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EMARKETER

Retail Media Search Ad Spending Forecast and Trends 2025

Retail Media’s Engine Gets a Tune-Up

Report by Max Willens  |  Jul 15, 2025
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Retail media search ad spending is about to enter a new phase
Retail media search ad spending has quickly become one of the largest ad spending channels in all of media
A basic search offering is now table stakes for RMNs
Gaps remain between how RMNs choose to incorporate ads into their search results
The dance between Google and RMNs keeps changing its steps
Retailers are in no rush to discover how genAI may affect this space
Recommendations for brands
Recommendations for retailers
EMARKETER Interviews
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
Retail media search ad spending propelled retail media ad spending to its current size. Now, more retail media networks are closing in on search feature parity, and advertisers are looking for ways to approach the critical channel.
Topics
Search Ad Spending
Retail Media
United States
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Retail media search ad spending is about to enter a new phase
Retail media search ad spending has quickly become one of the largest ad spending channels in all of media
A basic search offering is now table stakes for RMNs
Gaps remain between how RMNs choose to incorporate ads into their search results
The dance between Google and RMNs keeps changing its steps
Retailers are in no rush to discover how genAI may affect this space
Recommendations for brands
Recommendations for retailers
EMARKETER Interviews
Sources
Media Gallery

Retail media search has quickly grown into one of the largest spending areas in all of digital media. But advertising in the space is about to become more complicated as retail media networks explore ways to incorporate demand from demand-side platforms (DSPs) and increase competition between brands. Advertisers and retailers alike will be keeping an eye on how agentic AI changes consumer behavior.

Key Question: What will drive the next phase of ad spending growth for retail media search?

Retail Media Search Ad Spending Will Exceed $50 Billion in 2028
E-Mail ChartDownload

Key Stat: Almost $5 billion of incremental ad spending will flow into retail media search in 2026, per our forecast.

This report can help you:

  • Develop media strategy and allocate budgets for campaigns (brands and agencies)
  • Develop go-to-market strategy (media platforms)

Here’s what’s in the full report

1file

Exportable files for easy reading, analysis and sharing.

6charts

Reliable data in simple displays for presentations and quick decision making.

5expert perspectives

Insights from industry and company leaders.

    Table of Contents

    1. Executive Summary
    2. Retail media search ad spending is about to enter a new phase
    3. Retail media search ad spending has quickly become one of the largest ad spending channels in all of media
    4. A basic search offering is now table stakes for RMNs
    1. Gaps remain between how RMNs choose to incorporate ads into their search results
    2. The dance between Google and RMNs keeps changing its steps
    3. Retailers are in no rush to discover how genAI may affect this space
    4. Recommendations for brands
    1. Recommendations for retailers
    2. EMARKETER Interviews
    3. Sources
    4. Media Gallery

    Charts in This Report

    Retail Media Search Ad Spending Will Exceed $50 Billion in 2028Retail Media Search Ad Spending Will Exceed $50 Billion in 2028, (billions in US retail media search ad spending, % change, and % of total retail media ad spending, 20250-2029)
    Amazon Will Claim 81.4% of Retail Media Search Ad Spending in 2025By 2026, Walmart Will Earn More Non-Amazon Search Ad Revenues Than All Other RMNs Combined
    The Home Depot Has Biggest Gains as RMNs Boost Sponsored Result PrevalenceThe Number of RMNs Offering Competitive Conquesting Has Risen 50% in the Past 12 Months

    Interviewed for This Report

    Brian Free
    Eyeful Media
    SVP and Managing Director
    Interviewed June 5, 2025
    Anne Harrell
    Pacvue
    Head of Product Evangelism and Enablement
    Interviewed June 23, 2025
    Harsh Jiandani
    Koddi
    Chief Commercial Officer
    Interviewed June 12, 2025
    Aisha Khan
    WPP Media
    Head of Client Engagement, Global Commerce
    Interviewed June 13, 2025
    Andreas Reiffen
    Pentaleap
    Co-Founder and CEO
    Interviewed June 5, 2025

    authors

    Max Willens

    Contributors

    Rahul Chadha
    Director, Report Editing
    Donte Gibson
    Senior Charts Editor
    Penelope Lin
    Director, Data Visualization
    Sarah Marzano
    Principal Analyst, Retail Media
    Sakina Thanawala
    Copy Editor
    Yoram Wurmser
    Principal Analyst
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