Retail Media has entered a defining new phase. Now accounting for nearly 30% of all U.S. digital ad spend, the channel is no longer a standalone, lower-funnel tactic, but a central driver of omnichannel advertising strategy. According to The 2026 State of Retail Media Report, released today by Skai, the leading omnichannel commerce media platform, and Stratably, an independent research and advisory firm,  brands that fail to integrate retail media across search, social, programmatic display, and CTV are rapidly falling behind.

Based on an exclusive survey of U.S. consumer goods brands and agencies, the fifth annual report shows that seven in ten advertisers now meet or exceed their retail media performance goals. However, the study reveals a widening performance gap between leaders and laggards. Top performers are investing in unified orchestration, real-time incrementality measurement, and advanced applications of Generative AI, while others struggle with fragmented execution and limited visibility into true performance.

"The brands succeeding in retail media aren't just spending more, they've built fundamentally different operating models," said Michelle Urwin, Chief Marketing Officer at Skai. "Leading advertisers are treating retail media as the connective layer across search, social, programmatic, and CTV. They’re measuring incrementality in flight and applying AI across the full campaign lifecycle. In 2026 we’ll also see the agentic channel and AI-driven interfaces continue to evolve and brands that don’t plan, organize, and measure for it will find themselves invisible at the point of discovery and decision.” 

Key findings from The State of Retail Media 2026 include:

Omnichannel orchestration separates top performers
Retail media is increasingly shaping spend across the entire media mix. Brands now allocate 30% of paid search dollars and 34% of paid social dollars to drive traffic directly to retailers. The most advanced advertisers coordinate 32% of total media budgets through retail media, treating it as the hub that connects upper and lower-funnel activity. Brands cite visibility at point of purchase (44%), proximity to customers (34%), and retailer alignment (27%) as primary drivers for this major shift.

Budget shift beyond lower-funnel tactics
Investment patterns show brands moving beyond lower-funnel tactics: 59% are increasing retailer search spend, 57% boosting social commerce, 50% expanding CTV, and 52% moving display budgets from open web to retail media DSPs. Meanwhile, 24% are cutting traditional search engine shopping ads. As brands currently manage an average of six networks (projected to expand to eight by year-end), 77% are prioritizing better measurement and 68% seek platform consolidation.

GenAI evolves from experimentation to performance engine
Generative AI adoption is now widespread, with 63% of marketers using GenAI in retail media programs. But its role is shifting. While early usage focused heavily on creative and content, brands are increasingly applying GenAI to campaign management, optimization, analytics, and personalization — areas more directly tied to performance and efficiency. This evolution signals growing maturity in how advertisers deploy AI, moving from isolated productivity gains toward measurable business impact.

Incrementality measurement delivers competitive advantage
Brands actively measuring incrementality report tangible results: 54% reduced wasted spend, 49% increased new customer acquisition, and 29% improved competitive positioning. Looking ahead, 68% aim to improve profit margins through better incrementality insights. Yet challenges remain with14% still not measuring incrementality at all, and more than half citing limited analytics and data science resources as their biggest barrier.

"The 2026 State of Retail Media Report shows that retail media has become a foundational element of modern omnichannel strategy. Brands that build retail media into a core capability, rather than treating it as a tactic, are better positioned to adapt as GenAI and new ad formats emerge against a backdrop of intensifying competition," said Russ Dieringer, Founder & CEO of Stratably. "The data makes clear that retail media leaders have greater flexibility, stronger measurement capabilities, and deeper alignment with their top retail partners. The result is a more durable and future-ready go-to-market strategy.”

To discover more insights and takeaways from The State of Retail Media 2026, download the full report.