Unlocking the Full Potential of Retail Media: Advertisers’ Expectations for 2026 and Beyond

While Retail Media continues its rapid ascent, advertisers remain vocal about the structural, technological, and operational gaps that must be addressed for the channel to achieve its full strategic potential. This panel convenes senior brand and agency leaders to articulate the evolving expectations of the advertising industry and the concrete steps retailers must take to unlock greater adoption and investment by 2026.

First, advertisers are demanding greater standardization and transparency across Retail Media Networks (RMNs). The fragmentation of platforms, inconsistent metrics, and limited cross-retailer comparability are hampering scalable media planning. A World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) report (2024) highlights that 68% of global marketers cite “lack of standardization” as the top barrier to increasing retail media budgets.

Second, the need for seamless integration into omnichannel marketing and media mix modeling is rising. Advertisers seek holistic visibility—across online, in-store, and third-party channels—to align Retail Media with broader brand strategies. The ANA’s Retail Media Transparency Initiative (2024) underscores this gap, calling for better API access, improved interoperability, and integration into multi-touch attribution models.

Third, brands are advocating for more flexible, audience-centric solutions rather than rigid, product-placement-driven tactics. As first-party data becomes the currency of competitive advantage, advertisers want access to rich, privacy-compliant insights that go beyond transactional data and enable nuanced segmentation, creative personalization, and outcome-driven buying.

This panel will provide a frank dialogue on what advertisers need from the retail side—ranging from unified reporting standards to organizational agility—and what it will take to elevate Retail Media from a high-potential channel to a core component of the marketing value chain.