3 Retail Media Trends to Watch From Shoptalk 2025

At this year’s Shoptalk conference, retail media was an absolute top-line focus. The latest industry studies tell us that retail media spend is on track to increase by 88.5 percent through 2028, evolving into a $97.91 billion marketplace. That’s how eager advertisers are to take advantage of the value they see in retail media networks (RMNs).

Throughout the conference, leading retailers highlighted specific strategies for retail media growth. Here’s a look at the three retail media trends that dominated this year’s Shoptalk and the opportunities they present for retailers.

1. Retail Media as a Core Strategic Pillar

Retail media has become a core strategic pillar of any retail business. Retailers now express enthusiasm about retail media's role as a generator of valuable data insights. There's a flywheel effect — data powers the retailer's business outcomes while simultaneously attracting more advertiser spending.

Leaders from forward-thinking businesses are embracing reinvention, transforming from retail experts into media experts. This transformation requires internal business restructuring and technological infrastructure to support a broader range of media channels. Retail leaders are increasingly focused on expanding networks offsite, beyond their owned properties. This shift aligns with industry forecasts predicting 32.4 percent growth in offsite spend through 2026, more than double the 14.7 percent projected for onsite advertising.

Related story: How Retail Media Networks Are Maturing in 2025

2. The Expanding Tactical Landscape

The tactical landscape of retail media continues to expand. The ad business in retail used to be largely search and product listing ads. Now, RMNs boast perhaps 30 different touchpoints across multiple channels along the whole path to purchase, resulting in fragmentation within the technology architecture.

Self-serve unification and workflow automation offer solutions to these challenges. Advertisers are increasingly calling for solutions to take control of campaigns, adjust mid-flight, streamline operations, and minimize wasted spend, essentially seeking greater agility and flexibility. A customized approach to self-serve tools can accelerate growth of the retailer's advertiser base and further RMN development.

3. Competition is Heating Up

As retail media becomes the single largest media investment for many major brands in the U.S., more and more retailers want a piece of the pie. Throughout conversations at Shoptalk, industry professionals consistently emphasized that merely participating in the RMN scene is no longer sufficient. Retailers committed to advancing must invest in best-in-class technology.

As buying options proliferate, advertisers start hedging their bets by shifting spend toward the largest platforms with the broadest reach, meaning ad spend isn’t flowing freely across individual RMNs. Many retailers are saying that Amazon.com and Walmart are the real competition now. So how do they compete on that level? The key is investing in retail media tech infrastructure. Transparent audience insights, robust reporting capabilities, and self-serve tools can give retailers a competitive edge.

For retailers that want to maximize ad revenue benefits, understanding the current trends driving RMN evolution and taking bold steps toward the future is critical. Based on insights from Shoptalk, a successful retail media future involves strategic investment, internal alignment, and a commitment to competitive advantages. This year, let's fulfill RMNs' promise of reach, data insights, and greater control over campaigns for advertisers and retailers alike.

Drew Cashmore is head of strategy at retail media tech company Vantage.