Retail media statistics: 35 numbers on market size, retailer margins and shopper trust

A retail media business can add new revenue worth 5% to 7% of a retailer’s ecommerce sales, at profit margins above 65%, according to BCG’s 2025 research on scaling retail media outside the US. Almost nothing else on a retailer’s balance sheet earns at that rate, which is why 49% of the retailers BCG surveyed now call it a top business priority.

The catch is that the category is concentrating at the same time as it grows, and most published coverage describes the two companies at the top of it rather than anyone else. Below are 35 numbers from EMARKETER, WARC Media, McKinsey, BCG, IAB Europe, Bizrate Insights, The Harris Poll, Walmart and Amazon, each with its publication year, and a section on what they mean for a retailer that will never be either of them.

The market is still growing, just not at pandemic speed

EMARKETER’s 2025 forecast puts US retail media ad spending at $69.33 billion in 2026, up from $58.79 billion in 2025, as brands keep buying the combination of data, audiences and inventory that retail media networks offer.

The trajectory has flattened. EMARKETER now expects a compound annual growth rate of 17.2% from 2024 through 2028, down from the 24.1% it predicted earlier. WARC Media’s 2025 data shows the same curve globally: Topline growth fell from 38.6% during the pandemic in 2021 to 13.7% in 2025, with 11.6% forecast for 2027.

Deceleration is not decline. WARC Media expects global retail media spend to reach $196.7 billion in 2026, overtaking combined linear and connected TV spend, having been barely a quarter of the total TV market in 2019. McKinsey, citing EMARKETER data from December 2025, expects retail media networks to capture more than $100 billion in US advertiser spending by 2029.

Europe, which is the market most retailers here sell into

IAB Europe expects retail media ad spend in Europe to reach €28.8 billion by 2028. The channel grew 21% in 2024, a figure that deliberately excludes Amazon and therefore describes the rest of the market rather than the company at the top of it.

Put next to the rest of the ad market, that is the whole argument for paying attention: IAB Europe measures European retail media growing close to four times faster than the total digital advertising market.

Where the incremental money goes

This is the number that should shape your business case. EMARKETER’s 2025 analysis expects Walmart and Amazon to vacuum up over 89% of the incremental dollars spent on retail media in 2026. In absolute terms, $9.42 billion of the $10.53 billion in incremental spending goes to Amazon Ads and Walmart Connect.

Both giants are compounding from an already vast base. WARC Media’s 2025 data has Amazon maintaining 15% year-on-year ad revenue growth. Walmart reported in November 2025 that Walmart Connect in the US grew 33%, and attributed part of nearly 17% adjusted operating income growth in the segment to higher-margin businesses including advertising.

For everyone else, the practical question is not how to beat those numbers. It is how to build a network worth a place in a brand’s second or third tier of spend.

What a retail media business is worth to the retailer

BCG’s 2025 research on scaling retail media outside the US sizes the opportunity clearly. A retail media business can generate new revenue equivalent to 5% to 7% of ecommerce sales, or 0.5% to 1.5% of total sales, at profit margins exceeding 65%. Very little else in retail earns at that rate.

The boardroom has noticed. In the same BCG research, 49% of surveyed retailers view retail media as a top business priority. Respondents named two strategic advantages beyond the margin itself: Diversifying revenue by tapping net new funds from brands (61%) and strengthening relationships with existing suppliers and brands (52%).

For a breakdown of how those revenue streams are actually structured, see our comparison of retail media revenue models and the retail media pricing guide.

The scaling problem most networks hit

Launching is easy. Scaling is where programs stall. BCG’s 2025 survey found more than 90% of retailers have a retail media business, and more than 80% of those cited three or more major challenges. Maturity does not resolve them either: 48% of more mature retail media businesses cited a lack of the right talent as an impediment to scale.

EMARKETER’s 2025 commentary points at the buy side of the same problem, attributing the slower forecast partly to advertisers’ struggles with a lack of standardization and measurement across networks. Complexity on the retailer’s side becomes friction on the brand’s side, and brands respond by consolidating budget with the networks that are simplest to buy.

