Retail Media Trends, Benchmarks and Leadership with EMarketer's Sarah Marzano

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Sarah Marzano, Principal Analyst for Retail and Commerce Media at EMarketer, the go-to forecasts, data, and insights provider for marketing, advertising, andcommerce professionals.

Follow Sarah on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahzmarzano/
Follow EMarketer on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emarketer-inc/
Follow EMarketer online at: http://emarketer.com

Learn more about Sarah’s research report “Retail Media Networks: Trends, Benchmarks, and Leadership in 2025” here: https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-media-networks-trends-benchmarks-leadership-2025

Sarah answers these questions:

1. What led you to develop this new report on retail media networks. What were you hearing in the industry that made you believe this might resonate in terms of thought leadership?
2. Your report highlights *strong strategic conviction but uneven operational maturity* across RMNs. Where do you see the biggest disconnect between ambition and enablement today—and what’s driving that gap?
3. Any thoughts on how organizations can choose a model that will drive success?
4. Fewer than half of surveyed RMNs have cross-functional KPIs, and fewer than one-third tie incentives to merchandising teams. What’s preventing incentive alignment, and what does “good” look like?
5. Measurement and reporting ranked as *the most pressing challenge* for RMNs—especially proving incrementality. What innovations or methodological shifts do you expect will actually move the industry forward?
6. Survey respondents anticipate future growth from a mix of in-store, onsite, and offsite channels. What formats or surfaces do you see emerging as the *next big accelerators* of RMN revenue?
7. Respondents believe zero-click search and agentic AI will be *the most disruptive forces* shaping retail media over the next three years. How should brands and RMNs prepare for this shift?
8. RMNs say that next year, their top priorities will shift toward *tech modernization, data infrastructure, and off-site media acceleration.* What will separate the networks that actually deliver from those that simply aspire?
9. How do interested professionals learn more about this research report?

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