Retail media is advertising that retailers and marketplaces sell to brands across their owned digital channels, in store inventory, and data enabled external media.
It helps brands reach shoppers near the point of purchase while using retailer data to target, optimise and measure campaign performance.
Brands pay to promote products or messages closer to the moment a shopping decision actually gets made, whether that is a search result, a product page, an in store screen or a video ad built on retailer audience signals.
Retail media can support brand awareness and product discovery just as well as it supports conversion, which is a common misconception worth clearing up early. For a broader view of how the channel is evolving, explore the latest retail media trends for 2026.
The channel spans three distinct environments: onsite, offsite and in store, and its value comes from a combination of commerce context, shopper insight, and the ability to connect advertising activity back to real outcomes rather than proxy metrics.
What Is a Retail Media Network?
Retail media is the advertising category. A retail media network, usually shortened to RMN, is the retailer’s or marketplace’s advertising offering, platform or infrastructure through which brands buy that inventory and use the retailer’s data.
That distinction matters, but it is really a separate topic in its own right. For a full breakdown of how RMNs operate, how to evaluate one, and how they work specifically across MENA, see our dedicated guide: What Is a Retail Media Network? A MENA Guide for Brands.
How Does Retail Media Work?
A retail media campaign generally follows a consistent process, regardless of which retailer or format is involved.
- A retailer or marketplace makes advertising placements and audience or data capabilities available to brands.
- A brand selects a goal, such as awareness, new product discovery, product sales or repeat purchase.
- The brand chooses an audience, placement, budget, bidding model and creative or product catalogue.
- Ads appear on retailer owned properties, in store media, or external media enabled by the retailer's data.
- The retailer or platform reports on delivery and commerce outcomes, which the advertiser uses to optimise the campaign.
Context is what sets retail media apart from most other advertising. A shopper engaging with a retailer’s website or app may already be browsing, comparing or actively buying, which puts the ad in front of genuine purchase intent rather than a colder, less qualified audience.
Targeting typically draws on signals such as category interest, past purchase behaviour, loyalty activity, contextual relevance and defined audience segments, and this same retailer data can inform planning, execution, optimisation and measurement across the whole buying journey.
It is worth noting that the depth of data, the reporting available and the buying models on offer all vary meaningfully by retailer and by market, so what one RMN supports is not automatically true of another.
Types of Retail Media
Retail media activity generally falls into three environments, each suited to a different part of the shopper journey.
Onsite Retail Media
Onsite retail media is advertising sold directly on a retailer’s or marketplace’s own website and app. Common formats include sponsored product listings, sponsored brand placements, display banners, category page placements, product detail page ads, homepage modules and retailer app ads.
The strength of onsite media is immediate purchase context. A shopper searching for a specific product category is already close to a buying decision, which gives sponsored placements a direct path to conversion that is harder to replicate in other channels.
Search result placements in particular are a common and effective format for capturing high intent demand right at the moment it appears.
Offsite Retail Media
Offsite retail media uses a retailer’s data with media inventory beyond the retailer’s own website or app. This can include display, online video, social media, connected TV, digital out of home, digital audio and, in some cases, email.
Offsite media extends a retailer’s audience signals into environments where shoppers spend time consuming content rather than only where they transact, which makes it well suited to awareness and consideration goals ahead of a return visit to purchase.
The defining feature of offsite retail media is the use of retailer or commerce data to inform targeting, not simply the fact that the ad runs somewhere other than the retailer’s own site.
Without that data driven targeting, an offsite placement is really just standard programmatic advertising wearing a retail media label.
In Store Retail Media
In store retail media covers advertising opportunities inside physical stores, planned, executed or measured using retail data.
Examples include digital shelf screens, digital out of home displays, store radio, checkout screens, self service kiosks, hand held scanners, printed media and physical activations.
This format matters most for omnichannel retailers, since it can influence a shopper at or close to the physical shelf, right at the point where the final decision often gets made.
In store inventory is frequently sold as a managed service rather than a self serve platform, so the buying process can look quite different from a standard onsite or offsite campaign, depending on the retailer.
Retail Media Ad Formats
Matching format to objective is straightforward once the goal is clear. Sponsored products tend to work best for conversion, display and video suit discovery and awareness, and in store activations are strongest for physical retail engagement specifically.
Why Retail Media Matters
Benefits for Brands
- Reach shoppers close to a purchase decision, rather than earlier in the funnel where intent is less certain.
- Access retailer first party data and commerce signals that are difficult to replicate through other channels.
- Improve product discovery and visibility on the digital shelf.
