Monetizing Attention: How Retailers Unlock Ad Revenue with Retail Media

Attention is your most under-monetized asset!

Truth is, most retailers already have shoppers with their shiny wallets out. What they need is a better way to monetize that intent. Retail media does exactly that, turning everyday search queries and product views into a high-margin business, without ever wrecking the shopping experience. 

Retailers sit on something brands will always chase: shoppers who are already ready to buy. That’s why retail media has become one of the fastest-growing revenue engines in commerce. Instead of chasing traffic, retailers monetize the attention already flowing through search results, product pages, and digital shelves; while keeping the experience relevant. Done right, it’s not just ads; it’s infrastructure; and the smartest retailers are building it now, not later.

Why shopper attention is retail’s most underpriced asset

Retailers would be sitting on proven reserves if attention were valued like oil… According to IAB Europe, more than 70% of advertisers plan to increase spend in commerce environments because ads appear next to real buying intent, not abstract audiences. That intent is the core differentiator of retail media and the reason it consistently outperforms open-web display on ROAS.

For retailers, this shifts advertising from a “nice add-on” to a structural profit lever:

• Media margins often exceed core retail margins by 3–5x
• Closed-loop measurement ties exposure directly to sales
• First-party data becomes monetizable without being sold or shared

In plain terms: retailers already paid to acquire this traffic. Media monetization simply extracts more value from it. From the retailer’s lens, brands want certainty. They want to know that spend moves units.

The 2026 business case: why retail media is now a core P&L line

The growth curve is no longer speculative. eMarketer reports that global spend in this channel is growing nearly twice as fast as traditional digital advertising. In parallel, Financial Times highlights that some of the world’s largest retailers now generate billions annually from their ad businesses alone!

So, why the acceleration now?

1. Profitability pressure is real

Core retail margins are under constant pressure from logistics, discounts, and competition. Media revenue, by contrast, is high-margin and scalable. That’s why analysts increasingly describe retail media as a margin stabilizer during volatile demand cycles.

2. Advertisers demand accountability

Skai data shows that incrementality and sales lift are now the top buying criteria for advertisers. Retail environments can prove both, if measurement is built correctly.

3. Omnichannel expansion unlocked new inventory

In-store screens, sponsored placements, and off-site extensions have expanded the monetization surface far beyond search results. Off-site retail-driven ads are forecast to grow over 40% year-over-year, according to eMarketer. The implication for retailers is clear: this is no longer optional infrastructure. It’s a competitive moat.

What a modern retail media platform must get right

A true retail media platform has to behave like smooth commerce software first; and ad tech second.

Commerce-native ad serving

Every ad must respect inventory, pricing, eligibility rules, and session context in real time. McKinsey notes that slow pages or out-of-stock sponsored products are the fastest way to lose both shopper trust and advertiser confidence. Retailers that win here enforce strict guardrails:

• Only in-stock, buy-box-eligible SKUs
• Sub-second load times
• Clear separation between organic and sponsored results

First-party data activation

With dependency on third-party identifiers fading, logged-in shopper data and contextual signals are the growth engine. IAB Europe reports that first-party activation is the top driver of media expansion across European retailers. From a retailer’s point of view, this means:

• No dependency on external data brokers
• Full control over consent and privacy
• Higher CPMs due to verified intent

Transparent pricing and auctions

As networks multiply, brands demand clarity. Flexible pricing models; CPC, CPM, or outcome-based, combined with transparent auction logic are now table stakes. McKinsey emphasizes that opaque pricing is a leading reason advertisers cap spend.

Closed-loop measurement and incrementality

Advertisers want proof, not proxies. Skai consistently finds that incrementality testing is the single biggest budget unlock. Retailers who standardize methodologies; geo tests, control groups, matched markets win disproportionate share.

Omnichannel readiness

In-store and selective off-site activations extend reach, but only after onsite execution is airtight. Stratacache highlights in-store screens as a major 2025 growth vector, when unified reporting exists. This is where a scalable retail media platform becomes non-negotiable.

Retailers looking to accelerate often partner with platforms purpose-built for commerce environments like Osmos, which focuses on monetizing attention without compromising the shopping experience.

How retailers can build a media business in practical phases

The most successful programs don’t launch everything at once, instead, they sequence.

Phase 1: Onsite search and category monetization

This is the fastest path to revenue. Sponsored products and category placements deliver immediate value when paired with clear policies and CPC pricing. McKinsey estimates this phase alone can unlock meaningful incremental margin within months. The outcome is fast payback with absolutely minimal UX risk.

Phase 2: Display and branded experiences

Once fundamentals work, retailers add homepage modules, PDP units, and brand-safe creative formats. Lightweight self-serve tools reduce operational friction for brands and sellers alike. IAB Europe notes that audience-based targeting, built on recency and category affinity, significantly improves engagement.

Phase 3: Measurement maturity

Retailers who publish incrementality frameworks signal seriousness. According to Skai, standardized testing directly correlates with higher budget commitments. This is where retail media shifts from transactional to strategic.

Phase 4: Omnichannel surfaces

In-store screens and limited off-site extensions come last. Unified reporting keeps the value proposition intact while expanding reach. Retailers that rush this phase without measurement discipline often stall growth!

What brands actually want; and how retailers should respond…

Brands are not asking for novelty. They’re asking for outcomes.

• Reach with relevance: Access to high-intent shoppers at the digital shelf
• Ease of buying: Fewer dashboards, consistent taxonomy, predictable workflows
• Proof of impact: ROAS plus incrementality, not vanity metrics

Retailers who simplify buying and standardize reporting become preferred partners. Complexity repels spending. From a strategic standpoint, this positions the retail media platform as a revenue product, not a service layer.

A simple scorecard to pressure-test your retail media readiness

Ask yourself:

• Are sponsored placements inventory-aware and loaded at commerce speed?
• Is first-party data central to targeting?
• Are placements, taxonomy and metrics standardized and easy to buy?
• Is incrementality measurement built in by default?
• Is there a clear path to in-store or off-site expansion?

If the answer is “not yet,” the opportunity cost is real. Different verticals move at different speeds. Grocery, fashion and beauty, and food marketplaces each have unique dynamics, and tailored approaches matter. 

For grocery retailers, early success often comes from structured, high-volume implementations that prioritize availability, relevance, and operational control. In fashion and beauty, monetization tends to scale through curated discovery and brand-led merchandising that fits how shoppers browse. Aggregators and marketplaces face a different challenge altogether; building models that work consistently across many sellers without fragmenting measurement or experience.

Attention is already yours; it’s time to monetize it properly…

Retailers don’t need more traffic. They need better economics from the traffic they already own. Retail media works because it aligns incentives: shoppers see relevant placements, brands see measurable impact, and retailers unlock a durable, high-margin revenue stream. Financial Times reports that the fastest-growing retail ad businesses are those that treated media as core infrastructure, not an experiment.

The next phase belongs to retailers who invest in a scalable retail media platform, standardize measurement, and expand thoughtfully across channels. Attention is finite. Budgets follow proof. The question for 2026 isn’t whether to build this capability; it’s how fast you can operationalize it. 

Read through real-world success stories where retailers have turned retail media into a measurable, repeatable revenue stream with Osmos.