Formats: Search, display, off-site and in-store

The sponsored-products box is still the center of gravity, but it is no longer the whole story. EMARKETER’s 2025 forecast has retail media search ad spending closing in on $40 billion in 2025 and display ad spending approaching $23 billion.

Two newer lines matter for anyone planning inventory. Off-site retail media will deliver more than one-fifth of retail media ad spending in 2025, and in-store retail media ad spending will exceed $500 million in the same year. Both are extensions of the same asset: First-party shopper data, applied where the shopper happens to be.

If you are comparing how different systems handle these formats, our guide to retail media platforms covers the architectural differences.

What advertisers actually want to buy

Buyers have stopped treating retail media as a bottom-funnel line item. WARC Media’s 2025 research found 40% of agency-side executives who buy retail media see it as a full-funnel solution, with a further 7% calling it an upper-funnel opportunity.

McKinsey’s 2026 analysis, based on a November 2025 survey of 150 US advertising decision-makers, reaches the same conclusion from the buyer’s chair: Media buyers no longer want commerce media networks to operate as a single performance channel, and instead want partners that deliver placement opportunities across the customer journey.

Encouragingly for smaller networks, brands are widening their partner lists. IAB Europe’s 2025 Attitudes to Retail Media research found the share of brands working with four to six retail media networks more than doubled between 2024 and 2025, rising from 10% to 24%, as advertisers diversify their partner mix. The budgets behind that diversification are substantial: More than 75% of surveyed buyers manage annual advertising budgets of €1 million or above, and 48% invest more than 41% of that in digital advertising.

Outside the United States, the growth rate is also friendlier. BCG’s 2025 research records retail media growing 25% in many non-US markets.

What shoppers notice, and what they trust

Bizrate Insights surveyed 1,023 US online shoppers in April 2025 and found 70% say they have seen ads while browsing, yet only 24% are familiar with the term retail media. Shoppers experience sponsored placements as part of the store, which is exactly why relevance matters more than volume.

Trust has limits, and AI shopping is testing them. In The Harris Poll’s February 2026 survey for Quad, 75% of Americans said they would trust AI agents less if brands paid to influence results, and 75% said they would trust those brands less too.

Meanwhile the AI surface itself is becoming commercially significant. Amazon reported in its Q3 2025 results that 250 million customers used Rufus, its AI-powered shopping assistant, during the year, and that shoppers using Rufus are 60% more likely to complete a purchase.

Reading these numbers honestly

Forecasts move, and this category’s move a lot. In January 2025 EMARKETER expected advertisers to spend more than $62 billion on US retail media in 2025, an increase of more than $10 billion year on year. Its later 2025 figure for the same year was $58.79 billion. Treat every forecast here as a direction, not a commitment.

Survey bases vary in size and audience. IAB Europe’s 2025 report drew over 180 respondents from advertisers, agencies and retail media networks across 31 markets. Bizrate Insights surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,023 US online shoppers aged 18 and over in April 2025. The Harris Poll surveyed 2,180 US adults online between 5 and 7 February 2026, including 370 Gen Z, 715 Millennials, 560 Gen X and 535 Boomers. These are opinion samples, not transaction logs.

Geography matters too. The EMARKETER and Bizrate figures are US-specific; the BCG and IAB Europe work covers markets where the competitive structure, retailer concentration and data rules are different.

And the averages hide enormous variance. A 5% to 7% share of ecommerce sales assumes scaled demand, clean inventory and someone to run it. Your own number depends on your traffic, your category mix and how many of your suppliers already buy media elsewhere.

How Hello Retail approaches Retail Media

• Placements earn their slot. Hello Retail’s Retail Media product turns on-site traffic into revenue by surfacing vendor-funded sponsored products and banners that appear when they are most relevant to the shopper.
• No ad-ops hire required. Hello Retail Retail Media is built as an easy Retail Media option for ecommerce, supporting sponsored products and banners that launch in minutes without a dedicated ad-ops team. That matters given the BCG finding above: 48% of mature programs name talent as the constraint on scale.
• Closed-loop measurement. Hello Retail Retail Media supports closed-loop measurement of the sponsored placements it serves, so campaign performance ties back to the on-site experience.
• A model suited to single-retailer stores. Hello Retail Retail Media uses a vendor-funded sponsored-placement model for on-site, non-marketplace retailers, distinct from a CPC bidding auction or a multi-seller marketplace network. The differences between those models are set out in our platform category guide.

