What: Real-Time Bidding emerges as a potential solution to retail media's fragmentation challenges, promising to standardise operations across more than 70 competing networks while addressing crucial technical hurdles.

Why it is important: As retail media spending prepares to surge by USD 10 billion in 2025, RTB's standardisation could democratise access to advertising inventory while solving critical measurement and integration challenges that currently limit growth.

The retail media landscape presents a significant paradox, with Amazon and Walmart commanding over 80% of all retail media spend despite the existence of more than 70 networks in North America alone. This fragmentation creates challenges for brands, who can typically manage only six retail media network relationships effectively. Real-Time Bidding (RTB) technology, which revolutionized digital advertising a decade ago, offers a potential solution by enabling automated buying and selling of ad impressions in milliseconds. The technology addresses three critical industry pain points: fragmentation and scale, measurement and transparency, and democratization of inventory. While technical challenges exist, particularly around latency and relevance in retail environments, advances in technology are beginning to overcome these barriers. Major platforms like Microsoft are already positioning themselves as aggregation points across retail media networks, suggesting that RTB's adoption in retail media is not a question of if, but when.

IADS Notes: The evolution towards RTB in retail media aligns with significant industry developments over the past year. February 2025 data shows retail media spending is set to increase by USD 10 billion, while Walmart's 30% advertising growth demonstrates the market's potential. Amazon's move to offer its advertising technology to other retailers in January 2025 suggests a path toward standardisation. This transformation is already affecting marketing budgets, with 70% of retail media spend being diverted from traditional channels. With U.S. retail media networks projected to reach USD 106 billion by 2027, RTB's potential to standardise operations could accelerate industry growth while democratising access to advertising inventory.

Why real-time bidding is retail media's next frontier