Retail Media Breakfast Club

There’s a particular kind of vertigo that comes from watching a podcast you started get better without you. I launched the Ecommerce Braintrust podcast back in 2017, and while I’m no longer running it, I still listen because the team at Acadia is in the trenches every day doing the work.
A recent conversation between my old Acadia colleagues on measurement really got me thinking about a question I hear from brands all the time: if every advertising platform says it’s winning, why don’t the business results reflect that? When Meta, Google, Amazon and retail media networks all claim credit for conversions, the numbers can quickly become impossible to reconcile. In this episode, I share snippets from a recent Ecommerce Braintrust episode that dig into the idea of “engine inflation,” why multi-touch attribution is struggling in 2026, and what brands should be using instead to understand what is actually driving incremental growth.

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop
Timeline
[00:00] - The measurement problem every advertiser is wrestling with: when every platform claims to be winning, why don't the business results add up?
[01:45] - Introducing “engine inflation” and why platform-reported revenue can exceed actual business revenue.
[03:56] - Why multi-touch attribution isn't coming to save us and why Acadia has moved away from MTA.
[04:52] - The three-pillar measurement framework: media mix modeling, incrementality testing, and platform optimization.
[06:15] - Why the growth of retail media networks makes a holistic view of total media spend increasingly important.
[08:34] - Why measuring Amazon and Walmart simply by retail media network and ad type can produce the wrong conclusions.
[09:46] - How defensive branded search can look incredibly efficient while doing very little to drive incremental growth.

Links & Resources
Listen to the full Ecommerce Braintrust episode: The 2026 Measurement Crisis: Why Your Media Efficiency is Probably a Lie With Sally Kazin and Ross Walker - Episode 438
Subscribe to Ecommerce Braintrust on Apple Podcasts
Follow Sally Kazin, Head of Analytics @ Acadia, on LinkedIn
Follow Ross Walker, Head of Retail Media @ Acadia, on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:Retail Media's Measurement Problem: It's Not Just the Retailers
'Not 100% altruistic': ad measurement veteran on what retail media is really optimizing for
As Retail Media Spending Soars, Brands Face A Measurement Crisis
The Other Side of the Story: Why Retailers Struggle with Media Measurement & Standardization

Check out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series where we talk shop.
I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclub
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

When Amazon unveiled Sponsored Prompts at Unboxed, I initially dismissed them as a clever but relatively minor addition to Alexa Shopping. But after digging into Andrew Bell's deep analysis of the underlying patent, I realized this format represents something much bigger and potentially far more disruptive.
In this episode, I unpack why Amazon's new AI-powered ad format flips decades of digital advertising on its head by charging advertisers before the persuasive content is even generated! I explore what that means for brands, legal teams, product claims, customer reviews, and the future of retail media. This is Part 1 of a two-part series examining one of the most important shifts in AI advertising that brands should already be paying attention to.

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop
Timeline
[00:15] Why Amazon Sponsored Prompts seemed simple and why I completely underestimated their impact.
[01:30] How Sponsored Prompts fundamentally reverse the traditional advertising model.
[03:18] Why Amazon's "charge first, generate later" approach is unlike Google's dynamic advertising.
[05:15] The legal and brand risks of AI-generated answers built from reviews and Amazon's own data.
[06:00] Why advertisers may be shifting from buying attention to influencing AI-generated persuasion.
[08:22] Is Sponsored Prompts the future of AI advertising or just an experiment?

Links & Resources
Last week, Andrew Bell did a massive deep dive into the patent behind Sponsored Prompts which changed my thinking about how they will work (Disclosure: Bell is VP of Research at ReFiBuy, a company I advise).
Read my related articles:Amazon Unboxed 2025: Key Announcements & Takeaways for Brand Advertisers
Retailer AI Assistants: Are Shoppers Actually Using Them?
Walmart's Sparky AI Assistant: A Late Mover with Early Promise

I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclub
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

What makes one retail media network stand out when so many seem to promise the same thing? In this episode, I explore a fascinating psychology concept called the 'effort heuristic', and explain why it has huge implications for retail media. When buyers can't easily judge technical quality, they look for visible signs that a retailer is investing, innovating, and genuinely building something worthwhile.
I also share why transparency can become a competitive advantage, highlight Costco's retail media strategy as a standout example, and discuss where the line is between showcasing meaningful progress and creating announcement fatigue. If you're building, selling, or buying retail media, this episode offers a fresh perspective on what actually influences decision-making before performance data ever enters the conversation.

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop
Timeline
[00:00] The psychology study behind the effort heuristic, and why perceived effort influences perceived quality.
[01:47] How the effort heuristic applies to retail media buyers evaluating competing retail media networks.
[03:19] Why Costco's transparent approach to its retail media tech stack stood out, and what other retailers can learn from it.
[05:43] The danger of over-marketing: when every product update becomes an "industry-first" announcement.
[06:33] Why the largest retail media networks play by different rules than emerging RMNs competing for test budgets.
[07:21] My advice for retailers and technology partners: show your work, earn credibility, and build trust through transparency.

