News Briefs

Retail media tech provider Koddi and In-Store Marketplace (ISM) have entered into the next phase of their partnership to make in-store retail media more accessible and programmatic for advertisers. 

The collaboration allows brands to activate in-store placements through Koddi’s enterprise supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-side platforms (DSPs) such as Yahoo DSP, integrating in-store inventory into existing digital media workflows.

The integration provides unified access to inventory across more than 30,000 retail locations nationwide, enabling advertisers to manage campaigns and measure performance alongside online and off-site media. According to the companies, the partnership addresses a key challenge for retailers seeking to unify advertising strategies, making in-store retail media easier to buy, activate and track.

Lowe’s Media Network is one of the early adopters of the integrated system. John Storms, head of Lowe’s Media Network, said the integration provides brand partners “flexibility to buy and measure media in ways that align with their broader omnichannel strategies.” 

Storms added that programmatic access via DSPs ensures in-store and digital media are “equally accessible and performance-driven,” giving advertisers more meaningful ways to connect with Lowe’s shoppers.

The Koddi-ISM integration reflects a broader trend in retail media toward standardization, programmatic access and measurement that bridges the gap between in-store and digital channels.

The move also comes as demand grows for simplified retail media solutions. An Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) study found that nearly 70% of retail media network buyers cite complexity as a primary obstacle to investing more in digital in-store advertising. 

“Partnering with ISM is a foundational move toward unifying in-store media with the national retail media landscape,” Nicholas Ward, president and co-founder at Koddi, said in a media release.

Market research firm Circana and Ibotta have unveiled a strategic partnership designed to give CPG brands a clearer view of the sales impact of Ibotta digital campaigns. The collaboration combines Circana’s Household Lift measurement and analytics capabilities with Ibotta’s item-level promotional campaigns to help brands evaluate incremental sales driven by digital offers.

The companies said initial proof-of-concept lift studies conducted under the partnership showed that Ibotta campaigns delivered incremental sales exceeding category benchmarks for other media investments, per a media release. By pairing Circana’s analytics with Ibotta’s targeted offers, brands can now assess immediate purchase behavior as well as longer-term effects of promotions.

“Our partnership demonstrates our commitment to bringing incremental measurement to all aspects of media and retail media,” Cara Pratt, president of global retail and media for Circana, said in the release.

Circana will apply its Household Lift solution to compare the purchase behavior of consumers exposed to Ibotta offers with those who were not, providing brands with insights to optimize campaign performance and investment decisions. The measurement will cover incremental sales beyond the promotional period, offering a more complete view of the impact of digital campaigns.

“This partnership marks a significant step forward in our mission to provide the CPG industry with its first full-service performance marketing platform,” added Bryan Leach, CEO of Ibotta. 

Circana’s Lift Studies for Ibotta campaigns are set to roll out in late 2025, with availability to all brands expected by early 2026. The partnership positions both companies to offer CPG brands more transparency and confidence in the effectiveness of digital promotions.

Casey’s is growing its retailer media network, Casey’s Access, through a strategic partnership with GSTV, whose video platform plays across more than 29,000 fuel retailers and sites nationwide. 

The collaboration will bring a branded, managed-service video solution to Casey’s forecourt/fuel dispenser media screens, enhancing its ability to engage customers across thousands of locations. 

“Our retail media journey began in 2023 with the launch of Casey’s Access, and we’ve been strategically expanding our ad inventory ever since,” Justin Coaldrake, senior director of omnichannel guest experience and media at Casey’s, said in a media release. “By combining this new GSTV partnership with our existing in-store offerings, we’ll have over 30,000 digital screens across our ecosystem.”

Related: Invenco by GVR, GSTV Launch Retail Media Managed Service Offering

The rollout, starting this fall, will integrate GSTV’s turnkey video platform with Casey’s existing digital and in-store channels, giving advertisers access to shoppers at more than 2,900 convenience store locations in 19 states. 

GSTV’s solution includes customizable forecourt video content, family-friendly programming, dedicated account management and creative support through its Ignite in-house production team, according to the release.

The expanded media capabilities are designed to strengthen Casey’s existing multipronged approach, which includes digital, on-premise and off-site channels.