Key takeaways

• A retail media business can add revenue worth 5% to 7% of ecommerce sales at margins above 65%, which is why 49% of retailers call it a top priority (BCG, 2025).
• European retail media reaches €28.8 billion by 2028 and grew 21% in 2024 excluding Amazon, close to four times the rate of digital advertising as a whole (IAB Europe, 2025).
• Over 89% of the incremental US retail media dollars in 2026 go to Walmart and Amazon, $9.42 billion of $10.53 billion (EMARKETER, 2025).
• US spend still rises to $69.33 billion in 2026 from $58.79 billion in 2025, at a revised CAGR of 17.2% rather than 24.1% (EMARKETER, 2025).
• Global spend reaches $196.7 billion in 2026 and overtakes combined linear and connected TV, with growth easing to 11.6% by 2027 (WARC Media, 2025).
• More than 80% of retailers with a network cite three or more major scaling challenges, and 48% of mature businesses cite talent (BCG, 2025).
• Brands working with four to six networks more than doubled from 10% to 24% in a year, so demand beyond the giants is real (IAB Europe, 2025).
• 70% of US shoppers have seen ads while browsing but only 24% know the term retail media (Bizrate Insights, 2025).

Want to see what vendor-funded sponsored placements would look like on your own category pages? Book a demo.

