Kaufland vs Otto Group

Top 20 German Advertisers September: Rewe, Kaufland Outspend Edeka

In September 2026, German TV advertisers saw a recovery after months of decline, with gross ad spending reaching nearly €3.4 billion across TV, cinema, print, OOH, and radio. The top 20 advertiser ranking reveals that retail chains Rewe and Kaufland significantly increased their advertising budgets, outpacing competitor Edeka, which reduced its spending. Major advertisers like Procter & Gamble, Deutsche Telekom, and Volkswagen also boosted their ad investments, contributing to the overall market growth. The data, compiled by the TV marketing alliances Seven.One Media and Ad Alliance, underscores a rebound in traditional media advertising, although the full article with detailed rankings is behind a paywall.

• German TV advertising market recovered in September 2026 after previous declines.
• Gross ad spending in September reached nearly €3.4 billion across TV, cinema, print, OOH, and radio.
• Rewe and Kaufland increased ad budgets, surpassing Edeka which reduced spending.

Retail DOOH Grows Rapidly: 25,000 Digital Screens at POS

A new market study by the Institute for Digital Out of Home Media (IDOOH) shows significant growth in Retail DOOH (digital out-of-home advertising at the point of sale). The number of surveyed retail DOOH locations has risen by 120% since autumn 2025, and the number of digital screens increased by over 25% to almost 25,000. Reach of the medium grew by 80%, and ad contacts by 84%. New entrants include Kaufland, Ocean Outdoor, and Rewe, bringing the total number of retail DOOH marketers to eleven. The study, based on a big-data bottom-up model using mobility data from about one million smartphones, provides updated performance metrics for campaign planning. In addition, the broader DOOH channel reaches 74.1% of the German population weekly with a single placement, and potential contacts reach around ten billion weekly with full coverage.

• Retail DOOH locations increased by 120% since autumn 2025
• Number of digital screens in retail rose from 19,500 to nearly 25,000
• Reach of Retail DOOH grew by 80%, ad contacts by 84%

Cohere and Aleph Alpha Sign Merger Deal, New Leadership

Cohere and Aleph Alpha have signed a binding merger agreement on September 16, 2026, creating a combined entity valued at approximately $20 billion, subject to regulatory approval and expected to close later this year. The combined company will operate under the Cohere name, with dual headquarters in Toronto and Berlin, while Heidelberg remains a research hub. Upon completion, the team will exceed 1,000 employees. Schwarz Group, parent of Lidl and Kaufland, invests €500 million in structured financing and provides sovereign cloud infrastructure via STACKIT, deepening the partnership with Schwarz Digits. Key executive appointments include Aleph Alpha's Ilhan Scheer as COO and Samuel Weinbach as Chief Research Officer. The merger aims to position Cohere as a leading transatlantic provider of secure, controllable sovereign AI for governments and regulated industries. Cohere reported annual revenue of $240 million, while Aleph Alpha earned less than €1 million in 2023.

• Merger agreement signed on September 16, 2026, valued at approximately $20 billion, subject to regulatory approval and expected to close later that year.
• Combined company operates as Cohere with dual headquarters in Toronto and Berlin; Heidelberg remains a research hub; team to exceed 1,000 employees.
• Ilhan Scheer (formerly Co-CEO of Aleph Alpha) becomes COO, and Samuel Weinbach becomes Chief Research Officer of Cohere.

OTTO: Mit ChatGPT-Plugin und -Ads zur Agentic Readiness

OTTO is advancing its e-commerce platform for AI-driven shopping. With its tech partner one.O, the retailer built an MCP-based interface, enabling a new ChatGPT plugin that offers product recommendations for over 19 million articles. Users can engage the plugin via '@OTTO' to get personalized product advice, with purchases completed on OTTO's own shop. Additionally, OTTO has been testing ChatGPT Ads since September 2026, one of the first European partners, while clearly distinguishing paid ads from organic recommendations. Earlier, OTTO introduced a voice-assisted shopping tool that has driven up to 37% higher order values and double conversion rates. Future plans include AI agents that can retrieve real-time data and handle transactions, but these capabilities are not yet available.

• OTTO launched a ChatGPT plugin for product recommendations across 19 million articles, built on an MCP-based interface with one.O.
• The plugin enables customers to get advice on OTTO's assortment within ChatGPT, with purchases completed on OTTO's shop.
• OTTO has been testing ChatGPT Ads since September 2026 as one of the first European partners, distinguishing ads from organic recommendations.

Witt-Gruppe eröffnet virtuelle Umkleidekabine; Nächste Phase der KI-Transformation: OTTO startet GenAI-Enablement-Partner-Programm

New press releases on the Otto Group newsroom: Witt-Gruppe launches virtual fitting room (08.10.2026) and OTTO starts GenAI-Enablement-Partner-Programm (07.10.2026).

Alexander Peters erweitert als CTO die Geschäftsführung der Hermes Fulfilment

Otto Group 26.08.2026