Retail Media: in Italy is close to one billion euros. 200 billion dollars worldwide

This is the result for retail media, which in 2026 stands at around 920 million euros, considering all components. A significant increase compared with 2025, when the figure was 640 million.

The weight of on-site in retail media

The on-site market alone on-site (on the retailer’s website or app) and in-store reach 782 million euros, with a positive change of 23% compared with 2025.

On-site itself accounts for as much as 77% of the overall market, off-site for 15% and in-store for 8%.

These are the latest figures from the Retail Media Working Group of the Politecnico di Milano.

However, in terms of value, on-site accounts for 91% and is growing by 22%, while in-store accounts for 9% with a delta of +28%.

These figures are joined by approximately 130-140 million euros generated by off-site, a component that the Polimi study is measuring for the first time this year.

200 billion dollars globally

Globally, in 2026 the new medium is estimated at more than 200 billion dollars, +16% compared with 2025, equal to approximately 22% of digital advertising spend, and could exceed 300 billion by 2030.

China and the United States remain the leading markets, with 81 and 73 billion dollars respectively, accounting for approximately 77% of total investment.

Europe is also accelerating: in 2026 spending will amount to 20 billion euros, with a +23% compared with 2025, although the sector remains highly fragmented across national markets that differ in retailer structure, network maturity, technologies and measurement models.

A decisive change of pace

“Italian retail media is entering a new phase of development: the market is growing, the offering is expanding and, above all, the role that this tool plays in communication strategies is changing,” comments Denise Ronconi, Director of the Retail Media Working Group of the Digital Innovation Observatories at the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano.

“We are no longer talking solely about a medium close to conversion: the expansion into off-site, the growing interest of ‘non-endemic’ brands and the integration between channels make it possible to reach consumers throughout their entire journey, from awareness to purchase.

“This is an important step, because it takes retail media itself beyond an exclusively tactical approach and increasingly makes it a strategic lever in brands’ planning.”

Growth in Italy is being driven both by the launch of new initiatives and by the consolidation of the offering from major international e-commerce platforms and existing initiatives, also through technology and commercial partnerships.

Retail media? It is strategic for 44% of operators

From the perspective of users’ strategy and governance, in 44% of cases retail media is recognised as a strategic priority, with formal objectives, management sponsorship and dedicated resources.

It is primarily operators active at European level that present consolidated models: in 37% of cases the medium is considered a priority for the company and has an autonomous organisational structure.

There remain organisations where the issue is still being defined, 13%, with 6% recorded as “absent”.

In terms of technological infrastructure, the 46% of organisations have a customised and partially automated solution, configured for the company’s specific context, while 40% already have an advanced infrastructure, including proprietary or customised components, system integrations and extensive automation.

The situation is more heterogeneous in terms of channel coverage and integration: proprietary single-channel models coexist with 19%, multichannel configurations without integration, 6%, with partial integration, 25%, or integrated configurations, 19%.

In the most mature cases, which account for 31%, the result is orchestrated multichannel setups, with unified campaign management and cross-channel attribution logic.

Measurement remains problematic

Ultimately, however, the problem of measurement remains. Among the operators analysed in the study, the 31% still use basic approaches, focused primarily on exposure metrics, while at the other extreme, a further 31% already have complete and systematic systems.

Between these two extremes are integrated measurement systems (15%), multidimensional systems (8%) and incremental systems (15%). The critical issue, therefore, lies not so much in the lack of metrics as in the considerable lack of uniformity in the capabilities and results delivered to the market.

One of the most advanced elements, however, concerns the use of data: the 61% of respondents are at highly advanced levels, with predictive targeting, in which first-party data are enhanced through advanced segmentation, predictive models and formalised data-sharing frameworks with brands.

The commercial offering also shows a high level of development: in 61% of cases, the models are sophisticated and tailored, with fully customisable offerings built around the specific objectives of individual brands.

Note: the 2026 edition of the Retail Media Working Group of the Polimi School of Management was produced with the support of 5 Senses, Beintoo, Coop Italia, Douglas Marketing Solutions, Everli, Henkel Italia, In-store Media, Lavazza, Like Reply/Retail Reply, Médiaperformances, Numerika, Payback, Places Media, The Trade Desk, Valiuz and Var Group.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.