Best Buy Ads doubles advertiser base

Retail media is supposed to be the next great profit engine for stores. But online ad slots are getting crowded, and every retailer now has the same pitch — first-party data, closed-loop measurement, sponsored search. Best Buy is trying a different angle. It’s turning the physical store itself into media inventory, and that bet is suddenly big enough to win industry awards and pull in a lot more advertisers. (thedrum.com) ### What actually changed? The immediate news is that Best Buy Ads says it doubled its advertiser base and delivered more than 3,000 creative campaigns, a performance The Drum highlighted in awarding it Commerce Media Network of the Year. That matters because this is not just a branding exercise anymore — it suggests brands are buying Best Buy’s media network at real scale, not just testing it around holiday launches. (thedrum.com) ### Why is the store the interesting part? Because Best Buy already has what most retail media networks want but can’t fully replicate — a national physical footprint full of high-intent shoppers making expensive tech purchases. In September 2025, the company introduced “takeover packages” that let brands buy coordinated placement(thedrum.com), the store stops being just a place where ads influence sales and becomes the ad product itself. (corporate.bestbuy.com) ### Why do advertisers care? Electronics is a category where shoppers often want reassurance right before purchase. A laptop, TV, appliance, or phone is expensive enough that the last few minutes in the aisle still matter. Best Buy’s pitch is that a brand can tell a sequential story across screens and fixtures as a customer moves through the store, then connect that exposure to sales o(corporate.bestbuy.com)transactional revenue back to a customer ID, which is the kind of measurement claim advertisers love hearing. (modernretail.co) ### Is this only for brands Best Buy sells? No — and that’s part of the bigger shift. Best Buy has framed takeover packages for both endemic advertisers, like electronics brands already on its shelves, and non-endemic advertisers that want access to Best Buy’s audience. That opens the door to bigger media-style budgets, not just co-op trade spending from vendors trying to win a better endcap. (chiefmarketer.com) ### What makes Best Buy different from Amazon or Walmart? Scale is smaller, obviously. But the format is more tactile. Amazon owns search intent. Walmart owns everyday traffic. Best Buy owns a more deliberate shopping mission — people go there to compare devices, ask questions, and make considered purchases. That makes in-store creative more(chiefmarketer.com)are-foot Best Buy Studios hub, to keep campaign production moving fast enough for this model to work. (modernretail.co) ### What’s the catch? In-store media only works if the shopping experience still feels useful rather than cluttered. A flashy screen can create interest, but a customer buying a TV or laptop usually still wants a human recommendation, a comparison, or a quick explanation of tradeoffs. So the ad unit is only half the system. Store associates(modernretail.co)nference from how Best Buy’s model works in-store, not a direct company claim. (corporate.bestbuy.com) ### Why does this matter beyond Best Buy? Because retail media is now escaping the webpage. For years, the easiest version was digital — search ads, display ads, off-site targeting. Best Buy is showing the next phase: monetizing physical retail real estate as a measurable media channel. If that works, other specialty chains will copy it fast, especially the ones with high-consideration products and sales staff on the floor. (thedrum.com) ### Bottom line? Best Buy Ads is not just selling ad space next to product listings anymore. It’s selling the store visit itself — and turns out that may be the more defensible media asset. (thedrum.com)