Observed Signal · Sep 8, 2026 · Analysis · Source: The Drum · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Why good retailers make bad ad tech decisions
This article from The Drum, written by commerce media columnist Kiri Masters, explores the organizational and financial challenges that hinder retailers from adopting new adtech, despite the availability of advanced technology. It describes the gap between technology capabilities and an organization's ability to approve and implement it, using the example of a retail media leader who manually adjusts an inadequate ad server to compensate for poor forecasting. The article outlines four eras of retail media: in-house builds, economic pendulum swings, cloud/composable architectures, and AI-era data requirements. It contrasts different RMN strategies, such as Costco's hand-built stack and Ace Hardware's use of CitrusAd, highlighting that tech choices often reflect historical timing rather than current needs. It discusses the 'budget clock' and 'career clock' that constrain decisions, and concludes with expert insights on proposition-led strategies versus technology-led ones, noting the trend of advertiser consolidation on major DSPs.
This is an opinion/analysis piece discussing strategic challenges in retail media adtech adoption, relevant to the industry but not breaking news.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Citing a retail media leader, the article states that a mid-sized US network uses an ad server built for legacy publishers, which fails to forecast retailer traffic patterns, leading to underdelivery.
- The article says that the retail media leader manually adjusts the platform's forecasts every week or two to avoid missing seven-figure ad revenue.
- GrowthLoop launched an end-to-end commerce media network solution in August (likely 2026) to help retailers set up or upgrade networks.
- Ace Hardware's Red Vest Media runs its platform on CitrusAd, owned by Epsilon.
- Co-op Media Network is run by Threefold, whose parent SMG launched a retail media exchange this year.
- Publicis acquired LiveRamp, prompting retailers to reassess their identity stacks.
Connected Companies & Entities
12 Entities mapped“While Costco Velocity runs a hand-built composable stack...”
“I spoke with Somer Simpson, vice-president of product at GrowthLoop.”
“Ace Hardware's Red Vest Media runs its entire platform on CitrusAd, now owned by Epsilon.”
“Publicis's acquisition of LiveRamp...”
“...CitrusAd, now owned by Epsilon...”
“Dean Harris, head of Co-op Media Network...”
“Publicis's acquisition of LiveRamp has sent a lot of retailers back to their identity stacks...”
“...Amazon's DSP...”
“Brands are already consolidating through Skai, Pacvue, The Trade Desk, Amazon's DSP and DV360...”
“Brands are already consolidating through Skai, Pacvue, The Trade Desk, Amazon's DSP and DV360...”
“Brands are already consolidating through Skai, Pacvue, The Trade Desk, Amazon's DSP and DV360...”
“...DV360 (which is Google's platform).”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Walmart+ and Sam's Club Plus Now Bundled for $10/Month
Walmart has introduced a combined membership merging Walmart+ and Sam's Club Plus for $120 per year, available starting October 20, 2026. This bundle saves customers nearly $100 compared to buying the memberships separately, offering benefits such as free delivery, members-only pricing, 2% Sam's Cash, fuel discounts of 10 cents per gallon at over 17,000 stations, and a choice between Peacock and Paramount+ streaming. Existing members can switch or link accounts, with Walmart+ annual members able to upgrade for an additional $22 and Sam's Club Plus members activating Walmart+ at no extra cost. Walmart expects no material impact on its financial guidance. The move intensifies competition with Amazon Prime and Costco, leveraging Walmart's vast physical footprint to attract cost-conscious consumers seeking consolidated retail and streaming benefits.
Retail media budgets grow; advertiser patience wanes
A new report, 'The 2026 Commerce Media Investment Index' from GrowthLoop and Ascend2, reveals that while 85% of advertisers plan to increase retail and commerce media spending, they are losing patience due to slow audience activation, weak measurement, and limited first-party data access. Half of advertisers wait four days or longer for custom audience segments, and only 11% get same-day delivery. 92% would increase spend with faster audience delivery, and 85% would pay a premium for same-day fulfillment. Measurement remains a pain point: nearly half wait over a week for post-campaign data, and only 32% consistently use results to improve targeting. The report underscores that operational speed and measurement are becoming critical budget criteria for retail media networks.
Gopuff hands onsite adtech to Instacart in retail media alliance
Gopuff, the convenience delivery app, has partnered with competitor Instacart to run its onsite advertising capabilities via Instacart's white-label Carrot Ads technology. The deal, announced in September, also includes Gopuff joining the Instacart Marketplace for rapid delivery in as fast as 15 minutes. Gopuff's head of ads, Michael Peroutka, explains the rationale: leveraging Instacart's demand generation (over 9,000 brand advertisers and a 300-person sales team) to establish a revenue floor while freeing Gopuff's team to focus on bespoke, experiential campaigns that leverage its youth-skewing audience (80% aged 18-34) and vertical integration. The partnership highlights a trend of alliances between competing retailers in retail media. Peroutka emphasizes a shared metric of total contribution profit and 'cubic profitability' as a north star, and criticizes vanity metrics like ROI and ROAS, focusing on moving product.
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