What: Macy’s partnership with Amazon’s Retail Ad Service is helping the retailer attract new brands and boost advertiser confidence by leveraging Amazon’s ad tech within its media network.

Why it is important: The partnership demonstrates how leveraging established technology platforms can reduce friction for advertisers, enhance campaign performance, and strengthen retailer credibility in a crowded media landscape.

Macy’s collaboration with Amazon’s Retail Ad Service marks a significant step in the evolution of retail media, as the department store giant integrates Amazon’s advanced ad tech to streamline campaign management and attract over 175 new brands to its sponsored product offerings. By tapping into Amazon’s reputation for targeting and measurement, Macy’s Media Network has improved advertiser confidence and provided a more seamless, efficient experience for brands already familiar with Amazon’s ecosystem. This partnership reflects the growing trend of “coopetition” in retail media, where traditional rivals collaborate to deliver greater value and reach in an increasingly competitive and fragmented market. As advertisers become more selective and demand higher performance from retail media networks, Macy’s move to leverage established technology platforms positions it as a credible, tech-enabled media solution. The collaboration not only reduces operational friction for advertisers but also enhances Macy’s ability to compete for ad dollars and drive incremental revenue in a maturing retail media landscape.

IADS Notes: Macy’s partnership with Amazon’s Retail Ad Service (RAS) is emblematic of the rapid evolution and growing complexity of the retail media landscape in 2025–2026. As detailed by Retail Dive (August 2025), Macy’s is leveraging Amazon’s ad-serving and measurement tools to streamline campaign management and offer advertisers greater efficiency, scale, and performance—while maintaining control over its own ad experience and data privacy. This collaboration is part of a broader industry shift, as documented by Internet Retailing (December 2025), toward curated, high-quality inventory, transparent supply paths, and the integration of AI for campaign optimisation and measurement. The sector’s maturation is further highlighted by MBS (July 2025), which notes that retail media has become a strategic imperative, with first-party data and measurable advertising impact driving a projected 10% share of UK ad spend and doubling retailer margins in some cases. Forbes (April 2025) underscores the importance of Real-Time Bidding (RTB) as a solution to fragmentation and standardisation challenges, with Amazon’s move to offer its ad tech to other retailers accelerating this trend. The projected $74 billion in retail commerce media ad spend by 2026 (Internet Retailing, July 2025) and Macy’s own $155 million in media network revenue demonstrate the sector’s explosive growth and the critical role of data-driven, multi-platform strategies. Collectively, these sources illustrate how Macy’s is positioning itself at the forefront of retail media innovation, embracing “coopetition” and digital partnerships to drive new revenue streams, enhance advertiser confidence, and adapt to the demands of a maturing, value-driven retail media ecosystem.

How Macy’s Media Network navigates complex ‘coopetition’ with Amazon