GROCERYSHOP 2026 RECAP: 6 RETAIL MEDIA STRATEGY SHIFTS CPG BRANDS SHOULD PLAN FOR
What Target, AI shopping assistants and iROAS mean for your retail media strategy heading into 2027.
What did Groceryshop 2026 reveal about retail media strategy?
Retail media is growing up. At Groceryshop 2026, it was judged less like a media line item and more like a business partner, one that has to prove incremental sales, work across the full funnel and adapt to AI-driven shopping.
The DIGITS team attended Groceryshop in Las Vegas from September 22 to 24, our seventh year in a row. With most brands finalizing 2027 plans now, these six shifts should shape how budgets get set and how results get judged. Shoppers are cost-conscious but still pay for convenience, and more of them now use AI to plan meals and shop.
Key Takeaways at a Glance
- Target is leaning in on founder-led launches and coordinated promotions.
- AI shopping is meal-first, not SKU-first.
- The digital shelf is now a media asset.
- iROAS is the KPI brands are asking for.
- Retail media is going full-funnel.
- Digital promotions are an unsolved opportunity.
What is Target doing differently in retail media and merchandising?
Target showed up in force, with the Roundel team on the floor and two Target leaders on the program. One session covered Target’s wellness merchandising strategy in food and its goal of becoming the #1 launch destination for founder-led brands. The other stressed that syncing promotions and media is becoming more important.
That matches what we see in practice. A Target Circle offer with no media behind it reaches few shoppers, and media on a full-price item misses the moment a promotion would have converted. When offers, search and display run on one calendar, each makes the others work harder.
For emerging brands, that’s an open door with a short runway. New items launch with no sales history, reviews or search demand, so velocity has to be built on purpose:
- Target search coverage in place before launch day
- Target Circle offers backed by media, so shoppers see them
- Complete product content at launch
- A velocity benchmark read weekly, not at quarter end
How are AI shopping assistants changing grocery retail media?
Shoppers are starting with a need, not a product. Instacart CEO Chris Rogers described an assistant that answers “give me a healthy meal for my kids under $40” using the shopper’s retailer and dietary preferences. Kroger’s AI session said reducing that kind of friction has already produced larger baskets.
DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang shared the clearest numbers. According to DoorDash, shoppers using its AskDoorDash assistant bought 60% more unique SKUs than traditional shoppers because they shop for meals. A PepsiCo speaker added that 1 in 3 U.S. grocery shoppers already use AI for shopping.
The open question is disintermediation. If AI assistants own more of the path to purchase, retailer shopping journeys and the ad placements inside them could change.
AI shopping isn’t a future scenario. It’s already producing larger baskets, and brands should prepare for it the same way they prepare for search.
Why is the digital shelf now part of your retail media strategy?
When an assistant builds the basket, product content decides which brands get picked. DoorDash’s advice was direct: keep your catalog current and hold your content to a high standard. DoorDash also cited Google findings that searches are getting longer as people ask AI full questions.
An assistant building a “gluten free, kid-friendly dinner” can only recommend products whose attributes say so. The priorities are complete item data, plainly stated dietary and use-case attributes, titles written the way shoppers ask questions, and strong review volume. The same content also drives organic search, conversion and the performance of paid media sent to product pages.
Paid media gets shoppers to the shelf. Product content decides whether they pick your brand.
Why are more brands asking for iROAS instead of ROAS?
Brands want proof that media drives sales that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. On the in-store retail media panel, a Loblaw leader called for proving new customers and acquisition cost against a credible baseline, even when results are unflattering. Panelists added that in-store media needs its own version of Nielsen ratings to win national budgets.
In our conversations at the show, iROAS came up again and again, and retailers are getting better at delivering it. Our view: incremental sales matter more than incidental sales. Alongside iROAS, the EMARKETER session with P&G and PepsiCo pointed to new buyers, repeat buyers, household penetration and share of category.
A measurement approach that can show a poor result is the only kind that makes a strong result believable.
Where are retail media budgets heading beyond on-site search?
On-site search isn’t going away, but offsite and upper-funnel media are on more brands’ radars. Groceryshop’s session on retail media growth challenges named full-funnel measurement as both the hurdle and the opportunity, as brands use first-party shopper data higher in the funnel.
Fragmentation is the obstacle. Instacart’s CEO noted that brands are asked to join hundreds of retail media networks. P&G’s answer was long-term RMN partnerships instead of one-off campaigns. With 71% of PepsiCo’s customers shopping omnichannel, coverage matters. But coverage without a system turns into dozens of small campaigns no one can properly evaluate.
Why haven’t digital promotions reached their potential?
More CPGs want digital promotions to drive trial and loyalty, but no retailer or solution provider has cracked the code. The technology works. The shopper experience doesn’t. Clipping, activating, qualifying and redeeming add too many steps to perform at scale.
As an agency that manages Target Circle offers at high volume, we see how much results depend on offer strategy and timing. Whoever makes digital promotions easy for shoppers will unlock significant value for brands and retailers. Until then, choose offers carefully, pair them with media and measure incremental impact, not just redemptions.
What You Can Do Next
- Audit your digital shelf. Fix item data, attributes and titles for your top SKUs before planning season ends.
- Put promotions and media on one calendar, with extra media weight during offer windows.
- Ask every retail media partner for iROAS against a clear baseline.
- Rank your networks by sales contribution and strategic role, and commit long term to your core partners.
- Test one full-funnel program in 2027, pairing offsite media with on-site search at a core retailer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is iROAS, and how is it different from ROAS?
ROAS measures all attributed sales per dollar of media, including sales that would have happened anyway. iROAS (incremental return on ad spend) measures only the additional sales the media caused, usually against a control group or baseline. It gives brands a more accurate picture of what retail media actually delivers.
Will retail media influence AI shopping recommendations?
It’s too early to say. Retailers haven’t publicly explained how sponsored placements will fit into AI assistants’ recommendations. Until they do, the safest bet is the one brands control: complete, accurate product content that gives an assistant every reason to recommend your products.
Is on-site retail search still worth the investment?
Yes. On-site search captures shoppers at the moment of purchase, and nothing at Groceryshop suggested that’s changing. What’s changing is the rest of the plan. Brands are adding offsite and upper-funnel media around search and measuring the combined incremental impact.
Groceryshop 2026 confirmed that retail media is maturing. The brands that win in 2027 will be the easiest to find, understand and buy, and the most disciplined about measuring what works.
Which of these shifts will your team plan for first?
About DIGITS Agency
DIGITS is an omnichannel retail media agency specializing in Target, regional grocers, and alcohol retail media. As a Target Managed Services partner, Roundel Media Studio Certified agency, and Walmart Connect Partner, DIGITS helps CPG brands navigate retail media with strategic planning, hands-on campaign management, and proprietary analytics. Learn more at www.digitsagency.com.
Dave Glaza, Founder & CEO of DIGITS, remains committed to bringing digital capabilities to physical stores.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidglaza/
Follow DIGITS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digits-agency/