- Connect media performance directly with retail outcomes, rather than relying on proxy metrics.
- Coordinate awareness and conversion activity across onsite, offsite and in store touchpoints as part of one strategy.
Benefits for Retailers
- Create a high margin advertising revenue stream from assets the retailer already owns.
- Monetise owned traffic, app engagement, physical store environments and data capabilities.
- Give suppliers a more accountable, transparent way to invest in marketing.
- Improve relevance for shoppers by connecting them with products and brands that genuinely match their needs.
Retail media lets retailers put both their digital and physical storefronts, along with the customer insight they generate, to work as a genuine advertising opportunity for brands, rather than treating that traffic and data purely as an internal asset.
Looking to reach high-intent shoppers with a measurable retail media strategy? Speak with our performance marketing team about connecting media spend to real sales outcomes.
The Role of First Party Data
First party retail data, such as purchase history, browsing behaviour, loyalty activity and product level engagement, is what gives retail media its edge over generic third party targeting, since it reflects actual shopping behaviour rather than inferred interest.
As with any use of shopper data, campaigns should follow privacy safe practices, transparent governance and retailer or platform approved activation methods throughout.
For a deeper look at how retail media networks in MENA specifically source, govern and activate first party data, see our Retail Media Network guide.
Retail Media Examples
- Marketplace search campaign: A skincare brand bids on relevant category or product search terms so its products appear in sponsored shopping results.
- Grocery launch campaign: A food brand uses retailer audience segments and onsite display to introduce a new product, then measures product sales during the campaign period.
- Offsite re-engagement campaign: A consumer electronics brand reaches retailer defined high intent audiences through display or connected TV, and measures subsequent purchases where the retailer's reporting permits it.
- In store promotion: A beverage brand uses digital screens near a relevant aisle to support a limited time promotion.
Amazon is a familiar reference point here, since it shows individual products directly within shopping search results through sponsored product advertising, though retail media extends well beyond any single platform and spans a wide range of retailers and marketplaces globally and across MENA.
How to Measure Retail Media Performance
Retail media measurement works best across a few distinct layers, moving from delivery through to genuine commercial impact.
Awareness metrics: reach, impressions, frequency, video completion rate, and brand search lift where available.
Consideration metrics: click through rate, product detail page views, add to cart rate, engagement rate, and share of search or category visibility where available.
Conversion and commerce metrics: sales, units sold, conversion rate, ROAS, cost per acquisition or cost per order, new to brand customers, and repeat purchase where reporting permits.
Measurement quality metrics: attribution window and methodology, incremental sales or incrementality testing, audience overlap and frequency, and margin aware profitability rather than revenue ROAS alone.
Closed loop measurement is the practice of connecting advertising exposure or spend directly to commerce actions and sales outcomes.
It is valuable because it moves reporting much closer to actual business results than impressions or clicks ever could, though the underlying methodology and data access differ by retailer, platform and market, so it is worth understanding exactly how a given network defines and calculates it before comparing results across networks.
Ready to put a strategy together, or want a MENA specific view on evaluating retail media networks and building a regional plan? See our Retail Media Network guide for the full framework.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is retail media the same as a retail media network?
No. Retail media is the broader advertising category, while a retail media network is a retailer's or marketplace's specific advertising offering, through which brands access ad placements, data products and reporting capabilities.
What is the difference between retail media and ecommerce advertising?
Ecommerce advertising is a broad term for promoting products online. Retail media specifically uses a retailer's or marketplace's advertising inventory, retail data or in store opportunities to help brands reach and measure shoppers across the commerce journey.
What are the three types of retail media?
The three major retail media environments are onsite media on retailer owned websites and apps, offsite media activated with retailer data on external channels, and in store media within physical retail locations.
Why is first party data important in retail media?
First party data can make campaigns more relevant because it is based on direct shopper and commerce interactions. It can also support more meaningful reporting when retailers are able to connect media activity with actual sales outcomes.
What are sponsored product ads?
Sponsored product ads are paid product placements that typically appear within retailer or marketplace shopping results and browsing experiences. They help brands increase individual product visibility at high intent moments.
How is retail media measured?
Retail media can be measured using delivery metrics, engagement metrics, conversion metrics, sales, ROAS, new to brand customers, and, where available, incremental sales or closed loop measurement.
Need a retail media strategy that connects media spend to sales?
Explore how Radius helps brands plan, activate and measure retail media campaigns from one platform, or speak with our team about your specific goals.
Sources & Further Reading :
IAB MENA - Retail Media Network Capability Map
Amazon Ads - Sponsored Products
Platformance - RADIUS Retail Media