94% of advertisers value the ability to activate onsite, offsite and instore from a single platform, while 69% prefer to buy through retailer-led solutions, underscoring the demand for retailer-owned first-party data, a new study shows.
The report, created by Koddi in partnership with RetailX, examines how advertisers are investing in offsite channels, the growing competition among retailers to capture that spend, and the pressure for retailers to evolve into omnichannel media hubs that deliver relevant offers wherever consumers shop.
The report also details how marketers see social media as the reigning offsite champion, but video and CTV are gaining traction. The reports finds that, while 62% of advertisers are prioritising social media investments, 66% are increasing spend in shoppable video and immersive TikTok-style ads, and 52% are moving budget into streaming, where audiences are fragmenting.
In addition the research reveals that measurement and attribution remain the number one challenge – – and the key differentiator – with measurability and attribution driving investment decisions while 39% of advertisers struggle to compare results across platforms. Channels such as video, CTV and social are all seeing heavy investment from retailers in closed-loop measurement, while lower adoption of podcasts (23%) and DOOH (21%) likely reflects attribution challenges.
Appetite for curated deals is high too, with nearly 9 in 10 retailers and brands saying they want curated deals, signalling strong demand for packages that combine retailer first-party data with premium publisher inventory. Historically, offsite campaigns were routed through DSPs or direct publisher buys, but retailers are now emerging as data providers, using DSP integrations to deliver audience-rich curated packages that extend their influence beyond owned channels.
“Retail media has seen an explosion of interest, and as advertisers look to expand reach and scale, off-site and in-store channels need to be more accessible,” says Eric Brackmann, vice president of commerce media at Koddi. “But to be future-proof, retailers must provide a unified way to buy across on-site, off-site and in-store, powered by retailer data they trust. Off-site is primed for growth, and full-stack solutions that can truly manage across channels will be the ones that win. Retailers on disparate ‘frankenstacks’ will be left behind.”
Koddi partnered with The Human Instinct to conduct in-depth interviews with senior executives and retail media decision-makers who buy media from leading brands and agencies across the U.S. The study was conducted in Spring 2025. The full report is available to download here.
