Observed Signal · Aug 27, 2026 · Analysis · Source: Adweek · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Negative
Retail Media Is Not Brand Building
The article argues that retail media — exemplified by Walmart Connect and other retailers’ ad arms — is a highly profitable, fast-growing, bottom-of-funnel channel that should not be conflated with brand-building. It cites Walmart’s recent ad revenue gains and the wider retail media boom (Target, Instacart, DoorDash, Amazon) while warning about inconsistent ROI measurement across retailers and the fact that much retail media spending is reallocated from existing brand budgets rather than being incremental. The author recommends treating retail media as a defensive, trade-type investment that secures distribution, not as a substitute for broad brand-awareness investment.
Retail media is rapidly scaling and highly profitable across major retailers (Walmart, Amazon, Target), which materially affects how advertisers allocate trade vs. brand budgets and has implications for measurement standards and media strategy.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Walmart’s global advertising revenue was reported up 38% on its second-quarter earnings call on Aug. 20; Walmart Connect posted gains of 43%.
- In 2025, Walmart reported $713 billion in revenue with $6.4 billion coming from advertising, up 46% year-over-year.
- Amazon’s ad business took in $76 billion over the last 12 months and holds just under 80% of the U.S. retail media market.
- Target reported $915 million in advertising revenue last year, up from $522 million two years earlier.
- An ANA survey cited that in 2024 only 10% of marketers said retail media funding was incremental.
Connected Companies & Entities
9 Entities mappedWalmart
Omnichannel retailer with marketplace, membership, B2B procurement and retail media.
“In 2025, Walmart made $713 billion with $6.4 billion coming from advertising, up 46% year-over-year....”
Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
US marketing trade association for brand marketers and marketing leaders.
“Jackson Bazley, the ANA’s head of measurement, describes comparing performance across retail networks as “evaluating purple to bananas to 9....”
Ralph Lauren
Global premium lifestyle brand selling apparel, accessories and home products.
“That might only represent 1% of Walmart’s revenue, but consider that its advertising arm alone is nearly as big as a retailer like Ralph Lau...”
Target
US retailer combining omnichannel commerce, loyalty, marketplace and retail media.
“Target reported $915 million in advertising revenue last year, up from $522 million two years earlier, even as it reported three years of fl...”
DoorDash
Local commerce marketplace with delivery, merchant tools and retail media.
“Instacart and DoorDash each clear about a billion dollars a year selling ads inside food-delivery apps....”
Amazon
Global commerce, cloud, advertising and subscription platform company.
“And of course there is Amazon, whose ad business took in $76 billion over the last 12 months and holds just under 80% of the U.S. retail med...”
Instacart
Grocery marketplace with retail media and retailer commerce tools.
“Instacart and DoorDash each clear about a billion dollars a year selling ads inside food-delivery apps....”
P&G
Global consumer goods company selling household and personal care brands.
“P&G CEO Shailesh Jejurikar recently described retail media as an opportunity that will “enable our brands to create value across all retail ...”
Walmart Connect
Retail media arm for shopper data, ads and measurement.
“Walmart Connect, its U.S. retail media arm, posted even higher gains of 43%....”
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