2026 State of Retail Media Report

Now in its 5th year, Skai’s yearly survey of retail media marketers uncovers the key trends, challenges, and opportunities that are defining the future of this crucial marketing channel.

Top Trends Uncovered

Measurement shifts from post-mortem to in-flight incrementality
More than half of brands shift display budgets to retail media DSPs
Omnichannel strategies separate top performers from the pack
AI Adoption is widespread and agentic commerce will go mainstream

A man with glasses leans over a laptop in a modern, colorful office, brainstorming retail media 2026 strategies against a glass wall covered in diagrams and sticky notes, while blurred people move in the background.

A man with glasses works on a laptop at a desk with papers, in a modern office with a colorful wall of sketches and sticky notes, analyzing retail media 2026 trends as blurred people move in the background.

A man wearing glasses works intently on a laptop at a desk with papers, while people move quickly in a colorful, modern office filled with retail media 2026 brainstorming notes and diagrams on a glass wall behind him.

Only 15% of brands report strong confidence in measurement. The shift isn’t post-campaign reporting; it’s infrastructure that steers decisions in-flight. Leaders have moved from “did this work?” to “what should we change right now?” Seven in ten brands meet or exceed retail media goals, while laggards fall further behind, showing the impact of in-flight, data-driven decision-making.

A miniature shopping cart and two small cardboard boxes with shopping cart icons sit on a laptop keyboard, symbolizing online shopping or e-commerce trends shaping the future of retail media 2026.

A miniature shopping cart and stacked boxes with shopping cart icons sit on a laptop keyboard, symbolizing online shopping, e-commerce, and the evolving landscape of retail media 2026.

Two small cardboard boxes with shopping cart symbols and a miniature shopping cart sit on a laptop keyboard, representing online shopping, e-commerce, and the future of retail media in 2026. A blurred screen is visible in the background.

52% of advertisers are reallocating display spend from open web DSPs to retail media DSPs, driven by closed-loop attribution (57%) that traditional programmatic cannot deliver. This reflects mounting frustration with measurement gaps. As DSPs mature targeting and reporting, expect acceleration among brands prioritizing measurable sales lift over reach metrics that cannot prove incrementality.

A woman stands in a warehouse aisle, holding a tablet and looking up at shelves stocked with boxes, appearing to inspect or manage inventory as part of a retail media 2026 strategy.

A woman holding a tablet inspects shelves in a warehouse, surrounded by boxes and inventory, focused on managing stock amid evolving retail media 2026 trends.

A woman holding a tablet inspects shelves filled with boxes in a warehouse, appearing to check inventory as she stands in an aisle surrounded by tall metal racks—envisioning the future of retail media 2026.

Retail media has evolved beyond lower-funnel tactics. Brands now allocate a third of their paid search and social spend to drive retailer traffic, treating retail media as the hub that connects channels rather than an isolated commerce execution.

This integration becomes critical as AI-powered interfaces and platforms transform shopping behaviors and create non-linear purchase paths. Brands need unified orchestration to stay visible regardless of where the journey starts or how AI reshapes it.

A woman wearing glasses interacts with a virtual interface, touching digital speech bubbles and a cartoon robot, representing artificial intelligence and the future of retail media 2026 communication technology.

A woman wearing glasses interacts with a virtual chatbot interface for retail media 2026, touching a transparent screen displaying a smiling robot and speech bubbles, with colorful, futuristic lighting effects.

A woman wearing glasses interacts with a digital screen displaying a chatbot robot and speech bubbles, symbolizing communication with artificial intelligence in the evolving world of retail media 2026. The scene is illuminated with blue and purple light.

GenAI is deployed across retail media, with marketers increasing usage for campaign management, optimization, and analytics over creative production.

Only 41% of brands currently use AI for activation, while 59% of CPG executives expect AI agents to own the consumer relationship within five years.

Agentic commerce will force brands to optimize for algorithmic recommendations, not just human attention, making omnichannel orchestration mandatory.

What would accelerate your organization’s investment in retail media in the future?

Brands need proof that retail media works before they’ll scale spend, yet without investment in sophisticated measurement frameworks, brands can’t validate performance well enough to justify the budget increases that would fund better measurement.

Do you anticipate shifting retail media display budgets from open web DSPs to retail media DSPs in the next 12 months?

In what retail media areas are you currently using and/or planning to use generative AI?

In 2026, retail media leaders plan to shift GenAI investment away from creative and content generation toward campaign management, optimization, and analytics.

A report titled The State of Retail Media Report lies on a surface, showing a dark cover with colorful text and graphic bars. An open page displays charts and survey data about retail media networks and trends projected into retail media 2026.

A report titled The State of Retail Media Report 2026 by Skai and Stratably appears on a survey page, featuring a bar graph and a small image of a woman working, highlighting key insights into retail media 2026 trends.

A report cover titled The State of Retail Media Report, featuring insights into retail media 2026, lies on an open page showing survey results and a woman on a video call. Skai and Stratably logos appear at the top of the cover.

Ready to dive in?

Uplevel your marketing strategy for the future with the expert insights from Skai’s 2026 State of Retail Media report. This essential resource provides marketers with the exclusive data and information needed to thrive in today’s intricate landscape, covering critical areas like ROI hurdles, the growth of retail media DSPs, and GenAI’s evolving role in commerce media. Access the key findings now and gain a competitive edge in retail media.