Retail Media’s Goal is Effortless Shopping, Not Just More Ad Inventory: Mirakl’s Hallock
CANNES, France — Shouldn’t the ideal shopping experience should feel effortless? That’s the vision driving the next phase of retail media, according to one industry executive who argues the channel’s true measure of success isn’t impressions or clicks but whether it actually drives purchases.
Commerce media has expanded far beyond a single touchpoint, now reaching shoppers across social platforms, in physical stores, and online. The challenge for retailers, though, is covering all those surface areas while understanding data across the entire value chain.
“The insight with retail media is that we are driving shoppers to prefer products and to convert, which means purchase,” said Anne Hallock, VP, Americas, Mirakl, in this video interview with Beet.TV at Cannes Lions 2026. “Really the goal here and the way that we measure success is, is it actually driving purchase.”
Closing the gap between wanting and buying
The retail media sector keeps on growing. U.S. retail media ad spending is projected to reach $61.15 billion by the end of 2026, accounting for 20.5% of total digital ad spending, according to eMarketer. That’s up from $41.37 billion just two years earlier.
Specializing in the space, Mirakl is an enterprise software company that provides SaaS technology enabling retailers and B2B businesses to build, operate, and scale their own online marketplaces.
For Hallock, the opportunity lies in surfacing relevant products to shoppers based on behavioral signals. When a retailer knows someone has visited a site multiple times, holds loyalty membership status, and is clearly browsing a particular category, they can present offers that accelerate the path to checkout, she said.
“When you’re reducing friction for the shopper, of course, you’re benefiting the retailer because they’re enjoying a sale, but the idea is that you have met an unmet need,” she said.
Breaking down organizational silos
Retailers like Lowe’s and Best Buy have accelerated their speed to market by dismantling internal barriers between departments. But, for many, the structural challenge, Hallock noted, stems from the sheer age of many retail organizations, some of which are 80 to 100 years old.
The emergence of the chief digital officer role has helped consolidate functions that previously operated in isolation. This leadership shift enables faster deployment of marketplace and advertising capabilities.
“When they’re on their public earnings announcements talking about how ads and marketplace are the flywheel that are really going to drive their business forward for the next five to 10 years, we’re incredibly proud to be a component part of that,” Hallock said.
Every website needs a media strategy
Not every retailer has launched a media network yet, but Hallock argued the economics make it inevitable. Any retailer operating a website has already paid to acquire that shopper traffic, she said, and retail media represents a way to recoup that investment.
Mirakl’s own retail media platform, Mirakl Ads, saw 258% year-over-year growth in ad spend during 2025, reaching $12.7 million. The company recently introduced AI-powered tools designed to help advertisers optimize campaigns through guided conversations.
“If you own a website now and in the future, it is incumbent upon you to pay yourself back for achieving those visits, but you do that by actually benefiting the shopper and letting them find what they were looking for to begin with,” Hallock said.
CANNES, France — Shouldn’t the ideal shopping experience should feel effortless? That’s the vision driving the next phase of retail media, according to one industry executive who argues the channel’s true measure of success isn’t impressions or clicks but whether it actually drives purchases.
Commerce media has expanded far beyond a single touchpoint, now reaching shoppers across social platforms, in physical stores, and online. The challenge for retailers, though, is covering all those surface areas while understanding data across the entire value chain.
“The insight with retail media is that we are driving shoppers to prefer products and to convert, which means purchase,” said Anne Hallock, VP, Americas, Mirakl, in this video interview with Beet.TV at Cannes Lions 2026. “Really the goal here and the way that we measure success is, is it actually driving purchase.”
Closing the gap between wanting and buying
The retail media sector keeps on growing. U.S. retail media ad spending is projected to reach $61.15 billion by the end of 2026, accounting for 20.5% of total digital ad spending, according to eMarketer. That’s up from $41.37 billion just two years earlier.
Specializing in the space, Mirakl is an enterprise software company that provides SaaS technology enabling retailers and B2B businesses to build, operate, and scale their own online marketplaces.
For Hallock, the opportunity lies in surfacing relevant products to shoppers based on behavioral signals. When a retailer knows someone has visited a site multiple times, holds loyalty membership status, and is clearly browsing a particular category, they can present offers that accelerate the path to checkout, she said.
“When you’re reducing friction for the shopper, of course, you’re benefiting the retailer because they’re enjoying a sale, but the idea is that you have met an unmet need,” she said.
Breaking down organizational silos
Retailers like Lowe’s and Best Buy have accelerated their speed to market by dismantling internal barriers between departments. But, for many, the structural challenge, Hallock noted, stems from the sheer age of many retail organizations, some of which are 80 to 100 years old.
The emergence of the chief digital officer role has helped consolidate functions that previously operated in isolation. This leadership shift enables faster deployment of marketplace and advertising capabilities.
“When they’re on their public earnings announcements talking about how ads and marketplace are the flywheel that are really going to drive their business forward for the next five to 10 years, we’re incredibly proud to be a component part of that,” Hallock said.
Every website needs a media strategy
Not every retailer has launched a media network yet, but Hallock argued the economics make it inevitable. Any retailer operating a website has already paid to acquire that shopper traffic, she said, and retail media represents a way to recoup that investment.
Mirakl’s own retail media platform, Mirakl Ads, saw 258% year-over-year growth in ad spend during 2025, reaching $12.7 million. The company recently introduced AI-powered tools designed to help advertisers optimize campaigns through guided conversations.
“If you own a website now and in the future, it is incumbent upon you to pay yourself back for achieving those visits, but you do that by actually benefiting the shopper and letting them find what they were looking for to begin with,” Hallock said.
