Retail Media’s Breakout Moment in 2025

Retail media’s rise in India has been anything but accidental. What began as small experimental spends on platforms like Amazon and Flipkart quietly matured into one of the fastest-growing and most influential advertising channels in the country. By 2025, retail media wasn’t just part of the plan it was the plan.What truly set 2025 apart was retail media’s ability to finally close the long-standing gap between advertising exposure and actual sales. No more guessing games, no more chasing vanity metrics. Retail media delivered something marketers had been craving for years: clear, measurable proof that advertising spend could directly drive business outcomes.

This shift was especially visible across quick commerce and food delivery platforms, where ads moved closer than ever to the moment of purchase. Retail media evolved from being “nice to test” into a decisive growth lever confident, accountable, and impossible to ignore.

The Numbers That Sealed the Deal

The data tells a compelling story. In FY25, advertising revenues across leading commerce platforms Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra  crossed ?71,500 crore, marking a robust 26% year-on-year growth. The festive season only turned up the heat further. During the 2025 festive period, e-commerce and quick commerce platforms together generated over ?72,000 crore in ad revenues, nearly 25% higher than the previous year.According to WPP’s This Year Next Year (TYNY) report, retail media ad revenues in India are projected to grow 26.4% in 2025 to approximately ?24,280 crore and are expected to cross ?30,000 crore by 2026, accounting for nearly 15% of total advertising spend. At this scale, retail media now ranks among the largest digital advertising channels in the country.

But beyond the growth, what truly changed in 2025 was the mindset. As Karthik Shankar, Head of Digital Investments at WPP Media India, put it, retail media became core because it uniquely merged media metrics with business outcomes. Brands could finally track ROAS, conversion lift and sales impact with precision  and that clarity was irresistible.

From Experiment to Essential

Several forces converged in 2025 to push retail media firmly into the mainstream. Consumers were spending more time inside commerce ecosystems, quick commerce normalised instant fulfilment, and brands faced increasing pressure to justify every marketing rupee. Meanwhile, rising digital clutter and diminishing returns from traditional performance channels made reliance on clicks and impressions feel outdated.Retail media arrived at the perfect intersection  combining authenticated shoppers, real purchase data and intent-driven targeting. Brands realised they were no longer advertising to abstract audiences, but to shoppers who were already halfway to checkout.

Manish Sharma, President, Arena India (Havas Media Network India), noted that 2025 marked the year retail media became planned, not opportunistic. What once sat as test budgets under performance marketing now commanded 15–25% of digital spends for many brands  and even more in categories driven by launches or strong commerce dynamics.This growth didn’t just scale budgets; it reshaped media strategy. Upper-funnel channels focused on building desire and brand equity, while retail media confidently took charge of conversion and validation — effortlessly connecting storytelling with sales.

The Last-Mile Conversion Advantage

For many brands, retail media’s real magic lay in its timing. Unlike traditional digital ads that reach consumers well before they’re ready to buy, retail media met shoppers right at the moment of intent.“For us, retail media is a demand-capture channel,” said Rajat Jadhav, Co-founder and CEO of Bold Care. While social and search continued to drive awareness, retail media delivered last-mile conversions, making media planning more fluid and outcome-led.

Madhav Kasturia, Founder and CEO of Zippee, echoed this sentiment, pointing out how retail media reduced wasted ad spend. By moving ads closer to purchase, brands could finally influence decisions when intent already existed  improving ROI, attribution and confidence in spends.For D2C and FMCG brands alike, retail media in 2025 became less about awareness and more about distribution leverage. Visibility was bought exactly where decisions were made, not hoped for weeks earlier.

Balancing Digital Precision with Physical Scale

While retail media surged, experts caution against viewing it in isolation. Anjana Ghosh, Managing Director at Scale Sherpas, noted that although brands reallocated budgets towards retail media, overall spends often remained flat due to margin pressures.

General Trade still accounts for nearly 80% of India’s consumer volume, making it impossible to ignore. The smartest brands, she said, are balancing both worlds using retail media for precision and engagement, while relying on General Trade and BTL activities for scale and sustained market share.

The Channel That Changed the Game

By the end of 2025, one thing was undeniable: retail media didn’t just grow fast  it fundamentally changed how performance marketing is defined in India. It exposed the limitations of broad-reach tactics in a ROI-obsessed era and nudged the industry towards a more unified, outcome-driven ecosystem.As retail media moves from rapid adoption to deeper integration across media, commerce and distribution, the real intrigue now lies in what 2026 will bring. If 2025 was the year retail media came of age, the next chapter might just be where it steals the show.