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.

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.

In retail media, "endemic" refers to ads from brands that sell their products directly through a specific retailer, making the ads highly relevant to the shopping experience. On the other hand, "non-endemic" refers to ads from brands that do not sell products through that retailer. These ads use the retailer's platform to reach new audiences, offering a broader reach and targeting customer segments beyond the store's inventory.

By 2025, the media landscape will undergo seismic changes, driven by platform disruptions, regulatory shifts, and evolving consumer preferences. These changes will challenge brands, creators, and consumers but also open new opportunities.