{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Retail Media Breakfast Club","title":"Why Top Brands Are Building Their Own Retail Media Operating Systems (And Winning in 2026)","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":537,"description":"Here’s a riddle for you: what’s ugly, chaotic, color-coded, constantly changing but absolutely essential? If you guessed the family calendar, you’re correct. But I’m also talking about how brands are managing retail media in 2026.Today I unpack why the best-performing brands have stopped waiting for retailers to hand them a clean, unified dashboard, and are instead building their own operating systems on top of retail media networks. Drawing on fresh data from the fifth annual Stratably × Skai State of Retail Media report, I break down the widening gap between brands that are designing systems versus those still juggling platforms. I discuss measurement, incrementality, closed-loop attribution, retail media DSPs, and why only 12% of brands have truly integrated media and commerce data. If you’re still logging into eight dashboards and hoping your spreadsheet holds, this one’s for you!This episode is sponsored by Mirakl AdsTimeline[00:00] – The 'family calendar' riddle and why it perfectly describes retail media management today[01:15] – Inside the State of Retail Media report: 166 marketers, 40 interviews, and a growing systems gap[02:12] – The big numbers: 77% want better cross-network measurement, 68% want operational efficiency, and 52% are shifting budgets to retail media DSPs[03:16] – The 12% stat that should make you uncomfortable: integrating media spend with commerce data[04:00] – Why retail media measurement standards exist (but infrastructure fragmentation is still the real blocker)[06:30] – Retailers’ scaling problem, long-tail advertisers, and why brands are building self-serve control layers[08:00] – My spicy take: stop asking “Which retail media network should I add next?” and start asking “What system am I building?”Links & ResourcesDownload the fifth annual Stratably × Skai State of Retail Media report from Skai’s website here.Read my related articles:The Case for the ‘Long Tail’ of Retail Media NetworksRetail Media's Measurement Problem: It's Not...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/leXjG3eX2Oionus255cCT4ARULtDc4JRA6cGjzbnYvM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9hNDU3/ODBmMzkwODY0NDEx/ZGJhNDk2NDc0MWY4/NzcwMS5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}