Low switching risk. It can run next to an incumbent ad server during a test.

Limits

• Narrow scope. Pentaleap focuses on sponsored products; display, offsite and in-store come through partners such as Zitcha and Osmos.
• Lift claims are unpublished. The 80% to 140% figure has no public method or sample (Pentaleap).
• Few dated customer releases. Only the Macy's selection is dated on its site.
• Depends on the retailer's search quality. The approach builds on the retailer's own ranking signals, which vary.

• Pentaleap's founding year and investors.
• When The Home Depot and CVS began using Pentaleap and for which placements.
• The method behind the 80% to 140% revenue lift claim.
• Pricing.
• Which OpenRTB version the Teads integration uses.

1. Pentaleap, home page (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.pentaleap.com/
2. Pentaleap, "About us" (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.pentaleap.com/about-us
3. Pentaleap, "Demand expansion" (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.pentaleap.com/demand-expansion
4. Pentaleap, "Pentaleap is Selected by Macy's, Inc. to Power Its Next-Generation Retail Media Network" (22 January 2026). https://www.pentaleap.com/press-release/pentaleap-is-selected-by-macys-inc-to-power-its-next-generation-retail-media-network
5. Pentaleap, privacy policy (accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.pentaleap.com/privacy-policy
6. PPC Land, "Retail media networks embrace RTB for sponsored products" (25 July 2025, on the announcement of 24 July 2025). https://ppc.land/retail-media-networks-embrace-rtb-for-sponsored-products/
7. Zitcha, "Zitcha and Pentaleap partner to connect retail media auctions with product relevance" (10 June 2026). https://www.zitcha.com/newsroom/zitcha-and-pentaleap-partner-to-connect-retail-media-auctions-with-product-relevance
8. Osmos, "Osmos and Pentaleap partner to connect onsite strength with omnichannel growth" (14 October 2026). https://www.osmos.ai/blog/osmos-and-pentaleap-partner-to-connect-onsite-strength-with-omnichannel-growth