Retail media boom sparks acquisition race among ad agencies

MUMBAI: The latest shopping spree in advertising isn’t happening on Amazon or Walmart, it’s happening for the experts who know how to win on them. A fresh wave of dealmaking is sweeping through the advertising industry as agencies race to acquire specialist firms focused on Amazon and Walmart, underscoring the growing importance of retail media in the modern marketing ecosystem. According to an Adweek report, independent agencies are increasingly snapping up niche consultancies and commerce specialists as competition intensifies in one of advertising’s fastest-growing segments. The goal is straightforward, secure expertise, scale capabilities and claim a larger share of the retail media boom.

Companies including Podean, Harvest Group and EVOQ Group are among those actively pursuing acquisitions of smaller specialist firms with deep experience across Amazon and Walmart’s advertising and marketplace ecosystems. The acquisition rush reflects a broader shift in how brands are spending their marketing budgets. As advertisers seek clearer returns on investment and stronger links between advertising and sales, retail media networks have emerged as one of the industry’s most attractive growth opportunities.

Unlike traditional digital advertising, retail media allows brands to reach consumers much closer to the point of purchase. Platforms such as Amazon Ads and Walmart Connect combine vast pools of first-party shopper data with direct access to buying behaviour, creating highly targeted advertising environments that marketers increasingly view as indispensable. That growing influence has turned specialist talent into one of the industry’s most sought-after commodities.

Agencies are competing to recruit and acquire professionals skilled in marketplace optimisation, retail media buying, performance marketing, data analytics and campaign management. As brands invest more heavily in commerce-led advertising, expertise in navigating Amazon’s and Walmart’s ecosystems has become a critical differentiator. The consolidation trend also reflects how the agency landscape is evolving. Many of the larger commerce agencies were acquired by major holding companies in previous years, leaving independent firms looking further down the market for acquisition opportunities.

Rather than pursuing blockbuster transactions, agencies are increasingly stitching together specialised capabilities through smaller, targeted deals designed to strengthen their commerce and retail media offerings.

Private equity firms are helping fuel the trend. Investment groups backing agency networks are providing both capital and strategic support for acquisition programmes, enabling agencies to expand more aggressively and establish stronger positions within the rapidly evolving retail media ecosystem.

The shift comes at a time when retail media is reshaping the structure of the advertising industry itself. Once viewed as a niche extension of e-commerce, the channel has evolved into a central pillar of digital marketing strategies, forcing agencies to rethink team structures, service models and client relationships.

As competition intensifies, agencies are increasingly focused on offering end-to-end commerce solutions that combine marketplace management, retail media activation, analytics and performance optimisation under one roof. 

The message from the market is becoming difficult to ignore: in an advertising world increasingly driven by data, commerce and measurable outcomes, knowing how to win on Amazon and Walmart is no longer a specialist skill, it’s becoming a strategic necessity. And as the retail media gold rush gathers pace, agencies appear willing to buy that expertise rather than build it from scratch.