Criteo is rewriting the playbook for retail media advertising.
The commerce media giant today unveiled Auction-Based Display, a new technology that introduces programmatic-style bidding into retail media environments. The move brings flexibility and scalability to a sector historically locked into static, reservation-based ad formats—potentially transforming how retailers monetize digital shelves and how advertisers run campaigns across commerce platforms.
Announced globally, and already adopted by retail heavyweights like Costco and Shipt, the tool is expected to roll out to more partners, including Albertsons Media Collective, in the coming months.
Why It Matters
Retail media is booming, but legacy systems are often inflexible and hard to scale—especially for national advertisers accustomed to biddable environments. Criteo’s Auction-Based Display gives advertisers real-time bidding control, enabling them to align spend with seasonal trends, inventory levels, and category dynamics, just like they would in open programmatic ecosystems.
This hybrid model—adding biddable display alongside fixed-price placements—helps retailers increase yield on premium inventory without compromising relevance or user experience. Meanwhile, advertisers gain new ways to drive product discovery and performance at scale.
“Display advertising is a proven retail media format, but the needs of advertisers and retailers are evolving,” said Melanie Zimmermann, GM of Global Retail Media at Criteo. “Our auction-based offering is modernizing display—creating a flexible, automated solution tailored to the retail environment.”
Built for the Retail Reality
Traditional display ads on publisher sites can afford broad targeting, but retail media demands contextual precision. Criteo’s system integrates advanced relevancy controls, ensuring shoppers see timely, product-aligned messaging that matches their purchase intent.
The platform also simplifies campaign management across Sponsored Products, Display, and Video, giving marketers standardized execution and unified reporting across multiple retailers. This consolidation is especially valuable as brands seek to harmonize their performance metrics across walled gardens.
Retailers Get More than Ad Dollars
For retailers, the benefits go beyond new monetization channels. Auction-Based Display opens up access to larger brand budgets, including national and omnichannel campaign investments that previously bypassed closed-loop retail networks due to limited flexibility.
Combined with Criteo’s AI-driven platform—which already has visibility into over $1 trillion in annual commerce sales—the new format positions Criteo to compete more aggressively with Amazon and Walmart Connect, especially among mid-market retailers looking to elevate their media capabilities.
What’s Next?
Criteo says its Auction-Based Display is now available globally to retailers, with more integrations on the way. As retail media evolves into a core part of the marketing mix, especially in a cookie-less world, this offering could be a game-changer for performance marketers and retail publishers alike.
