A man shops on Shein, a chinese e-commerce platform, during the Eid al-Adha holiday, in Hawalli. More Governorate, Kuwait, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua via Getty Images) Xinhua News Agency via Getty ImagesAdvertisers are begging for easier access to retail media networks. Research from ad server platform Koddi shows that 96% of media buyers say they "will certainly or will consider buying on-site media via a DSP (Demand Side Platform)," while 93% would shift non-retail budgets into retail media if they could transact programmatically. For retailers struggling to grow their high-margin advertising businesses beyond their core supplier base, connecting to demand-side platforms represents a clear path to unlock new revenue streams.Yet despite this obvious demand-supply mismatch, most retailers remain hesitant to integrate with multiple DSPs. Technical hurdles, competitive concerns, and internal bandwidth are some reasons why retailers aren’t immediately falling over themselves to integrate with the newest crop of DSPs that have entered the retail media space.As retail media networks face intensifying pressure to grow revenue while protecting their most valuable asset (first-party data), the decision of which DSPs to partner with has become increasingly complex.The Growing DSP LandscapeThe retail media DSP race has intensified dramatically as tech giants recognize the opportunity to capture a share of the large and growing retail media market.The current crop includes new faces as well as incumbents who are turning their focus to retail media.Google’s DV360 now offers "Retail Media Solutions" that pair retailer audiences with YouTube inventory.MORE FOR YOUMicrosoft is positioning itself as an aggregation point across retail media networks with its "Curate for Commerce" capability.Meta has launched explicit retail media APIs, allowing retailers like Best Buy to pipe loyalty and purchase data directly into Meta's ad system.The Trade Desk has become the preferred "independent" DSP with deep retail partnerships and UID2 leadership, making retail its fastest-growing vertical.Amazon maintains dominance through its closed-loop ecosystem but limits cross-retailer planning for advertisers.Yahoo focuses on being the off-site extension for retailers lacking DSP capabilitiesCriteo leverages its existing infrastructure powering 225 retailers worldwide.New entrants include ad-tech firms who have previously focused on the ad-serving technology for retailers

Placements.io, the leading advertising operations platform, announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with ITV, the UK's largest commercial broadcaster.