Sources

1. EMARKETER (2025), Retail media ad spending forecast and trends H2 2025, US spend of $69.33 billion in 2026 - https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-media-ad-spending-forecast-trends-h2-2025
2. EMARKETER (2025), $10 billion in incremental ad spending will flow to US retail media, 17.2% CAGR - https://www.emarketer.com/content/10-billion-incremental-ad-spending-will-flow-us-retail-media-2025
3. WARC Media (2025), The future of commerce media, global spend of $196.7bn in 2026 - https://www.warc.com/en/article/the-future-of-commerce-media-2025-6aecfaaf89c1495e96fefbc03f0f08e3
4. WARC Media (2025), The future of commerce media, growth from 38.6% in 2021 to 11.6% in 2027 - https://www.warc.com/en/article/the-future-of-commerce-media-2025-6aecfaaf89c1495e96fefbc03f0f08e3
5. McKinsey & Company (2026), Commerce media at an inflection point, more than $100 billion by 2029 (citing EMARKETER, December 2025) - https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/commerce-media-at-an-inflection-point-how-to-win-with-a-full-stack-approach
6. EMARKETER (2025), Retail media ad spending forecast and trends H2 2025, 89% of incremental dollars - https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-media-ad-spending-forecast-trends-h2-2025
7. EMARKETER (2025), Retail media ad spending forecast and trends H2 2025, $9.42 billion of $10.53 billion - https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-media-ad-spending-forecast-trends-h2-2025
8. WARC Media (2025), The future of commerce media, Amazon 15% year-on-year ad revenue growth - https://www.warc.com/en/article/the-future-of-commerce-media-2025-6aecfaaf89c1495e96fefbc03f0f08e3
9. Walmart Inc. (2025), Q3 FY26 earnings release, Walmart Connect US grew 33% - https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2025/11/20/walmart-releases-q3-fy26-earnings
10. Walmart Inc. (2025), Q3 FY26 earnings release, nearly 17% adjusted operating income growth - https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2025/11/20/walmart-releases-q3-fy26-earnings
11. Boston Consulting Group (2025), Six questions for scaling retail media outside the US, 5% to 7% of ecommerce sales at margins above 65% - https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/six-questions-for-scaling-retail-media-outside-us
12. Boston Consulting Group (2025), Six questions for scaling retail media outside the US, 49% call it a top priority - https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/six-questions-for-scaling-retail-media-outside-us
13. Boston Consulting Group (2025), Six questions for scaling retail media outside the US, 61% and 52% on strategic advantages - https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/six-questions-for-scaling-retail-media-outside-us
14. Boston Consulting Group (2025), Six questions for scaling retail media outside the US, more than 90% have a business and more than 80% cite three or more challenges - https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/six-questions-for-scaling-retail-media-outside-us
15. Boston Consulting Group (2025), Six questions for scaling retail media outside the US, 48% cite talent - https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/six-questions-for-scaling-retail-media-outside-us
16. EMARKETER (2025), Retail media forecast report update, search close to $40 billion - https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-media-forecast-report-update
17. EMARKETER (2025), Retail media forecast report update, display approaching $23 billion - https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-media-forecast-report-update
18. EMARKETER (2025), Retail media forecast report update, off-site more than one-fifth of spend - https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-media-forecast-report-update
19. EMARKETER (2025), Retail media forecast report update, in-store above $500 million - https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-media-forecast-report-update
20. WARC Media (2025), The future of commerce media, 40% full-funnel and 7% upper-funnel - https://www.warc.com/en/article/the-future-of-commerce-media-2025-6aecfaaf89c1495e96fefbc03f0f08e3
21. McKinsey & Company (2026), Commerce media at an inflection point, survey of 150 US advertising decision-makers, November 2025 - https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/commerce-media-at-an-inflection-point-how-to-win-with-a-full-stack-approach
22. IAB Europe (2025), Attitudes to Retail Media Report, four to six networks from 10% to 24% - https://iabeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/IAB-Europe-Attitudes-to-Retail-Media-Report-July-2025.pdf
23. IAB Europe (2025), Attitudes to Retail Media Report, 75%+ manage €1m or above and 48% invest more than 41% in digital - https://iabeurope.eu/knowledge_hub/iab-europes-attitudes-to-retail-media-report-2025/
24. Boston Consulting Group (2025), Six questions for scaling retail media outside the US, 25% growth in many non-US markets - https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/six-questions-for-scaling-retail-media-outside-us
25. Bizrate Insights (2025), The 2025 State of Retail Media Engagement Report, 70% have seen ads while browsing - https://bizrateinsights.com/the-2025-state-of-retail-media-engagement-report/
26. Bizrate Insights (2025), The 2025 State of Retail Media Engagement Report, 24% familiar with the term - https://bizrateinsights.com/the-2025-state-of-retail-media-engagement-report/
27. The Harris Poll for Quad (2026), How consumers feel about AI shopping, 75% and 75% on trust - https://www.quad.com/newsroom/how-do-consumers-feel-about-ai-shopping
28. Amazon.com, Inc. (2025), Q3 2025 earnings press release, 250 million Rufus users and 60% more likely to purchase - https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/amazoncom-announces-third-quarter-results-2025-10-30
29. EMARKETER (2025), $10 billion in incremental ad spending will flow to US retail media, more than $62 billion in 2025 (January 2025 vintage) - https://www.emarketer.com/content/10-billion-incremental-ad-spending-will-flow-us-retail-media-2025
30. IAB Europe (2025), Attitudes to Retail Media Report, over 180 respondents in 31 markets - https://iabeurope.eu/knowledge_hub/iab-europes-attitudes-to-retail-media-report-2025/
31. Bizrate Insights (2025), The 2025 State of Retail Media Engagement Report, sample of 1,023 US online shoppers aged 18+, April 2025 - https://bizrateinsights.com/the-2025-state-of-retail-media-engagement-report/
32. The Harris Poll for Quad (2026), How consumers feel about AI shopping, 2,180 US adults surveyed 5 to 7 February 2026 - https://www.quad.com/newsroom/how-do-consumers-feel-about-ai-shopping
33. IAB Europe (2025), Retail Media Hub, European retail media ad spend to reach €28.8bn by 2028 - https://iabeurope.eu/retail-media-hub/
34. IAB Europe (2025), Retail Media Hub, European retail media grew 21% in 2024 excluding Amazon - https://iabeurope.eu/retail-media-hub/
35. IAB Europe (2025), Retail Media Hub, growing nearly four times faster than the total digital advertising market - https://iabeurope.eu/retail-media-hub/