Links & Resources
The Effort Heuristic by Kruger, Wirtz, Van Boven and Altermatt.
Read my related articles:Costco Is The First US RMN To Reveal Its Entire Tech Stack
Why RMNs Keep Their Tech Stacks Secret
The ‘Costco Velocity’ Tech Stack Is Coming Together. Here's How the Pieces Fit.

Check out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series talking shop: latest episode
I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclub
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

I finally did something I'd been meaning to do for a while: I requested the full Amazon Ads Consumer File to see exactly what Amazon knows about me. While I expected a few surprises, what I uncovered wasn't just a look into my own shopping habits. It opened my eyes to how brands that don't even sell on Amazon are increasingly using Amazon's audience data to reach consumers.
In this episode, a recap of my recent article for The Drum, I unpack what I found inside my data export, why companies like airlines, banks, insurers and fast-food brands are targeting Amazon audiences, and what this tells us about the next evolution of retail media. If you've been wondering where retail media is headed beyond sponsored products and closed-loop attribution, this is a fascinating glimpse into what's coming next.

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop
Timeline
[00:00] Why I downloaded my Amazon Ads Consumer File, and the surprising discovery that nearly 400 companies had placed me into advertising audiences.
[02:34] Why non-endemic brands are increasingly investing in retail media and what's driving this shift beyond traditional ecommerce advertising.
[04:06] Real-world examples from Home Depot, Dick's Sporting Goods and Kroger that show how retailers are monetizing valuable first-party audiences.
[05:15] Why only the most sophisticated retail media networks are positioned to successfully attract non-endemic advertising budgets.
[07:16] Three major reasons Amazon DSP has become dramatically more attractive to non-endemic advertisers, from stronger audience data to better measurement.
[09:15] My biggest takeaway after reviewing my own Amazon data, and why the future growth of retail media may come from brands that don't have products on retailers' shelves at all.

Links & Resources
Check out my original article on The Drum: Why brands with nothing to sell on Amazon are targeting me there
US offsite retail media ad spending will reach $17.05 billion in 2026, up 29.5% YoY, EMARKETER forecasts.
Last year, Kroger Precision Marketing ran Chevrolet's Equinox EV launch through Yahoo DSP on grocery-basket signals rather than automotive intent.
Ross Walker, Director of retail media at Acadia, argues "The 'Amazon DSP for non-endemic brands' story has existed for years," he wrote last month
Follow Ross Walker on LinkedIn
Check out Amazon Days, the newsletter of Dr Koen Pauwels, Professor at Northeastern University: Online Ad Effectiveness at EMAC 2025
Read my related articles:How retail media improves the shopper journey (yes, really)
The retail media lesson inside Dick’s World Cup push
Six ways through the commerce media squeeze

Check out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series talking shop. The latest episode dropped last week
I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclub
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn

I've been wrestling with a question that's becoming impossible to ignore: will agentic media buying fundamentally reshape retail media, or even eliminate parts of today's ecosystem? As AI-powered agents begin making more decisions across ad buying, optimization, and measurement, it's worth asking who wins, who loses, and whether the way advertising dollars flow today will look anything like it does a year or two from now.
In this episode, I share highlights from an insightful conversation on the Ad Tech Therapy podcast, where Scott Messer and Jana Meron responded to my question about the future of agentic media buying. They unpack whether AI will truly collapse the ad tech stack, why history suggests the industry is more likely to evolve than disappear, and what all of this could mean specifically for retail media. If you've been wondering how AI will impact agencies, retailers, brands, and ad tech platforms, this episode is for you.

This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoop
Timeline
00:00 – The question I can't stop asking: Will agentic media buying disrupt retail media as we know it?
01:03 – Why I posed this question to Scott Messer and Jana Meron, and the challenge I gave them.
02:00 – Fear, disruption, and why concerns about AI replacing jobs are both rational and useful.
03:30 – Will AI eliminate layers of the ad tech ecosystem or simply make them more efficient?
06:30 – How retail media's technology stack differs from traditional programmatic advertising.
09:00 – My biggest takeaway: Retail media isn't losing layers, it's reorganizing them.

Links & Resources
Listen to the full AdTech Therapy episode: Where the Puck Are We Going?
Subscribe to AdTech Therapy on Apple Podcasts
Submit a question to AdTech Therapy via their Patient Portal
Follow Scott Messer, AdTech Therapy host, on LinkedIn
Follow Jana Meron, AdTech Therapy host, on LinkedIn
Why retail media supply-side platforms alone won’t save your ad business by Jon Flugstad on the Moloco blog
Read my related articles:How an RMN's tech stack impacts your advertising results
AI in retail: selecting solution providers that deliver real value, not just hype
AI in real life: how retailers and brands are leveraging AI (real numbers)

Check out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series where we talk shop.
I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclub
Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
Follow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn