AbbVie vs Walgreens

AbbVie and Genmab Announce Epcoritamab in Combination with R-CHOP Demonstrates Significant Improvement in Progression-Free Survival versus R-CHOP in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

EPCORE DLBCL-2 is the first Phase 3 study of a bispecific antibody combination therapy to demonstrate statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival...

U.S. FDA Approves AbbVie's JUVMO™ (tavapadon) for Parkinson's Disease

JUVMO™ is the first and only selective D1/D5 receptor agonist approved for adults with Parkinson's disease. Taken once daily with or without levodopa therapy, JUVMO offers patients a...

AbbVie Participates in USTR’s Section 301 Investigation into Germany to Address Global Imbalances in How Transformative Medicines are Valued

On behalf of AbbVie, Perry Siatis, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, testified in front of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on...

Retail media networks shift focus back to onsite ads

A new survey of 61 US retail media network (RMN) leaders by eMarketer and Bain & Company reveals a strategic retreat from offsite formats like social, CTV, and influencers back to onsite product advertising. The survey, conducted in July, found that the top three growth formats for the next year are all onsite: search and sponsored product ads (43%), native AI ads (39%), and display/banner ads (36%). This shift is driven by higher profit margins (70-80% onsite vs. 40% offsite), greater control, and fewer third parties involved. Offsite expansion, including social and in-store, has proven difficult to sell, with social retail media spending under 2% of total US retail media spend. However, the strategy carries risks, as AI assistants could bypass retailer-owned purchase journeys, threatening the sponsored listings that dominate onsite revenue. Only a few well-resourced networks like Best Buy are pursuing big offsite bets.

• Survey of 61 US retail media network leaders conducted in July shows top growth formats for next year are all onsite.
• Onsite advertising generates profit margins of around 70-80% for US retailers, compared to roughly 40% for offsite.
• Retail media spending on social will be about $1.3bn in the US this year, under 2% of total retail media spend.

Walgreens Partners with Looma for In-Store Digital Screens

Walgreens announced a partnership with in-store media firm Looma to deploy digital screens in 1,200 stores starting October, aiming to strengthen its retail media business. The screens, placed near products, will feature advertising and educational content. This initiative follows a previous failed attempt with Cooler Screens, which involved a $200 million dispute. Walgreens emphasizes higher-performing placements and full-funnel metrics. The partnership extends Looma's network, which already includes retailers like Kroger and H-E-B. Industry experts note the potential of pharmacy areas for high dwell-time advertising. Competitor CVS has also been expanding its digital screen presence.

• Walgreens will add digital screens in 1,200 stores starting October.
• Partnership with Looma, which has over 7,000 screens across 10 banners.
• Previous Cooler Screens partnership ended in a $200 million dispute.

Store Closures Can Strengthen Brands, Not Just Signal Retreat

Major retailers including Petsense, Walgreens and others announced store closures in early 2026, with more than 3,300 US stores closed or earmarked for closure in H1 2026. Experts quoted in the article argue that closures can reflect business optimisation rather than systemic decline: cutting unprofitable locations while investing in stronger sites can improve brand health and visibility. The piece contrasts examples such as Tractor Supply closing many Petsense locations while opening namesake stores, Starbucks closing weaker sites but renovating and opening others, and Wayfair expanding into physical stores after heavy digital marketing spend. The analysis concludes that context matters: closures driven by restructuring can be sensible pruning, whereas closures driven by debt and collapsing demand indicate deeper business problems.

• More than 3,300 US stores closed or were earmarked for closure in the first half of 2026.
• The 3,300 figure was 44% lower than the same period in the previous year.
• Tractor Supply decided to close 75 Petsense stores, described as more than a third of Petsense locations, citing negative four-wall cash flow.