
Retailers are building their own ad businesses to compete with Amazon. Here's the latest news on Walmart, Instacart, and more.
Retailers are gunning for
They're betting on the growth of e-commerce and the hope of offsetting retail's thin margins by pitching advertisers on their shopper data. They're also making big hires to support these ambitions.
Insider is keeping track of all the moves in the space.
Amazon dominates retail media

Amazon has become the third-biggest digital advertising company behind Google and Facebook, notching $31 billion in advertising in 2021.
It's vying for advertisers' budgets by promoting its ability to grow awareness with consumers and pitching TV and in-store ads.
Amazon is building an advertising behemoth — and it's coming for Facebook
Walmart and other big-box retailers
Walmart, Instacart, Walgreens and other retailers are also building their own platforms to grab a slice of the ad pie.
They're taking a page from Amazon by pitching their shopper data, which could benefit small brands that often struggle to outbid big advertisers on Amazon.
But each retailer has different ways of selling and measuring ads, making it hard for advertisers to manage campaigns across all of them.
Read more: Retailers are fueling an advertising explosion, and it could present a nightmare for brands
Instacart and other grocery delivery companies

Grocery delivery companies like Instacart and Gopuff are becoming big players for advertising as they seek to offset food delivery's slim margins.
14 Instacart execs who are leading its push to take on Amazon and Walmart in advertising
Shopify, Uber, and other retail media sellers
Specialty chains like Michaels and gig companies like Uber to Shopify are also getting into the
Shopify, which lets merchants sell products online, has plans to roll out a tool called Shopify Audiences, and let advertisers target ads on Facebook and Google, said sources familiar with its plans. Ulta Beauty is rolling out an effort to sell ads on its own platform, publisher sites, and social networks.
Shopify is planning a big push into advertising with a new targeting tool
Retail media is driving M&A
E-commerce advertising growth has been a boon for companies that manage advertiser spending on retail platforms and for adtech firms that help retailers build ad businesses.
E-commerce M&A soared 50% between 2019 and 2020, showing the demand for companies that help merchants sell on third-party marketplaces, according to Pitchbook data via JEGI Clarity. Private equity firms like KKR and Blackstone have been pouring money into warehouses and e-commerce holding companies.
Experts name 12 companies that are likely acquisition targets as online shopping takes off