Retail Media Breakfast Club

Retail Media Breakfast Club: Prime Day 2025 Participation Trends In today's episode, I dive into the results of my recent LinkedIn poll about how brands plan to participate in Prime Day 2025. The numbers tell an interesting story: over half (51.79%) of respondents are either scaling back or skipping Prime Day entirely this year - a significant shift from previous years. Poll Results: Going Bigger:...

This week I dive into an interesting perspective from Jason Goldberg on the Jason + Scot show, who mentioned this podcast (a proud moment for me as I've been listening to their show for over 7 years!). Jason questioned the excitement around retail media outside of Amazon, so I decided to investigate his claims, including: Most retail media spend goes to Amazon.  Retail media is mostly Sponsored Pr...

I dive into Amazon's earnings call AI announcements and what they mean for retail and ecommerce. Andy Jassy says they're building "a thousand plus AI applications," and I break down the key developments that matter for shopping and retail media. Quick Takes: Amazon's AI Infrastructure Edge I cover Amazon's Nova model reaching "frontier tier" intelligence - now competing with GPT-4 and Claude 3. Pl...

Could DSPs Be Retail Media's Panama Canal? In today's episode, I talk about Koddi's new "State of Programmatic Retail Media" report and why programmatic access might be the key to unlocking retail media's next growth phase. The Current Landscape Today's retail media dollars are heavily concentrated: 77% on Amazon, 7% on Walmart, and only 16% spread across dozens of other retail networks Despite re...

In this episode, I break down Amazon's Q1 2025 earnings and examine what they reveal about the coming impact of tariffs on the e-commerce ecosystem. I talk about the winners and losers emerging from Amazon's $1 billion forward-buying strategy and what this means for vendors, sellers, and consumers. I share surprising details about Amazon's massive advance purchases from 1P vendors, including repor...

I share my notes from a fascinating interview with Mark Williamson, the leader of Costco's Retail Media Network, which aired on the Middlemen podcast . While most retailers rush to monetize every pixel they own, Costco has taken a deliberately slow approach as a "last mover" in retail media. My Three Key Takeaways: Membership First, Media Second Costco evaluates every retail media decision through...

Today's episode is a new format: "The Back Channel" where I share anonymized insights from my recent conversations with industry leaders in retail media. I discuss how AI is transforming software development, the surprising order in which retailers adopt different types of retail media, and my observations on the industry's current state of AI implementation. Custom Software Built with AI The soft...

In today's episode, I explore Amazon's strategic expansion of its low-cost "Haul" store during a critical moment for cross-border e-commerce. This discussion builds on my recent Forbes article published on April 23rd, 2025. ( Read the original article here ) Key Points: Amazon Haul has expanded from mobile-only to desktop while adding branded items to its product mix This expansion coincides with...

In today's episode, I explore how major tech companies are positioning themselves in a high-stakes battle for control of consumer purchasing decisions through AI shopping agents. Like a global game of Risk, tech giants are maneuvering to capture the most valuable territory: our buying choices. I discuss the major players staking their claims: OpenAI/ChatGPT with its massive user base and new Shopi...

In this insightful episode, Kiri Masters breaks down the growing importance of offsite retail media, which extends retailers' advertising capabilities beyond their own digital properties. She explains how this approach allows brands to leverage retailers' rich first-party customer data to target specific consumer segments across various digital channels while maintaining closed-loop measurement of...

The host Kiri Masters shares her framework for how brands evolve when selling on Amazon, from initial ignorance to full integration, while drawing parallels to current digital commerce challenges. She discusses insights from Stratably's report "How to Educate Senior Leaders on eCommerce," which offers strategies for overcoming organizational resistance to e-commerce investments. Kiri also provides...

Podean, an independent retail media and marketplaces agency, recently launched the "WOAS" Awards (Waste of Ad Spend Awards), a parody award highlighting how brands unknowingly waste retail media budgets. The awards spotlight three key issues: ineffective targeting, unoptimized budgets, and disconnects between media buying and business goals. Industry experts including Vanessa Hung, Danny Silverman...

