Observed Signal · Oct 9, 2025 · Partnership · Source: AdExchanger · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Retail Media Revolutionizes Advertising Landscape Beyond Traditional Boundaries
Retail media is expanding beyond traditional shopper marketing, with major brands and platforms embracing broader spend and new inventory. The AdExchanger article highlights Mastercard launching Mastercard Commerce Media; PayPal launching an ad network for its small-business merchants; and partnerships such as Criteo's SSP integration with Google Search Ads 360 for on-site retail media, plus collaborations between Instacart and TikTok. It notes Microsoft moving its DSP customers to Amazon DSP as part of a broader shift. The piece argues that retail media is no longer simply the digitalization of coupons or in-store budgets, but a potential new category of advertising that could involve non-endemic advertisers and non-traditional formats. It also discusses price normalization in data: The Trade Desk's Audience Unlimited reduces data costs; Index Exchange launched a data marketplace to undercut others. Startups like Rokt, Nift, and M3 Retail are expanding access to retailer inventories and new retail-media opportunities.
Retail media is expanding with new product launches, integrations, and data-market developments; major platforms and startups influencing industry.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Mastercard launched Mastercard Commerce Media.
- PayPal launched an ad network primarily for its small-business merchants.
- Criteo's SSP integrated with Google Search Ads 360 for on-site retail media.
- The Trade Desk launched Audience Unlimited, dramatically decreasing data costs.
- Index Exchange launched a data marketplace to undercut demand-side marketplaces.
Connected Companies & Entities
5 Entities mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Retail Media Revolution: Every Storefront Becomes an Ad Network?
Retail media is analyzed through the lens of walled gardens versus the open web, highlighting new ad networks and evolving standards. American Express launches Amex Ads to tap into first‑party data for up to 34 million US cardholders; Duolingo unveils a direct ad sales platform for premium in‑app inventory with bespoke formats and emphasis on brand safety; Mastercard debuts Mastercard Commerce Media targeting its 500 million customers. Walmart partners with OpenAI to let shoppers complete purchases via OpenAI’s chatbot, signaling a shift toward proactive, agentic commerce. The piece notes advantages of walled gardens—brand safety, first‑party data, and closed‑loop measurement—alongside transparency gaps and data fragmentation, while praising the open web for scale and cross‑publisher activation. IAB Europe updates Retail Media Measurement Standards and Commerce Media Measurement Standards with public comments open until November 14, expanding scope to quick commerce and cross‑retailer reporting. Agentic AI is described as potentially automating planning, budgeting, and optimization, bridging ecosystems between walled gardens and the open web.
German e-commerce report: AI now powers most customer chats
The EHI Retail Institute's latest E-Commerce Report, analyzing 1,000 German online shops and marketplaces, reveals widespread adoption of mobile wallets: 97.2% support them, with PayPal leading at 96.3%. Apple Pay grew to 49% (from 37.8%) and Google Pay to 32% (from 23.1%). Invoice purchase remains a German staple at 81.7%. AI is dominant in customer service: 77.9% of existing chat functions are AI-powered, though only 40.8% of shops offer chat at all, meaning 31.8% of all shops have an AI chat. Click & Collect is offered by 34.6% of shops, with 56% of those allowing online payment. The report also highlights that Shopware leads the shop systems market at 12.5%, ahead of Shopify (9.8%) and Magento (7.2%).
McDonald's Rolls Out AI-Powered Dynamic Pricing
McDonald's uses an AI-powered pricing platform, developed by Tiger Analytics, to set menu prices at nearly 14,000 US restaurants. The system analyzes millions of daily transactions to determine local willingness to pay, leading to significant price variations, such as a Big Mac costing $5.69 in one Fresno store and $6.89 in another just three kilometers away—a 21% difference. While McDonald's claims the tool is optional, internal documents reveal franchisees face pressure and are tracked for deviations from AI recommendations, causing conflicts as franchisees balance rising costs against AI-suggested price cuts to boost foot traffic. The practice raises antitrust and regulatory concerns, with the FTC warning that undisclosed personalized pricing may be illegal, and states like Maryland and New York enacting laws. A 2023 Connecticut lawsuit alleging the system suggested an $18 Big Mac meal was dismissed.
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