Retail media advertising sells you the click. Not the ad.Not the creative.Not the shelf.
Retail media networks sell data, audiences and placement. The creative that has to win those placements is still your problem, in every retailer's spec.
Tell us the brand, the markets and the retailers that matter. We come back with what is missing on your digital shelf by market, what the first month of creative would look like and one number.
No card. We reply within one working day.
- A read of your product pages and live ads, retailer by retailer, market by market
- The asset count your market and network mix actually needs each quarter
- A first-month plan: concepts, formats, creators, turnaround
- One number per brand or market. No hourly billing, no roster fees
Retail media advertising is buying ads from retailers, on their websites, apps and partner channels, targeted with their shopper data. Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect, Instacart and Target Roundel are among the largest US networks. Targeting comes from the retailer; the creative usually comes from the brand, and it is often the weakest part of the campaign.
- Retail media is the retailer's data, sold as ads.Onsite search and display, offsite social and streaming TV.
- Two networks take most of the growth.Amazon and Walmart capture about 89% of new US spend in 2026 (eMarketer).
- Every network has its own specs and policies.One asset does not travel unchanged.
- Creative is the lever you control.Targeting is shared with your competitors; the ad is yours.
- Offsite needs real creative.Social and streaming placements need thumb-stopping ads, not packshots.
What people assume. What actually happens.
Retail media is where the trade budget went. Instead of paying for end caps and circulars, CPG brands pay retailers for sponsored listings, display and video, on site and across the web, targeted with the retailer's own purchase data.
eMarketer forecasts US retail media spend of $69.33 billion in 2026, with Amazon and Walmart taking $9.42 billion of the $10.53 billion in new spend. The targeting has never been better. The creative going into it is often a resized packshot. This guide covers how retail media networks work, what each format needs and how to build creative for it.
Better targeting will fix weak results.
Your competitors buy the same audiences on the same network. When targeting is shared, the ad is the difference the shopper sees.
The packshot is the ad.
On a phone, sponsored placements show at thumbnail size. Brand, variant, benefit and price have to read in one glance.
Offsite works like onsite.
Offsite ads run in social feeds and streaming TV next to every other brand. A packshot on white rarely holds attention there.
How retail media networks work
A retail media network sells ad placements on the retailer's own properties and on outside channels, targeted with what shoppers actually bought there. Brands pay for impressions or clicks and see attributed sales in the retailer's reporting.
Onsite
Sponsored products and brands in search results, display on category and product pages, and video on the retailer's site and app.
Offsite
The retailer's audiences reached on social, display, streaming TV and audio through partners, with sales measured back at the retailer.
In store
Screens and audio in physical stores, increasingly sold through the same network as digital placements.
Why creative decides retail media results
Every brand in your category can buy the same audiences on the same network. The difference shoppers see is the ad.
Thumbnail first
Most onsite placements render small on a phone. The product, the benefit and the price have to read in one glance.
Spec sprawl
Each network has its own sizes, safe zones, copy limits and creative policies, and they change. What runs as sponsored brand video on one network is a custom display unit on another.
Offsite is a social ad
When a retailer's audience is reached on social or streaming TV, your asset competes with every other ad in the feed.
Fatigue comes fast
Always-on campaigns with three assets wear out. Shoppers who see the same tile every visit stop seeing it.
Creative by network, at a glance
Amazon Ads
Sponsored brands and video, brand Stores, display through Amazon DSP and Prime Video ads. Clear product video and Store consistency matter most.
Walmart Connect
Sponsored products and brands, onsite display and offsite through partners. Value messaging and pack clarity carry.
Instacart
Sponsored products, display and shoppable video inside the grocery basket. Occasion and recipe framing help.
Target Roundel and grocery networks
Onsite and offsite placements with retailer-specific brand standards and approval steps.
Specs and policies change often; confirm current requirements with each network before production.
How QuickAds builds retail media creative
One concept, every network
We build a master concept, then cut it to each network's specs, placements and policies, onsite and offsite.
Variety at SKU level
Catalog enrichment turns product feeds into lifestyle cards and short videos for every SKU, including the long tail nobody shoots. See catalog ads.
Retailer and market QA
Every asset is checked frame by frame against your brand kit, safe zones and network policies before it ships.
Weekly learning by retailer
We tag hook, format, SKU and pack shot so you see which creative carried which network. See Amazon ads management and how QuickAds helps FMCG brands.
Proof before the call.
Watch it work
- One product feed into branded catalog adsFrom a bare feed to retail-ready creative for every SKU.
- One product URL into dozens of adsOne concept cut to every spec.
- Three things to check before you hit publishCatching the line that gets an ad rejected before the network does.
Read the data
- FMCG ad intelligence report 2026Retail media growth by market.
- The ROI of creativeWhat changes when creative capacity stops being the constraint.
- The breakthrough ad guideDisplay and social ads that read at thumbnail size.
Questions teams ask first.
What is retail media advertising?
Retail media advertising is advertising sold by retailers, placed on their own websites and apps and on outside channels, and targeted with their customers' purchase data. For CPG brands it has largely replaced traditional trade marketing as the way to influence the shelf, because the retailer can show which ads led to sales.
What is a retail media network?
A retail media network is a retailer's advertising business. It packages the retailer's shopper data, website and app inventory, offsite partnerships and sometimes in-store screens into ad products brands can buy. Amazon Ads and Walmart Connect are the largest in the US, and most large grocers, pharmacies and marketplaces now run one.
How do retail media networks work?
Brands buy placements through the network's self-serve platform or managed team. Ads are targeted with the retailer's first-party shopper data and run onsite, offsite or in store. The network reports impressions, clicks and attributed sales from its own transactions, which is why retail media is described as closed-loop.
What creative do you need for retail media?
At minimum: strong product images, sponsored brand headlines and logos, display banners in each network's sizes and a short product video. Offsite and streaming placements need full social or video creative. Each network has its own specs and creative policies, so most brands need a version of each asset per retailer.
How much do brands spend on retail media?
eMarketer forecasts US retail media ad spend of $69.33 billion in 2026, up from $58.79 billion in 2025, with Amazon and Walmart taking most of the growth. Brand budgets vary widely. A useful rule is to reserve part of every retail media budget for creative built for the network, not resized from TV.
The FMCG and retail page set.
Nitin Mahajan, Founder and CEO, QuickAds
Nitin runs QuickAds, the creative intelligence and production company behind this page: 70+ people across India, Singapore, Canada and the US, and more than $200M of ad spend managed. Before QuickAds he was early at two companies that went on to become unicorns. This page comes out of the calls he has with FMCG and retail teams every week. Connect on LinkedIn
Tell us the brand and the retailers that matter. We come back with what is missing on your digital shelf and what the first month would look like.
No card. We reply within one working day.