The short answer
Retail media is a $200 billion global channel in 2026 by WARC's count, and Amazon holds roughly 78% of US retail media spend. Amazon's advertising revenue was $68.6 billion in 2025 and $19.6 billion in Q3 2026, up 11%, with high-teens growth guided for Q4. Walmart's global advertising business grew 46% to nearly $6.4 billion in its fiscal 2026, Target's ad revenue grew 41% to $915 million in 2025, and Instacart's reached $331 million in Q3 2026. Every figure on this page links to the filing or report it came from.
01Market size and forecasts
Two forecasters publish global figures you can quote. WARC's August 2026 report is the most recent. WPP Media's December 2025 outlook is the other; its June 2026 mid-year update raised the overall ad growth forecast, but we could not confirm a retail media dollar figure in it, so the December numbers stand here.
$200.4B
Global retail media ad spend forecast, 2026
WARC's figure, reported by The Desk. WARC expects 11.5% growth in 2027.
Source: The Desk, citing WARC
$223.4B
Global retail media ad spend forecast, 2027
15.2% of total worldwide ad spend, per WARC.
Source: WARC Media
9.8%
Global retail media growth in 2027 with Amazon removed
The lowest rate WARC has recorded. Amazon is doing most of the growing.
Source: WARC Media
78%
Amazon's share of US retail media ad spend, 2025
Walmart 7.5%, every other network combined 14.5%. Walrus Intelligence figures cited by WARC.
Source: The Desk, citing WARC
$190B+
WPP Media's global retail media ad revenue forecast, 2026
From WPP Media's December 2025 This Year Next Year outlook, as reported by Marketplace.
Source: Marketplace, citing WPP Media
$1.2T
Global ad revenue forecast, 2026
Up 7.1% excluding US political advertising, with digital at 83.7% of the total, per WPP Media.
Source: WPP Media
$294.6B
US internet advertising revenue, 2025
Up 13.9% year over year, the highest in the report's history. IAB's report page rounds it to "nearly $300 billion"; its release gives $294.6 billion.
Source: IAB and PwC
02Amazon Ads revenue
Amazon reports advertising services revenue every quarter in its Form 8-K. These are the as-reported figures.
$68.6B
Amazon advertising services revenue, full-year 2025
Up 22% from $56.2 billion in 2024, per the segment table in Amazon's 10-K.
Source: Amazon (SEC)
$21.3B
Amazon advertising services revenue, Q4 2025
Up 23% as reported, 22% excluding currency, from $17.3 billion in Q4 2024.
Source: Amazon (SEC)
$17.2B
Amazon advertising services revenue, Q1 2026
Up 24% as reported, 22% excluding currency. Trailing-twelve-month ad revenue passed $70 billion.
Source: Amazon (SEC)
$19.8B
Amazon advertising services revenue, Q2 2026
Up 26% year over year, the quarter Prime Day moved into.
Source: Amazon (SEC)
$19.6B
Amazon advertising services revenue, Q3 2026
Up 11% as reported, 12% excluding currency, from $17.7 billion. Amazon cites Prime Day timing for the slower growth.
Source: Amazon (SEC)
High teens
Amazon's guided advertising revenue growth, Q4 2026
"We expect year-over-year advertising revenue to grow in the high teens in fourth quarter 2026."
Source: Amazon (SEC)
03AI shopping and new Amazon ad formats
Figures Amazon Ads has published about Rufus, Alexa+ and the formats announced at unBoxed. Beta results are Amazon's own numbers and are labeled as such.
300M+
Customers who used Rufus, Amazon's AI shopping assistant, in 2025
Source: Amazon Ads
20%
Shoppers who continue the conversation after interacting with a sponsored-ad prompt in Alexa for Shopping, 2026
"Nearly 20%", per Amazon Ads. Adding prompts to a Sponsored Brands ad drives a 6% increase in conversions.
Source: Amazon Ads
3x
Ratings and reviews per week for products using Review Requests, June 2026 US closed beta
Compared with the period before the test, per Amazon Ads.
Source: Amazon Ads
+67%
Long-term ROAS for Full-Funnel Campaigns beta testers, 2026
With a 29% lower cost to acquire new-to-brand customers, per Amazon's unBoxed 2026 announcements.
Source: Amazon Ads
-18%
Median CPM change for advertisers using Amazon Ads Agent in closed beta, Sept to Oct 2025
With a 16% lower cost per acquisition, per Amazon Ads.
Source: Amazon Ads
2.5x
Unique products purchased from AI-curated Sponsored Brands collections, Nov to Dec 2025 US closed beta
Source: Amazon Ads
1 in 5
Amazon searches worldwide that included a brand name, 2025
The number behind every branded-search argument in a retail media audit.
Source: Amazon Ads
+30%
Units sold by brands using sponsored ads during Prime Day week 2025, attributed to advertising
Amazon's own attribution, global average.
Source: Amazon Ads
04Prime Video and streaming TV
The audience figures Amazon has put in writing for its ad-supported streaming inventory.
