As the holiday season intensifies, brands are using technology to stand out in a crowded market, creating memorable and value-driven shopping experiences. In response to evolving consumer behaviors, brands are moving from traditional ads to digital-first strategies that offer seamless, personalized interactions. Social commerce enables direct purchases via social media, while retail media networks are expanding to include streaming service partnerships, reaching consumers during their leisure time.

Major retailers such as Kroger, Walmart, and Instacart are leveraging these collaborations to expand their customer loyalty programs into advertising networks, offering new ways to engage consumers and capture national brand budgets. This article explores how these partnerships are reshaping brand advertising, the rationale behind merging entertainment with retail, and the future of these networks as they scale, with a focus on Amazon's playbook in the evolving retail media space.