Agentic commerce continues to spark tension across the industry. Today, I’m diving straight into one of the biggest debates: whether Amazon’s refusal to embrace open agent interoperability means agentic shopping is doomed. This conversation was inspired by ad industry analyst Eric Seufert, whose skepticism about agentic commerce I genuinely value. But as I explain, there are several key assumptions baked into his argument I simply don’t buy.

I break down why Amazon’s structural advantages don’t automatically translate to veto power over agentic commerce, why grocery is the actual battleground to watch, why Walmart and other retailers hold more leverage than expected, and how interoperability economics make an agent-driven future increasingly inevitable. Most importantly, I share why retailers shouldn’t play a game of chicken with Amazon.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline

[00:00] Why Eric Seufert’s skepticism about agentic commerce is healthy.
[01:30] Breaking down Amazon’s structural advantages and the Rufus effect.
[03:36] The flaw in assuming agentic commerce requires Amazon’s participation.
[06:30] Why grocery — not general ecommerce — is the true agentic battleground.
[08:30] The signal that Amazon already sees lower-funnel risk ahead.
[10:46] Interoperability economics and why most retailers want agents to thrive.
[12:26] Why Amazon isn’t the only car in the agentic commerce “game of chicken.”

Links & Resources

• Eric Seufert threw down the gauntlet against agentic shopping a couple of months ago in his essay Agentic Commerce is a Mirage
• Recently, Eric revisited one of those arguments on LinkedIn: Amazon as gatekeeper
• Follow Eric Seufert on LinkedIn
• Read my related articles:
  • Unfiltered Thoughts From Unboxed
  • Have Retailers Lost Discovery to AI for Good?
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

In this episode of the Retail Media Breakfast Club, I reflect on a recent conversation from the a16z Podcast and the surprisingly relevant lessons that venture capital can teach retail media networks. Listening to Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, and Margit Wennmachers talk about how a16z deliberately broke VC’s long-standing “code of silence” reminded me so much of the paradoxes I saw back when I ran my Amazon agency. In short; everyone wanted transparency, but no one wanted to contribute to it.

Today I'm breaking down five powerful marketing lessons from the world of VC that retail media networks can apply right now to stand out and build real relationships with brands. From redefining who the true customer is, to creating genuinely useful content, to bundling value in ways that go far beyond ad inventory — these highlights completely reframed how I think about RMN differentiation.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline

[00:00] Why clients loved my agency's work but refused to give testimonials (and how this quandary mirrors retail media’s transparency problem)
[01:11] Lesson 1: Redefining who the real customer is (and why retailers struggle with B2B motions)
[03:04] Lesson 2: Creating content that actually serves brand advertisers instead of repeating the same three USPs
[05:39] Lesson 3: Building direct channels instead of relying on trade-press-only PR strategies
[07:36] Lesson 4: The “bundling” model inspired by Hollywood talent agencies (and its RMN equivalent)

Links & Resources

• Watch full a16z episode on YouTube - The Secret Marketing Strategy That Built a16z: From Zero to Legendary VC Firm
• Subscribe to the a16z Podcast
• Read my related articles:
  • Why RMNs Keep Their Tech Stacks Secret
  • How Can RMNs Tap Upper-Funnel Brand Budgets
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

In this episode, I expand on my latest column in The Drum, where I unpack new data showing that Amazon now averages 25+ sponsored products per page load—far more than Walmart or Home Depot. Despite fears that ad overload would harm the customer experience, Amazon maintains near-universal ad coverage while keeping relevance high, even on complex long-tail searches. That level of performance is only possible because Amazon invested early in sophisticated ad tech capable of matching ads to intent across every type of query.