315M+
Prime Video average monthly ad-supported global reach, Sept 2024 to Aug 2025
Source: Amazon Ads
20
Countries where Prime Video will carry ads by the end of 2026, per Amazon Ads
16 as of March 2026, with Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Turkey being added during 2026.
Source: Amazon Ads
17.7M
Thursday Night Football average viewers over the first six games, 2026 season
Amazon citing Nielsen.
Source: Amazon (SEC)
31M+
Viewers of Prime Video's NFL Wild Card game, January 2026
The most-streamed NFL game in history, per Amazon.
Source: Amazon (SEC)
6.5M
Peak US viewers in the NBA's first season on Prime Video, 2025-26
Source: Amazon (SEC)
2.8M
Average US viewers of Prime Video's NBA Play-In Tournament coverage, April 2026
"Nearly 2.8 million", across six exclusive broadcasts.
Source: Amazon (SEC)
$4.99
Prime Video Ultra monthly price in the US from April 10, 2026
The ad-free add-on, up from $2.99 a month.
Source: 9to5Mac
05Walmart Connect
Walmart reports its advertising business in its quarterly releases. VIZIO is called out separately since the 2024 acquisition.
$6.4B
Walmart global advertising business, fiscal 2026 (year ended Jan 31, 2026)
"Nearly $6.4 billion", up 46% including VIZIO. Walmart Connect US grew 41% excluding VIZIO in Q4.
Source: Walmart (SEC)
+44%
Walmart Connect growth excluding VIZIO, Q1 FY27 (quarter ended April 30, 2026)
Global advertising grew 37% in the quarter.
Source: Walmart (SEC)
+43%
Walmart Connect growth excluding VIZIO, Q2 FY27 (quarter ended July 31, 2026)
Global advertising grew 38%; international advertising grew 20%, led by Flipkart Ads.
Source: Walmart
06Instacart
$331M
Instacart advertising and other revenue, Q3 2026
Up 23% year over year, equal to 3.1% of gross transaction value of $10.5 billion.
Source: Maplebear Inc. (SEC)
$297M
Instacart advertising and other revenue, Q2 2026
Up 16% year over year, 2.9% of gross transaction value.
Source: Maplebear Inc. (SEC)
$17B
Equity value of DoorDash's agreed acquisition of Instacart, announced October 29, 2026
$65.00 per share. Closing expected at the end of 2027 or the first half of 2028.
Source: DoorDash (SEC)
07eBay, Target and Kroger
$575M
eBay first-party advertising revenue, Q3 2026
Up 16%. Total advertising offerings were $607 million on GMV of $23.2 billion, up 15%.
Source: eBay (SEC)
$915M
Target advertising revenue (primarily Roundel), full-year 2025
Up from $649 million in 2024, a 41% increase by our arithmetic from Target's table.
Source: Target Corporation
$279M
Target advertising revenue, Q2 2026 (quarter ended August 1, 2026)
Up from $217 million a year earlier, about 29% by our arithmetic. First-half revenue was $525 million against $379 million.
Source: Target Corporation
+20.1%
Target non-merchandise sales growth, Q2 2026
Driven by Roundel ad revenue, Target Circle 360 membership and the Target+ marketplace, per Target.
Source: Target Corporation
+24%
Kroger Precision Marketing profit growth, Q2 2026 (quarter ended August 15, 2026)
Kroger reports profit growth for its retail media arm rather than revenue, so this figure isn't comparable with the others on this page.
Source: Kroger (SEC)
08Measurement and effectiveness
What buyers say about measuring the channel, from the IAB's 2026 State of Data study (430 US buy-side decision-makers) and WARC's 2026 effectiveness research.
39%
US buy-side decision-makers using incrementality tests, attribution and MMM together, 2026
76% use incrementality tests, 73% attribution and 67% marketing mix modeling, but only 39% use all three.
Source: IAB and BWG Strategy
60-75%
Marketers who say advanced measurement underperforms on rigor, coverage, timeliness, trust or efficiency, 2026
Source: IAB and BWG Strategy
50%
MMM users with visibility into the channel who say commerce media is underrepresented in their models, 2026
Source: IAB and BWG Strategy
-47%
Memory encoding for ads on Amazon and Walmart versus generic off-site environments, 2026
Strong creative lifted short-term brand choice 12% among undecided shoppers in the same study.
Source: WARC Media
Amazon's ad revenue, quarter by quarter
The one chart to keep handy. Amazon's advertising line is reported in its quarterly Form 8-K; these are the as-reported dollar figures, with the Prime Day quarter shifting from Q3 in 2025 to Q2 in 2026, which is why Q2 2026 jumps and Q3 2026 flattens.
As reported
Amazon advertising services revenue by quarter
US$ billions, as reported in Amazon's Form 8-K each quarter.
| Period | Advertising services revenue |
|---|---|
| Q4 '24 | $17.3B |
| Q1 '25 | $13.9B |
| Q2 '25 | $15.7B |
| Q3 '25 | $17.7B |
| Q4 '25 | $21.3B |
| Q1 '26 | $17.2B |
| Q2 '26 | $19.8B |
| Q3 '26 | $19.6B |
Who grew fastest in the latest quarter
Growth rates as each company reported them, on different metrics: Walmart and Target report advertising revenue, Instacart reports advertising and other revenue, eBay reports first-party advertising, Amazon reports advertising services. Kroger reports profit rather than revenue for Kroger Precision Marketing, so it isn't on this chart.