Topsort, an AI-based retail media infrastructure company, and Skai, an omnichannel advertising platform, have teamed up to give global advertisers broader access to retail media inventory across hard-to-reach markets.

Through the collaboration, Skai becomes the first API partner to integrate Topsort’s retail media infrastructure, which supports retailers, marketplaces and delivery apps in more than 40 countries. The move enables brands to manage Topsort campaigns alongside broader commerce media investments within Skai’s platform.

Topsort’s auction-based system and self-serve interface, Toppie, leverage AI to automatically reallocate budgets to the highest-performing placements across a region. Skai’s platform, powered by its generative AI marketing agent Celeste, combines digital marketing capabilities with commerce insights, enabling advertisers to streamline workflows, optimize spend and measure performance across channels.

“This partnership creates an opportunity for brands to engage with entirely new audiences in the fastest-growing commerce markets worldwide,” Matt Vignieri, chief growth officer at Skai, said in a media release. “With Topsort’s reach now available through Skai, advertisers can discover fresh growth opportunities.”

“Skai shares our mission of making powerful retail media accessible, efficient and privacy-safe,” added Regina Ye, CEO and co-founder of Topsort. “We’re excited to partner with them to open new markets worldwide and support a new wave of advertisers ready to grow.”

The integration gives Skai clients access to Topsort’s global network while benefiting from bulk campaign creation, automated auditing and alerts, cross-channel reporting and rules-based optimizations — all within a single interface.

DSW, Designer Shoe Warehouse, has launched a retailer media network called Front Row Connection, giving footwear and accessories brands additional opportunities to promote products on DSW.com.

The self-service platform offers “high-impact placements,” including sponsored product ads and banner ads designed to boost visibility on the digital shelf, according to a media release. The goal is to help brands highlight new arrivals and best sellers while making product discovery easier for shoppers.

Front Row Connection is operated by the Epsilon Retail Media platform, which applies AI-driven identity resolution in the ad server to connect brands with shoppers. It also provides “unified omnichannel attribution,” giving brands visibility into performance metrics and the ability to measure outcomes across digital and in-store channels.

“Front Row Connection gives our brand partners smarter, more direct access to the customers they care about most,” Mike Donk, senior vice president, digital at DSW, said in the release. “It’s designed to make discovery easier for shoppers and deliver measurable results for advertisers. This is about meeting consumers where they are and making the most of every moment on the digital shelf.”

“Brands like DSW are showing how retail media can evolve from static placement to smart performance,” added Adam Skinner, managing director of global unified retail media at Epsilon. 

DSW, which operates about 525 stores in the U.S. and Canada, is the flagship retail brand of Designer Brands Inc.

Criteo has unveiled a new integration with Google, becoming the search giant’s first on-site retail media partner.

The integration, initially launching in beta with select customers in the Americas, will allow advertisers to manage campaigns across Criteo’s retail media network directly through Google’s Search Ads 360. Plans are in place to expand the program globally and into additional Google Marketing Platform tools.

Criteo’s network includes more than 200 retailers worldwide. Through the first phase of the partnership, retailers can opt in to receive demand from advertisers running campaigns in Search Ads 360, while brands gain access to scaled on-site inventory and unified measurement capabilities. According to the companies, the collaboration is designed to help advertisers optimize spend, measure incremental impact and improve campaign performance.

“With Criteo’s expansive network of retailer partners, we’re helping advertisers connect with customers at a critical moment in their shopping journey: on-site, through sponsored product ads,” Bill Reardon, general manager, enterprise platform at Google, said in a media release. He noted that the integration complements Google’s existing off-site advertising solutions, including Performance Max and Shopping Ads.

“Our goal is to empower advertisers and agencies with a more complete view of their advertising performance,” he added.

Sherry Smith, president of retail media at Criteo, said that the partnership will bring “scaled brand advertising to retailers on the Criteo platform,” while helping retailers maximize the value of their ad inventory.

Industry forecasts project retail media spend could reach $204 billion by 2027. While much of that spend is currently concentrated among a handful of major platforms, Criteo and Google said the new integration will help broaden opportunities for both retailers and brands across the ecosystem.

The beta program is available to select advertisers through their Google account teams.