I also explore why Amazon’s high-density ad surface still works economically. By expanding formats and inventory, Amazon moderates CPC inflation while still driving huge revenue volumes—something most mid-tier retailers can’t replicate without upgrading their ad tech. For retailers, brands, and agencies, Amazon’s model is both a blueprint and a warning: dense ad monetization only works if relevance, user experience, and supply all scale together.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline

00:00 – Amazon really is a sea of ads!
00:30 – How Amazon’s ad load compares to Walmart and Home Depot
01:35 – Why Amazon’s dense ad surface still works
02:45 – Long-tail queries and why most retailers fail to monetize them
04:00 – The “doom loop” for mid-tier retail media networks
05:10 – Amazon’s Unified Campaign Manager and keeping relevance high
06:45 – The economics of abundant inventory and moderated CPCs
08:15 – What Amazon’s ad saturation means for everyone else

Links & Resources

• Read my full article on The Drum - You're not imagining it: Amazon really is a sea of ads (and it still works)
• Get Pentaleap's H2 2025 Sponsored Products Benchmarks Report
• Read my articles:
  • The Retail Media Doom Loop
  • Best Buy Wants To Become An Ad Platform, Not Just Another RMN
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

In today’s episode, I dig into one of the biggest internal conflicts inside retail organizations—the clash between merchant teams and retail media teams. One side is incentivized to fill every available ad slot, the other is responsible for driving product sales, and shoppers are the ones caught in the crossfire. As Charlie Munger said, “Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome,” and retail media is no exception.

I share highlights from a recent LinkedIn Live with Andreas Reiffen, CEO and co-founder of Pentaleap, whose 2025 Sponsored Products Benchmark Report exposes cracks in the old model of separating organic search from sponsored placements. We unpack why retailers are finally beginning to merge these two systems into a single, relevance-driven engine, and how this “fluid” approach could end the long-running merchant vs. media standoff once and for all.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline

02:15 — The incentive problem: why merchant and media teams often work against each other
03:30 — Andreas explains why onsite search tech already solved relevance years ago
05:12 — The consequences of running two ranking engines that don’t communicate
05:56 — The Fifth Avenue analogy: how fixed ad slots waste precious digital real estate
07:00 — How dynamic, margin-based ranking blends organic + sponsored into one algorithm
09:13 — Macy’s and Home Depot shift from fixed to fluid sponsored product distribution
10:45 — A key question brands should ask every retailer about their algorithm setup

Links & Resources

• Watch the full replay of my LinkedIn Live with Andreas Reiffen
• Get Pentaleap's H2 2025 Sponsored Products Benchmarks Report
• Follow Andreas Reiffen on LinkedIn
• Read my articles:
  • 3 New Developments In RTB (Real Time Bidding) For Retail Media
  • Have Retailers Lost Discovery to AI for Good?
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

In this 'Snips' episode, I unpack some of the most thought-provoking ideas from tech analyst Benedict Evans’ recent interview on The Knowledge Project, specifically his comparison of AI to the invention of the iPhone. Not electricity. Not the Industrial Revolution. The iPhone. And the second-order effects of that comparison are much more relevant than you might think for retail media and the future of commerce.

I explore what this platform shift means for retailers, retail media networks, and the shopping journey as we know it. From behavior resets to disappearing data moats, to the existential risk facing both onsite and offsite RMN revenue, I break down why AI-enabled shopping represents a genuine unbundling of the retail experience, and why the window to respond is rapidly closing.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline

[00:22] – Why Benedict Evans compares AI not to electricity, but to the iPhone (and why that matters).
[01:37] – How early assumptions about mobile were completely wrong, and what that teaches us about today’s AI shift.
[03:06] – What retailers are getting wrong by treating AI like a “feature” instead of a platform transition.
[04:30] – Understanding the consumer behavior reset that threatens retail sites as the starting point for shopping.
[06:11] – Why onsite retail media revenue is vulnerable when LLMs intercept the shopping journey.
[10:20] – The shrinking window for retailers to build AI-native consumer habits before external agents capture them.

Links & Resources

• Watch the full Benedict Evans appearance on The Knowledge Project Podcast - Why Everyone Is Wrong About AI (Including You) | Benedict Evans
• Subscribe to The Knowledge Project Podcast YouTube channel
• Follow Benedict Evans on LinkedIn
• Read my related articles:
  • Have Retailers Lost Discovery to AI for Good?
  • Maybe Ads in AI Don't Have To Suck?
• I'll be diving into the findings of the Pentaleap H2 2025 Sponsored Products Benchmark report with Pentaleap co-founder and CEO Andreas Reiffen on Thursday December 4 at 11AM ET! Join us LIVE here
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

Costco has always been the effortlessly cool kid of the retail media world: unbothered by hype, quietly confident, and doing things entirely on its own terms. In this episode, I unpack what makes Costco’s retail media approach so different from the 80+ U.S. retail media networks vying for attention, and why their “member-first, margin-second” philosophy is more than just a tagline.