Latest reported quarter
Retail media growth, year over year
Each network on its own reported metric and quarter.
- Walmart Connect, ex-VIZIO (quarter ended Jul 31, 2026)+43%
- Target advertising revenue (quarter ended Aug 1, 2026)+29%
- Instacart advertising and other (Q3 2026)+23%
- eBay first-party advertising (Q3 2026)+16%
- Amazon advertising services (Q3 2026)+11%
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Walmart Connect, ex-VIZIO (quarter ended Jul 31, 2026) | +43% |
| Target advertising revenue (quarter ended Aug 1, 2026) | +29% |
| Instacart advertising and other (Q3 2026) | +23% |
| eBay first-party advertising (Q3 2026) | +16% |
| Amazon advertising services (Q3 2026) | +11% |
How we'd read these numbers
Three things we tell clients when these figures come up.
Amazon's percentage looks slow next to Walmart's, and it isn't. Amazon added roughly $1.9 billion of ad revenue in Q3 2026 alone, roughly twice Target's advertising revenue for all of 2025. Walmart's 43% is real growth on a base that's a fraction of the size. Plan the budget on dollars of inventory, not on growth rates.
The measurement figures are the ones worth bringing into the room. Only 39% of buyers combine incrementality, attribution and mix modeling, and half of the MMM users say commerce media is underrepresented in their models. That's the gap between what a retail media network reports and what a CFO will believe, and it's the reason we manage to a TACoS target rather than a ROAS target.
Prime Video's reach number changes what "retail media" means. A 315 million monthly ad-supported audience is upper-funnel television inventory sold by the same company that owns the checkout. If your streaming TV plan and your Amazon plan sit with different teams, the DSP and AMC work is where they get reconciled.
Common questions
How big is retail media in 2026?
WARC puts global retail media ad spend at $200.4 billion in 2026 and $223.4 billion in 2027, when it would be 15.2% of all worldwide ad spend. WPP Media's December 2025 outlook put 2026 above $190 billion. Both are forecasts, and both count Amazon, which is most of the US total and the biggest share of the global one.
What share of retail media does Amazon have?
About 78% of US retail media ad spending in 2025, with Walmart at 7.5% and every other network combined at 14.5%, according to Walrus Intelligence figures cited by WARC. Amazon's own advertising services revenue was $68.6 billion worldwide in 2025.
Which retail media network is growing fastest?
On the latest reported quarters, Walmart Connect grew 43% excluding VIZIO (quarter ended July 31, 2026), Target's advertising revenue grew about 29% (quarter ended August 1, 2026), Instacart's grew 23% (Q3 2026), eBay's first-party ads grew 16% (Q3 2026) and Amazon's grew 11% (Q3 2026). Amazon's base is many times larger than the rest, so a smaller percentage is still more dollars.
How often is this page updated?
Every time a new figure is verified, which in practice means after each quarterly earnings cycle and whenever Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect or the forecasters publish something new. The date at the top is the last substantive update, and each figure carries its own source date.
Every source on this page
Everything above is drawn from these documents. Where a figure is ours, the text says so. Spotted an error? Our corrections policy says how we fix it.
- 01WARC: Retail media ad market to top $200 billion as growth slows
The Desk, citing WARC
- 02The Future of Commerce Media 2026
WARC Media
- 03Global advertising spending to top $1 trillion in 2025
Marketplace, citing WPP Media
- 04
- 05
- 06Amazon.com, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025
Amazon (SEC)
- 07Amazon.com Announces Fourth Quarter Results
Amazon (SEC)
- 08Amazon.com Announces First Quarter Results
Amazon (SEC)
- 09Amazon.com Announces Second Quarter Results
Amazon (SEC)
- 10Amazon.com Announces Third Quarter Results
Amazon (SEC)
- 11Agentic shopping advertising
Amazon Ads
- 12
- 13unBoxed 2026 news announcements
Amazon Ads
- 14unBoxed Toronto 2026
Amazon Ads
- 15Alexa+ Agentic Ads
Amazon Ads
- 16Prime Video advertising 2026
Amazon Ads
- 17
- 18Walmart reports Q4 results
Walmart (SEC)
- 19Walmart reports first quarter results
Walmart (SEC)
- 20
- 21Instacart Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Maplebear Inc. (SEC)
- 22Instacart Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Maplebear Inc. (SEC)
- 23DoorDash to acquire Instacart
DoorDash (SEC)
- 24
- 25Disaggregation of Net Sales, Q2 2026
Target Corporation
- 26Target Corporation Reports Second Quarter Earnings
Target Corporation
- 27
- 28State of Data 2026: The AI-Powered Measurement Transformation
IAB and BWG Strategy