The digital landscape continues to develop at a breakneck pace, with several retail media trends reshaping how brands connect with consumers across both digital and physical touchpoints. At Harvest Group, we’ve been keeping our finger on the pulse of these changes through our extensive work with brand partners across the industry.
Our team recently completed an in-depth analysis identifying eight key themes that will define retail media in 2025. In this blog, we’re sharing four of these pivotal trends to help you navigate the evolving landscape and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
4 Retail Media Trends of 2025
1. Digital & In-Store Integration
The long-awaited integration of in-store & online retail media is set for significant advancements in 2025. Retailers are rolling out agile media activations designed to improve in-store attribution and measurement capabilities.
For brands, aligning in-store promotions with retail media to deliver seamless online and offline experiences has never been more critical. This convergence creates new opportunities for brands to engage shoppers consistently across their entire journey.
2. Incrementality Beyond a Single Retailer
As retail media advances and measuring true incremental sales becomes critical, brands are asking the crucial question: Are our campaigns driving new sales or simply capturing existing demand?
While retailers are improving their measurement tools and standardization, achieving consistency across multiple platforms remains challenging. Emerging third-party solutions show promise in bridging this gap, enabling cross-retailer incrementality insights brands need to optimize their investments.
At Harvest Group, we continue to pioneer strategic partnerships for brands that enhance the ability to measure and maximize true incrementality across retailers.
3. Diversified Retail Media Landscape
While Amazon accounts for ~75% of US retail media spend, competitors like Walmart, Target, and Instacart are gaining ground by:
- Enhancing their technological capabilities
- Offering more flexible advertising options
- Fostering stronger strategic partnerships
As the landscape diversifies, brands should consider diversifying their investments to capture emerging opportunities.
4. Convergence Reshaping “Retail” Media
You may have noticed industry leaders dropping the “retail” from “retail media” across the ecosystem – it’s part of a bigger trend.
Media is converging across budgets, retail media networks, and traditional media companies, driving greater integration. Consolidation can bring efficiency but also the loss of some specialized expertise, especially areas outside traditional retail, challenging brands to balance scale with depth.
Additional Trends
Our comprehensive analysis goes beyond these four trends, uncovering additional key developments for 2025:
- Full-funnel integration and investment strategies
- Maximizing first-party data through clean rooms
- Navigating AI and automation opportunities
- Rising industry accountability
“Harvest Group’s retail media team continues to rapidly grow and evolve with the industry, experiencing 60%+ growth in managed media spend in 2024. If I were to boil down our 2025 predictions into 3 words, they would be: measurement, integration, and accountability.”
Looking to maximize your retail media impact? Connect with us to access our full report and discover how Harvest Group can help your brand capitalize on emerging opportunities in 2025.
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