After digging through Mark Williamson (Retail Media AVP at Costco) interviews, I piece together a clearer picture of how Costco is building a retail media business that deeply aligns with its culture, elevates member value, and defies the standard playbook. I explore their unique team structure and ruthlessly disciplined data foundation, as well as the philosophical stance that guides every media decision they make.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline

[00:19] – Why Costco avoids the splashy retail media hype and plays the long game
[02:53] – Mark Williamson explains why “monetization” isn’t even in Costco’s vocabulary
[04:47] – The uncompromising member-first philosophy and how it blocks “free money”
[07:15] – How Costco’s Growth Management Team bridges merchants and media
[09:00] – Why retail media revenue is immediately reinvested into merchandising
[10:10] – The power of 100% member-identified transactions and deterministic data

Links & Resources

• This episode expanded on my recent article for The Drum - Costco: the retail media network that refuses to promote itself
• The Commerce Collective full episode with Mark Williamson - Putting Members First: How Value Guides Costco’s Retail Media Vision
• The CPG Guys full episode with Mark Williamson - Media that Drives Retail Sales with Costco’s Mark Williamson
• Follow Mark Williamson, Retail Media AVP at Costco, on LinkedIn
• Read my articles:
  • The ‘How Brands Grow’ Dogma Wants To Have A Word With Retail Media
  • How Can RMNs Tap Upper-Funnel Brand Budgets
• I'll be diving into the findings of the Pentaleap H2 2025 Sponsored Products Benchmark report with Pentaleap co-founder and CEO Andreas Reiffen on Thursday December 4 at 11AM ET! Join us LIVE here
• Are you based in Atlanta or plan to be in the ATL area on Weds Dec 3rd? Join me and a couple dozen of your new retail media industry besties for a festive happy hour! Register here
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn

This week, I’m digging into a fiery debate that lit up LinkedIn — one that questions whether retail media is measuring the right things at all. After reading a thought-provoking post from Steve Gray, I found myself going down a rabbit hole of insights, rebuttals, and philosophical clashes about how brands actually grow—and what retail media should be optimizing for. Spoiler: the answers aren’t as simple as ROAS and impressions.

In this episode, I unpack the tension between Byron Sharp’s “How Brands Grow” principles and the reality of how budgets get allocated in retail media today. You’ll hear perspectives from industry leaders pushing back on performance-only thinking, calling for better context, better metrics, and a more nuanced understanding of the messy, chaotic shopper journey. If you’ve ever wondered why the theory sounds so elegant but the execution feels so broken, this one is for you.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline

[00:22] – The LinkedIn post from Steve Gray that kicked off this entire discussion
[01:16] – A quick primer on How Brands Grow and why penetration matters more than loyalty
[02:45] – Steve Gray’s call for new metrics and why retail media struggles to operationalize them
[04:51] – Jordan Witmer's argument for why impression-based models misread retail media
[06:13] – Yuni Baker-Saito's warning that marketers are over-relying on measurement at the expense of context
[07:46] – Anne Hallock's “chaos pendulum” and why the shopper journey no longer follows a clean funnel
[09:15] – Why brands still default to ROAS, and why retail media keeps selling it despite its limits

Links & Resources

• This episode expanded on my recent article for The Drum - The ‘How Brands Grow’ crowd need to have a word with retail media
• The LinkedIn post from Steve Gray that kickstarted the debate
• Read my articles:
  • Retail Media's Measurement Problem: It's Not Just the Retailers
  • How Can RMNs Tap Upper-Funnel Brand Budgets
• Are you based in Atlanta or plan to be in the ATL area on Weds Dec 3rd? Join me and a couple dozen of your new retail media industry besties for a festive happy hour! Register here
• Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletter
• Follow Kiri on LinkedIn