Retail Media Hits Reset as Brands Demand Proof

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As Cannes looms, brands are tightening retail media budgets and demanding sharper measurement, flexibility, and real ROI.

Retail media is facing a moment of reckoning. Once the darling of digital advertising, the channel is now under scrutiny as brands recalibrate their ad spend ahead of the Cannes Lions Festival.

According to Adweek, marketers are growing wary of premium pricing and inconsistent measurement across retail media networks (RMNs). Despite the sector’s 15% year-over-year growth and a projected $169 billion in global ad spend for 2025, advertisers are pulling back, not out of disinterest, but out of frustration.

“Brands are going to hold back, hold back, hold back — and then want to turn something in 24 hours or less,” said one retail media executive, highlighting the demand for agility and accountability.

The pressure is mounting as economic uncertainty, including shifting tariffs and geopolitical volatility, forces brands to seek more flexible, performance-driven solutions. Retailers that can offer real-time optimization and transparent attribution are poised to win.

Cannes Lions is responding to this shift by introducing a dedicated retail media subcategory in its Media Lions and Creative Commerce Lions awards. “We’ve seen a growing prominence in retail media across the industry,” said Marian Brannelly, awards director at Cannes Lions. The new category will recognize campaigns that strategically leverage retailer-owned channels to drive measurable outcomes.

WARC Media forecasts that retail media spend will surpass linear TV by 2026. But for that to happen, RMNs must evolve from fragmented ecosystems into streamlined, insight-rich platforms. As Lauren Wiener of Boston Consulting Group puts it, “The lofty visions must now translate to outcomes.”