LAS VEGAS – At CES 2026, Albertsons Media Collective outlined how it is tightening measurement, expanding in-store media and using AI to link advertising more directly to sales outcomes.
Senior Vice President Brian Monahan said the network is focused on shared growth across brands, merchants and shoppers.
“We seek to live up to our name and drive collective growth,” Monahan said in this interview with Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan. “That includes real transparency about the impact of the advertising we deploy.”
Albertsons announced a new in-store measurement framework using test-and-control methodology at the store level. The goal is to measure true incremental sales lift.
“That allows us to get to true sales lift,” Monahan said, “by comparing test to control down to the store level.”
In-store media becomes smarter
Monahan said in-store media is no longer limited to basic radio or signage.
“What’s new is the ability to separate content management from ad serving,” he said. Beacon technology also helps measure effectiveness and frequency.
Albertsons views its platform as retail native, spanning from couch to checkout. Sales lift can be measured across connected TV, social platforms, apps, and stores.
Frequency across the full journey
One major learning has been the effect of coordinated frequency across channels.
“The more we can layer exposures onto the same shopper, the more aggregate lift we see,” Monahan said.
He said this insight is shifting strategies away from isolated tactics toward full-funnel storytelling.
AI search as a basket builder
Albertsons has rolled out an agentic search experience called Ask AI. The tool returns recommendations tied to shopper queries.
“So far, that agentic search has been really additive,” Monahan said. “It’s frankly a basket builder for us.”
Ingredient searches can generate recipes and product suggestions. The experience creates new opportunities for relevant ad placements.
Automation with human oversight
Monahan acknowledged that retail media still involves excessive manual work.
“There’s a lot of low-value manual work in retail media today,” he said. “There’s a lot we can automate, and we will.”
He emphasized that creativity still requires human judgment, especially given Albertsons’ long-standing local banners.
“I don’t think AI yet can figure out that level of storytelling,” Monahan said.
Standardizing measurement and ROAS
Measurement remains a persistent industry challenge. Monahan said Albertsons prioritizes true business impact as much as advertisers do.
“Retail media is the only medium where the buyer and seller want the same outcome,” he said.
He noted that ROAS calculations can vary widely. Small changes in assumptions can shift results by more than 30 percent.
Albertsons supports industry standards from groups like the IAB to enable consistent comparisons.
Investing heavily in in-store media for 2026
Looking ahead, Monahan said 2026 will focus on strengthening in-store media.
“In-store media is not for the faint of heart,” he said.
True in-store media requires content systems, ad servers, and return-path measurement. It also requires significant capital investment.
Albertsons plans to deploy next-generation hardware across thousands of stores. The aim is to unify offsite, onsite and in-store media across the shopper journey.
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