India’s retail media market is entering a decisive phase. What began as a lower-funnel performance channel has evolved into a full-funnel growth engine, shaped by trusted shopping environments, first-party data, and the demand for measurable outcomes. As 2026 approaches, brands are no longer debating relevance, but capability.
By the end of 2025, the single biggest driver behind retail media’s growth was the convergence of first-party shopping signals with full-funnel advertising capabilities. In a fragmented, post-cookie ecosystem, retail platforms emerged as one of the few environments where intent, discovery, and trust coexist at scale.
Priyanka Khaneja Gandhi, Head, Marketing & Creative Solutions, Amazon Ads India, points to this convergence as the foundation of retail media’s momentum.
“The biggest driver of India’s retail media surge is the convergence of first-party shopping signals with full-funnel advertising capabilities. With 88% customers preferring retail media to try new brands or products due to easy discovery and high trust, brands now have an opportunity to reach shoppers from awareness to conversion. To succeed in 2026, brands should adopt full-funnel strategies using holistic measurement that connect display, search, and video – all powered by rich shopping signals that drive measurable outcomes.”
According to a YouGov Consumer Study conducted in August 2025, 88% of customers prefer retail media to discover new brands or products due to ease of discovery and higher trust.
Together, these views underline a single shift shaping India’s retail media boom. Growth is no longer about where brands advertise, but how well they connect shopping signals across the funnel, activate them through intelligent systems, and show up with consistent brand meaning across every consumer touchpoint. In its next phase, retail media will reward integration, not isolation.
As retail media scales, complexity is rising. Managing campaigns across marketplaces, D2C platforms, and connected commerce environments now demands more than basic automation. Medhavi Singh, Country Head, Criteo India, believes the next wave of growth will be driven by agentic AI and deeper operational intelligence.
“As we look toward 2026, the real transformation lies not just in increased automation, but in the rise of agentic AI. Marketers are calling for more precise attribution, real-time partner transparency, and flexible self-service tools for campaign activation and optimization. Moving forward, teams will need a new blend of competencies, including strong data literacy, comfort with AI-led decisioning, and the ability to work across open, connected ecosystems. In 2026, the winners will be those who unify data responsibly, embrace interoperability, and leverage emerging agentic AI to scale both efficiency and creativity in commerce media.”
Consumer behaviour is adding another layer to this evolution. Indian shoppers now move fluidly between marketplaces, brand-owned D2C platforms, and offline retail, making cross-touchpoint visibility critical. Prajakta Rathe, Deputy General Manager, Reliance Retail, sees this expanded visibility as a core growth driver.
“The single biggest factor driving India’s retail media growth is the explosion of consumer visibility across multiple touchpoints – marketplaces, own D2C, and even offline environments that still shape discovery and trust. As shoppers move fluidly between these worlds, brands must double down on brand-first storytelling and sustained product innovation. In 2026, the winners will be those who build equity consistently while meeting consumers wherever they choose to browse, compare, or buy.”
Looking ahead, India’s retail media opportunity will not be defined by scale alone. The brands that succeed in 2026 will be those that move beyond siloed performance tactics, adopt true full-funnel strategies, invest in holistic measurement, and balance data-led precision with brand building. As retail environments become central to how consumers discover and decide, retail media’s next chapter will belong to brands that integrate intelligence, creativity, and trust into one connected growth approach.
