Retail Media Networks Pitch Data, Video and Commerce Tools in Battle for Advertiser Budgets

Eleven retail and commerce media businesses presented distinct pitches to advertisers at Ascendant Network’s Showcase in New York City, emphasizing transaction data, video inventory, specialized audiences and measurable outcomes as competition for media budgets intensifies.

The Home Depot’s Orange Apron Media said it can observe customers across browsing, video viewing and chatbot questions. Kailey Emery, its director of ad sales marketing, reported that brands appearing beside The Home Depot receive higher trust, recall and purchase intent. Albertsons Media Collective took a content-led approach: Senior Vice President Brian Monahan said advertising beside its Rico’s Tacos “micro sitcom” exceeded benchmarks by 200%, while an America 250 campaign lifted unit sales 24% for participating brands.

DoorDash CMO Tim Castree positioned DoorDash Ads around billions of annual orders and purchasing patterns tied to days, categories and occasions. PayPal Ads Senior Vice President and General Manager Mark Grether argued that PayPal and Venmo provide a cross-merchant view unavailable to a single retailer; PayPal’s offering spans its platforms, partner connected-TV inventory and programmatic advertising, including off-site ads with an integrated PayPal checkout button.

Macy’s Media Network Vice President Michael Krans said Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury can help brands create demand around weddings, graduations, moving and holidays—not merely capture existing demand. Chase Media Solutions Chief Growth Officer Lauren Griewski promoted JPMorgan Chase transaction data, including more than $1.9 trillion in reported debit and credit sales during 2025.

Dick’s Media Vice President David Young highlighted Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, e-commerce operations and GameChanger youth-sports streaming network. Instacart advertising chief Ali Miller promoted connections among websites, apps, connected TV and store screens, plus Carrot Ads technology for grocers. Chewy Ads head Frank Mulcahy emphasized recurring customer relationships, saying automatic subscriptions represent 84% of Chewy sales.

Walgreens Advertising Group announced digital screens across 1,200 stores through Looma, with rollout beginning in October. John Storms, Walgreens’ vice president of digital and retail media, also described efforts to align merchandising, media, marketing and digital teams. H-E-B Retail Media promoted access to 8 million Texas households weekly across nearly 500 stores while investing in improved planning and forecasting tools.

ConsumerEXP analysis: For video-commerce and direct-response advertisers, the presentations show retail media moving beyond sponsored product listings toward connected TV, branded entertainment, in-store screens and transaction-enabled ads. The competitive test will be whether each network can prove incremental sales—not simply offer another audience segment. (modernretail.co)