Global Retail Media Investment to Surpass $200 Billion in 2026

Global retail media advertising investment is projected to reach $200.4 billion in 2026 and grow to $223.4 billion by 2027, according to a report by WARC Media. This spending will represent 15.2% of total worldwide advertising investment. While the United States market maintains momentum with a forecast of $74.9 billion by 2028, growth in Europe is decelerating.

Overall growth is slowing toward single digits. Excluding Amazon, the growth rate is expected to drop to 9.8% in 2027, the lowest level since monitoring began. The market remains heavily concentrated; Amazon captured 78% of US retail media spend in 2025 and over two-thirds of spend in several major European markets, while Walmart captured 7.5% of the US market.

Industry analysts warn that aggressive monetization is creating excessive ad clutter, with some retailers averaging over 20 ads per page. Research from Ipsos indicates this clutter compromises the shopper experience and reduces ad memory encoding. Alex Brownsell, head of content at WARC Media, noted that the landscape is maturing and consolidating, which requires marketers to rethink their strategies to avoid overwhelming shoppers.