Retail media will hit $140 billion globally by 2027 — per eMarketer's forecast.
The category has more spend than connected TV — and less PR infrastructure than a single mid-tier DSP.
That gap is the most underleveraged communications opportunity in the AdTech category. The category is large, the spend is growing, the buyer base is sophisticated, and the trade press is hungry for substantive coverage. The vendors that build serious communications functions in the next 18 months will own the category narrative through the next decade.
Most retail media networks have not built one. The window is open.
The category
The retail media category includes several distinct types of network.
The Amazon Ads tier. Amazon Ads at $50+ billion in annual revenue is a category unto itself. The communications function is mature. The press cadence is established. Other networks measure themselves against it.
The major grocer and big-box tier. Walmart Connect, Kroger Precision Marketing, Target Roundel, Albertsons Media Collective, Best Buy Ads, Lowe's One Roof Media Network. Each operates a network with significant scale and first-party purchase data depth.
The delivery and ride-share tier. Instacart Ads, Uber Advertising, DoorDash Ads. Each combines high-frequency consumer behavior data with valuable ad surfaces.
The category-specialist tier. Sephora Media Network, Ulta Media Network, CVS Media Exchange, Walgreens Advertising Group, Macy's Media Network, Home Depot Retail Media, and dozens of others.
The international tier. Tesco Media, Sainsbury's Nectar360, Carrefour Links, Coles 360, Woolworths Cartology, and a long tail of country-specific operators.
Together, the category is heading toward $140 billion globally by 2027 on eMarketer's projection and over $200 billion on GroupM's broader definition.
The PR gap
Most networks in the second through fifth tiers have communications functions that are incomplete in three ways.
Limited dedicated press function. The communications function often sits inside corporate communications for the parent retailer, not inside the media network as a standalone capability. Press inquiries route through general corporate channels. Subject matter expertise is hard for reporters to access.
No analyst relations program. Forrester, Gartner, eMarketer, Insider Intelligence, and IDC are central to how CMOs evaluate the category. Most retail media networks do not have structured analyst engagement.
No thought leadership cadence. The category is starved for substantive content from operators. Most networks publish marketing collateral, not industry-defining perspectives. The few that do — Amazon, Walmart Connect, Instacart at moments — gain disproportionate share of voice.
The gap is not subtle. A scan of any major AdTech publication's recent coverage shows the same handful of networks generating most of the substantive mentions. Dozens of significant networks are functionally absent from the conversation.
Why this is a category-defining window
Two factors compound to create the opportunity.
Category newness. Retail media as a defined category is roughly five years old. The categorization, taxonomies, and best practices are still forming. The IAB Retail Media Council is shaping standards. First-mover positioning in this kind of category window often holds for a decade or more.
Trade press hunger. AdExchanger, AdAge, Adweek, Digiday, MediaPost, MarTech, The Wall Street Journal CMO Today, Modern Retail, Bloomberg, and a long tail of newsletters are actively looking for substantive retail media coverage. The category is bigger than the coverage. Reporters want sources.
The combination — category newness plus press hunger — creates the conditions where a well-resourced communications function can drive disproportionate share of voice. The vendors that move now will be the named comparison points when the next generation of networks enters the market.
What the playbook looks like
A retail media network communications function should include five components.
One. Dedicated communications leadership. A named senior communications role inside the network, with authority and budget to operate at category-defining cadence.
Two. Analyst relations program. Quarterly briefings with the major analyst firms. Custom research engagements where appropriate. Named participation in the analyst publications that shape CMO procurement.
Three. Executive positioning. The network's named operating executives — the head of the network, the head of monetization, the head of measurement — present at the category-defining conferences (Cannes Lions, NRF, IAB ALM, CES) and contribute long-form perspectives in the category-defining publications.
Four. Primary research cadence. Quarterly or semi-annual primary research output. Performance benchmarks, category trend reports, advertiser sentiment surveys, attribution case studies. The networks that publish original research become the named source for category coverage.
Five. Earned media campaigns. Coordinated press cycles around new measurement capabilities, new ad formats, new partnerships, and new performance data. Pre-announcement cadence, embargo discipline, exclusive partnerships with key reporters.
The audience
The communications function targets four audiences.
CMOs and brand-side advertising operations. The buyers. They drive demand. They evaluate networks on capability, data quality, attribution clarity, and category authority.
Agency planners and trading desks. The intermediaries. They allocate the spend and shape the brand-side narrative.
Analysts. Forrester, Gartner, eMarketer, IDC, Forrester Wave authors, Gartner Magic Quadrant authors. They shape procurement.
Trade press. The publications named above. They shape the broader industry conversation.
Each audience requires a tailored content cadence. The communications calendar should be built around the engagement points each audience values.
What the category looks like in three years
By 2028, the retail media category will be more concentrated. The networks that built communications functions now will be the named comparison points. The networks that did not will be acquisition candidates or remain regional.
The window to claim category authority is open. First mover takes the narrative. Retail media is the biggest ad category nobody is communicating about.
