Retail Media Breakfast Club

In this episode, I draw a parallel between the diverse approaches to making bolognese sauce and the varied nature of retail media networks. 

Just as every cook has their unique bolognese recipe, every retail media network has its own way of managing advertising, measurement, and reporting. 

This variety stems from differences in business models, technology, and market positions. I discuss the challenges brands face due to th...

In this episode, I share  Fidji Simo's remarkable journey as the CEO of Instacart and her upcoming transition to lead OpenAI's consumer products division. 

Simo’s tenure at Instacart turned it into a profitable retail technology giant from a pandemic-boosted delivery service. Her key achievements include launching Carrot Ads and Carrot Insights, enhancing Instacart’s advertising business to generate nearly $1 billion in ann...

Retail Media Breakfast Club: Prime Day 2025 Participation Trends

In today's episode, I dive into the results of my recent LinkedIn poll about how brands plan to participate in Prime Day 2025. The numbers tell an interesting story: over half (51.79%) of respondents are either scaling back or skipping Prime Day entirely this year - a significant shift from previous years.

Poll Results:

• Going Bigger: 12.50%
• About the same...

This week I dive into an interesting perspective from Jason Goldberg on the Jason + Scot show, who mentioned this podcast (a proud moment for me as I've been listening to their show for over 7 years!).

Jason questioned the excitement around retail media outside of Amazon, so I decided to investigate his claims, including:

• Most retail media spend goes to Amazon. 
• Retail media is mostly Sponsored Product Ads. 
• Smaller seller...

I dive into Amazon's earnings call AI announcements and what they mean for retail and ecommerce. Andy Jassy says they're building "a thousand plus AI applications," and I break down the key developments that matter for shopping and retail media.

Quick Takes:

Amazon's AI Infrastructure Edge I cover Amazon's Nova model reaching "frontier tier" intelligence - now competing with GPT-4 and Claude 3. Plus their 30-40% cost reducti...

Could DSPs Be Retail Media's Panama Canal?

In today's episode, I talk about Koddi's new "State of Programmatic Retail Media" report and why programmatic access might be the key to unlocking retail media's next growth phase.

The Current Landscape

• Today's retail media dollars are heavily concentrated: 77% on Amazon, 7% on Walmart, and only 16% spread across dozens of other retail networks
• Despite recognizing retail media...

In this episode, I break down Amazon's Q1 2025 earnings and examine what they reveal about the coming impact of tariffs on the e-commerce ecosystem. I talk about the winners and losers emerging from Amazon's $1 billion forward-buying strategy and what this means for vendors, sellers, and consumers.

I share surprising details about Amazon's massive advance purchases from 1P vendors, including reports of purchase orders cover...

I share my notes from a fascinating interview with Mark Williamson, the leader of Costco's Retail Media Network, which aired on the Middlemen podcast. While most retailers rush to monetize every pixel they own, Costco has taken a deliberately slow approach as a "last mover" in retail media.

My Three Key Takeaways:

Membership First, Media Second
Costco evaluates every retail media decision through the lens of their member ...

Today's episode is a new format: "The Back Channel" where I share anonymized insights from my recent conversations with industry leaders in retail media. I discuss how AI is transforming software development, the surprising order in which retailers adopt different types of retail media, and my observations on the industry's current state of AI implementation.

Custom Software Built with AI

• The software CEO who bui...

In today's episode, I explore Amazon's strategic expansion of its low-cost "Haul" store during a critical moment for cross-border e-commerce. This discussion builds on my recent Forbes article published on April 23rd, 2025. (Read the original article here)

Key Points:

• Amazon Haul has expanded from mobile-only to desktop while adding branded items to its product mix
• This expansion coincides with the Trump administratio...

In today's episode, I explore how major tech companies are positioning themselves in a high-stakes battle for control of consumer purchasing decisions through AI shopping agents. Like a global game of Risk, tech giants are maneuvering to capture the most valuable territory: our buying choices.

I discuss the major players staking their claims:

• OpenAI/ChatGPT with its massive user base and new Shopify integration for in-ch...

In this insightful episode, Kiri Masters breaks down the growing importance of offsite retail media, which extends retailers' advertising capabilities beyond their own digital properties. She explains how this approach allows brands to leverage retailers' rich first-party customer data to target specific consumer segments across various digital channels while maintaining closed-loop measurement of sales impact. The episode...

The host Kiri Masters shares her framework for how brands evolve when selling on Amazon, from initial ignorance to full integration, while drawing parallels to current digital commerce challenges. She discusses insights from Stratably's report "How to Educate Senior Leaders on eCommerce," which offers strategies for overcoming organizational resistance to e-commerce investments. Kiri also provides practical advice for e-co...

Podean, an independent retail media and marketplaces agency, recently launched the "WOAS" Awards (Waste of Ad Spend Awards), a parody award highlighting how brands unknowingly waste retail media budgets. The awards spotlight three key issues: ineffective targeting, unoptimized budgets, and disconnects between media buying and business goals. Industry experts including Vanessa Hung, Danny Silverman, Tony Crutcher, and Mike ...

President Trump's sweeping tariffs are forcing consumer brands to make difficult trade-offs, with one of the most immediate impacts being on advertising and retail media spending. As brands face tariffs exceeding 100% on Chinese imports, many are cutting advertising budgets to offset margin compression, particularly on Amazon where smaller sellers are struggling to either absorb costs or raise prices. While some experts li...

In this episode, Kiri Masters explores how "vibe marketing" - a concept originating in tech circles - can be applied to retail media strategies. She breaks down how this AI-powered approach enables marketers to rapidly iterate emotional angles at scale while maintaining authentic brand connections, despite the structured nature of retail media environments. Kiri offers four practical applications for retail media professio...

In this episode, the host Kiri Masters examines Walmart's reported push for brands to increase their retail media spending by 25% year-over-year as part of joint business plans, based on recent reporting by Adweek. She explores how the impressive profit margins of retail media networks are creating pressure for continued growth, leading to what many brands describe as a "retail media tax" - mandatory advertising spending w...

In this insightful episode, Kiri Masters analyzes data from Momentum Commerce that reveals a fascinating "frugal frenzy" emerging across Amazon's marketplace. She explores how consumers are simultaneously stockpiling products like baby formula (up 26 times week-over-week) while becoming increasingly price-conscious, with average selling prices among top sellers dropping 0.8% year-over-year. The episode highlights a clear d...

In this panel episode, industry leaders discuss the evolving nature of the customer journey in today's digital landscape. Josh Clarkson, Global Lead for Retail Media at Mars, and Chief Consultant at Edify Digital Commerce Consulting introduces the concept of a 'wormhole,' where shoppers enter and exit the purchase process at various points. Todd Weagent from Masimo emphasizes the need for continuous engagement through an e...