President Trump's sweeping tariffs are forcing consumer brands to make difficult trade-offs, with one of the most immediate impacts being on advertising and retail media spending. As brands face tariffs exceeding 100% on Chinese imports, many are cutting advertising budgets to offset margin compression, particularly on Amazon where smaller sellers are struggling to either absorb costs or raise pri...

In this episode, Kiri Masters explores how "vibe marketing" - a concept originating in tech circles - can be applied to retail media strategies. She breaks down how this AI-powered approach enables marketers to rapidly iterate emotional angles at scale while maintaining authentic brand connections, despite the structured nature of retail media environments. Kiri offers four practical applications...

In this episode, the host Kiri Masters examines Walmart's reported push for brands to increase their retail media spending by 25% year-over-year as part of joint business plans, based on recent reporting by Adweek. She explores how the impressive profit margins of retail media networks are creating pressure for continued growth, leading to what many brands describe as a "retail media tax" - mandat...

In this insightful episode, Kiri Masters analyzes data from Momentum Commerce that reveals a fascinating "frugal frenzy" emerging across Amazon's marketplace. She explores how consumers are simultaneously stockpiling products like baby formula (up 26 times week-over-week) while becoming increasingly price-conscious, with average selling prices among top sellers dropping 0.8% year-over-year. The ep...

In this panel episode, industry leaders discuss the evolving nature of the customer journey in today's digital landscape. Josh Clarkson, Global Lead for Retail Media at Mars, and Chief Consultant at Edify Digital Commerce Consulting introduces the concept of a 'wormhole,' where shoppers enter and exit the purchase process at various points. Todd Weagent from Masimo emphasizes the need for continuo...

This episode explores the complex landscape of retail media measurement, focusing on insights from the Path to Purchase Institute's Retail Media Guild report and industry experts. The discussion highlights the difficulties retailers face in achieving standardized and transparent measurement practices, the evolution of retail media networks from grassroots initiatives to self-contained businesses,...

This episode delves into the current landscape of retail media where Amazon and Walmart dominate market share, yet there are over 70 competing retail media networks in North America. The host Kiri Masters explores the fragmentation and inefficiencies brands face when managing multiple retail media relationships. She introduces real-time bidding (RTB) as a transformative solution to unify and stand...

In this episode, we delve into Amazon's new 'Buy for Me' feature, currently in beta for select US customers. 'Buy for Me' allows users to purchase directly from brand websites via the Amazon app. The host Kiri Masters shares her firsthand experience purchasing from the footwear brand, Rothy's, highlighting the seamless yet basic interface. Insights are provided into Amazon's potential strategies,...

In this panel episode, retail media leaders discuss the evolving landscape of metrics in the industry. Josh Clarkson,Global Lead for Retail Media at Mars, and Chief Consultant at Edify Digital Commerce Consulting, argues that the focus should be on using the most appropriate metrics for each campaign's objectives rather than seeking new ones. Todd Weagent from Masimo emphasizes the importance of t...

In this episode, we delve into key insights from an interview with Mirko Saul, the SVP of Innovation at Schwarz Digital, featured on the Off Bounds podcast hosted by Paula Macaggi. Schwarz Digital, the parent company of Lidl and Kaufland with 14,000 stores across 30 countries, is a significant player in the retail landscape. Mirko shares his team's structured approach to technological innovation,...

In this episode, we explore Amazon's recent launch of Nova Act, a developer tool for AI agents designed to facilitate various internet-based actions, from apartment hunting to transactional tasks. Comparing it to OpenAI's Operator, we discuss how Nova Act represents Amazon's strategic response to the evolving landscape of consumer-facing AI. We delve into the timing of this launch, its implication...

In this episode, we discuss a Forbes article written by our host Kiri Masters about Home Depot's distinctive strategy in the retail media landscape. Unlike many retailers focusing solely on monetizing digital shelf space, Home Depot emphasizes the supplier experience. Melanie Babcock, VP of Orange Apron Media, played a pivotal role in developing this approach. Babcock's journey began in 2018, lead...

In this episode, we delve into how failure serves as feedback in retail media, turning initial setbacks into strategic successes. Brand leaders share their experiences with product reformulations, agency transitions, and high-budget campaigns that initially failed but eventually led to significant learning and success. Featuring insights from Justin Bomberowitz, Director of Ecommerce at WILDE Bran...