What to expect from the next phase of retail media

Rapid growth means some marketers find the retail media landscape a tangled web of platforms and creative specs.

By ,
Head of Content & Media
Published on April 8, 2026 • Last updated on April 8, 2026 • 2 minutes read

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    There are more ways to reach consumers than ever before, and the retail media space is a great example. What started as ads on ecommerce sites to put brands in front of consumers at the point of purchase now includes financial services and even delivery services.

    Today, the retail media space has a fragmentation problem, because marketers who want to buy media across the different channels and sites often find themselves working with each individual platform. 

    Retail media will also face a challenge from AI, as LLMs and AI agents begin to flatten the traditional purchase funnel.

    In this episode of Conversations with MarTech, we’re talking to Tom Richards, SVP of global product at MiQ, about the current state of the future of retail media.

     Episode guide

    1:15: Meet Tom Richards
    2:46: Where is the retail space right now, in terms of maturity and continued growth? 
    5:53: How does fragmentation impact marketers’ ability to actually understand performance?
    8:23: What will the retail media landscape look like over the next 12 months and beyond? 
    11:35: What impact will retail media see as AI helps flatten the purchase funnel?

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    Mike Pastore
    Head of Content & Media

    Mike Pastore is the Head of Content & Media at Third Door Media, the publisher of the Martech and Search Engine Land websites and the producer of the SMX and MarTech Conferences. In nearly three decades in B2B marketing, Mike has worked as an editor, writer, and marketer. He first wrote about marketing in 1998 for internet.com (later Jupitermedia). He then worked with marketers at some of the best-known brands in B2B tech, creating content for marketing campaigns at both Jupitermedia and QuinStreet. Prior to joining Third Door Media as the Editorial Director of the MarTech website, he led demand generation at B2B media company TechnologyAdvice.

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