Retail media networks: what they are and where to start
A retail media network is a retailer or marketplace that sells ads on its own shopping sites and apps, and often beyond them, to the brands and sellers whose products it stocks. This guide explains what these networks sell, who can buy from each, and how to choose where to start, using the networks' own pages. Each network has its own detailed guide, linked below.
This overview is built from the networks' own pages: Amazon Ads FAQ, Walmart Connect Sponsored Products, Introduction to advertising on Instacart, Roundel (Target) and eBay Promoted Listings overview. It gives no market-size figures; the networks' own pages describe products and eligibility, not the size of the market.
What a retail media network sells
The networks covered here sell broadly the same three things, under different names:
- Sponsored products: a product listing placed higher in the retailer's own search results and category pages, usually paid per click. This is the core product everywhere.
- Brand and display ads: banners, brand carousels and video on the retailer's site and app, usually for brand owners and often bought per thousand impressions.
- Offsite ads: ads on other sites, social platforms or connected TV, targeted with the retailer's shopper data and often sending people back to the retailer.
What sets a retail media network apart from a general ad platform is where the ad sits: next to the buy button, in front of people already shopping, and with the retailer's own sales data for reporting.
Who can buy: sellers, vendors and brands
Each network decides who may advertise, and the rules differ:
- Marketplace sellers (selling through the retailer's marketplace) can usually buy sponsored products for their own listings.
- Vendors or suppliers (selling stock to the retailer) can usually buy the same, through the supplier account.
- Brand owners get the brand formats, such as brand carousels and video, which are often limited to the owner of the brand or its authorised representative.
- Agencies and partners can run campaigns on behalf of any of these.
Some networks also sell to companies that do not sell on the retailer at all, mainly through display, video and offsite products.
Amazon Ads
Amazon Ads says it offers its products to "registered sellers, vendors, book vendors, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) authors, app developers, and/or agencies", with eligibility set per product. Its core format, per the Sponsored Products page: "Sponsored Products are cost-per-click (CPC) ads that promote individual product listings on Amazon and select premium apps and websites." Brand, display, video and streaming TV products sit alongside.
Our Amazon Ads guide covers the products, eligibility, bidding and reporting.
Walmart Connect
Walmart's ad business runs campaigns in the Walmart Connect Ad Center. Its Sponsored Products page says: "Sign in with your Seller Center or Supplier Center account, or set up your campaign through your preferred ad partner." Brand formats are narrower: Walmart's Sponsored Videos page says the format "is available to eligible brand owners and authorized brand representatives".
Our Walmart Connect guide covers Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Videos, Onsite Display, bidding and budgets.
Instacart Ads
Instacart sells to consumer brands whose products are listed by grocers on Instacart. It describes "a large and growing ads ecosystem that helps you reach customers on Instacart Marketplace, grocery ecommerce sites, and on AI-powered smart carts in-store." Most ad formats in its Ads Manager are marked "This feature is available to brands only." Instacart also runs Carrot Ads, white-label ad technology for other grocers' own sites.
Our Instacart Ads guide covers sponsored products, the auction, budgets, display, billing and attribution.
Roundel (Target)
Roundel is Target's media business. Its About page says: "We offer both self- and managed-service solutions across search, video, social, audio, display, and programmatic media." Its home page lists Target Product Ads, described as "Sponsored product ad placements on Target.com and the Target app", along with managed display, connected TV, search, social and in-store media. For what "programmatic" means, see our programmatic advertising guide.
Roundel's pages describe products rather than a sign-up flow, so brands start by contacting Roundel. Our Target Roundel guide covers each product, self-service vs managed service and measurement.
eBay Advertising
eBay sells ads to its own sellers from the Advertising tab in Seller Hub. Promoted Listings come in two strategies, and eBay notes "A campaign strategy determines how your listing will be promoted and how you'll be charged": the general strategy charges a percentage of the sale only when a promoted item sells after an ad click, and the priority strategy charges per click. eBay also sells Promoted Stores and Promoted Offsite.
Our eBay ads guide covers eligibility, each cost model, budgets and attribution.
Delivery apps: Uber Eats and DoorDash
Delivery apps sell similar ads: restaurants and stores pay for higher placement in the app, and consumer brands buy sponsored products and brand formats for items sold through grocery and convenience stores. The cost models differ from the retailers above; see our guides to Uber and Uber Eats ads and DoorDash ads.
Where to start
This is our own view, not the networks' guidance:
- Start where you already sell. Sponsored products only promote listings that exist and are in stock, so the first network is the one with your best-selling, best-reviewed listings.
- Fix listings before spending. Every network sends shoppers to a product page; titles, images, prices and stock decide whether a paid click turns into a sale.
- Begin with sponsored products. They sit closest to the purchase, and on Amazon, Walmart and eBay they are open to sellers as well as brands.
- Add brand, display and offsite later, once you know what each click is worth, and only where you are the brand owner or its representative.
- Compare networks on the same terms. Attribution windows and models differ, so read each network's reporting rules before comparing return on ad spend.
If you want help choosing or running retail media campaigns, see our services.
Frequently asked questions
What is a retail media network?
A retailer or marketplace that sells advertising on its own sites and apps, and sometimes beyond them, to the sellers, vendors and brands whose products it sells.
Which retail media networks can small sellers use?
Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect and eBay all let marketplace sellers buy sponsored placements for their own listings. Instacart's ad formats are for brands, and Roundel is mainly for brands selling through Target.
Do I need to sell on the retailer to advertise there?
For sponsored products, yes: they promote your listings on that retailer. Some networks also sell display, video or offsite ads to companies that do not sell there.
How are retail media ads priced?
Sponsored products are usually cost per click. Display and video are often bought per thousand impressions. eBay's general strategy is an exception: a percentage of the sale, charged only when a promoted item sells.
Which network should I start with?
In our view, the one where your products already sell best, starting with sponsored products for your strongest listings.
Network guides: Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect, Instacart Ads, eBay ads, Uber and Uber Eats ads and DoorDash ads. To plan a campaign with us, see our services.