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Retail is entering a new era, one defined by rapid shifts in customer behavior, accelerating technology cycles, and rising expectations for personalized experiences. And few leaders have navigated that evolution as successfully as Michelle Pacynski, former VP of Innovation and Consumer Technology at Ulta Beauty.
The State of Retail Media in 2026: What Brands Need to Know Now
There are moments in this industry when a single report captures the mood of the market so clearly that it becomes a line in the sand. Skai’s new 2026 State of Retail Media Report is one of those moments.
When Casey and I sat down with Jeff Cohen, Chief Business Development Officer at Skai and former Amazon Ads evangelist, we knew this conversation would set the tone for Season 6 of The Retail Razor Show. What we did not expect was just how sharply the data would reveal the widening gap between retail media leaders and everyone else.
If retail media is now the fastest growing part of a brand’s marketing budget, why are so many teams still struggling to make it work?
That question became the heartbeat of this episode.
The Shift No One Can Ignore
Retail media now commands nearly a third of US digital ad spend. It has moved from experimentation to infrastructure. Yet the report shows that only a small group of brands are truly pulling ahead.
These leaders are not winning because they spend more. They are winning because they operate differently.
They treat retail media as a full funnel strategy.
They invest in incrementality.
They take attribution and measurement seriously.
They build cross functional alignment instead of letting media, commerce, and brand teams operate in silos.
And they are preparing for something bigger on the horizon.
The Rise of Agentic Commerce
This was one of the most fascinating parts of our conversation with Jeff. We are entering a world where AI agents will influence what gets recommended, what gets visibility, and how shoppers move through the journey. Retail media becomes the operating system of discovery in that world.
If you are not ready for agentic commerce, you risk becoming invisible.
The brands that understand this shift early will have a real advantage. They will know how to feed the algorithms. They will know how to structure their data. They will know how to build the kind of measurement foundation that AI driven systems require.
Amazon DSP, AMC, and the New Measurement Reality
The report highlights a major shift toward Amazon DSP and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC). Brands are moving budget from the open web into environments where they can finally see what is working.
Closed loop attribution is becoming the new baseline.
But here’s the catch.
Using AMC is not the same as acting on AMC.
Only a fraction of brands are using it to drive real decisions. Leaders are using it to guide bids, budgets, and product level insights. Laggards are still pulling reports and hoping for clarity.
CTV and the Full Funnel Future
Another standout insight.
Upper funnel formats like CTV and sponsored brand video are accelerating faster than expected. They are not just building awareness. They are driving measurable conversion lift.
This is where retail media is heading.
A true full funnel ecosystem where off-site video, display, search, and onsite media work together.
Why Organizational Structure Matters More Than Ever
One of the most striking findings in the report is that only 12 percent of brands have integrated media and commerce operations. Yet the average leading brand plans to manage eight retail media networks by the end of the year.
Scaling without structure is not a strategy.
It’s chaos.
Leaders are solving this by aligning teams, consolidating platforms, and giving decision makers visibility across channels. They are building the muscle to move quickly when the data tells them to shift.
Meanwhile, laggards are… not.
Laggards are falling further behind in scaling, but still intend to increase the number of retail media networks they invest in from 5 to 7 on average.
This Episode Sets the Tone for Season 6
We’re entering a new era of retail media. One shaped by AI, agentic commerce, full funnel strategy, and a renewed focus on measurement.
Jeff brought clarity to all of it.
If you want to understand how brands are investing in retail media in 2026, this episode is a must listen!
What’s Your Take?
As always, we would love to hear your thoughts.
Where do you see the biggest opportunity for retail media growth this year?
How do you believe retail media will be changed and/or disrupted by agentic commerce this year?
Comment on this newsletter or join the conversation on LinkedIn! Your insights help shape the topics we explore next.
Let’s explore the future of retail together.
Until next time! Stay sharp. Stay human. Stay ahead!
Sincerely,
Ricardo Belmar & Casey Golden
Co-hosts of The Retail Razor Show
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For a full transcript of this episode, visit our Retail Razor Podcast Network website!
Brillant breakdown on the organizational structure gap. The stat about only 12% integrating media and commerce while planning for 8+ networks is wild. I saw this firsthand when teams kept optimizing individual channels but lacked anyone looking at cross-platform incrementalty. Most brands treat retail media networks like separate campaigns instead of onesystem, and thats exactly why they plateau.