Marketplace
The Best Retail Media Agencies
Updated October 17, 2026 · 6 agencies · How we build these lists
The short answer
Retail media agencies differ by where they actually operate. Tinuiti runs retail media at enterprise scale alongside search, social, and CTV. Canopy Management handles Amazon and Walmart operations end to end, including the unglamorous listing and inventory work. Mars United Commerce works the retailer side, including joint business planning. Darkroom attributes retail media against DTC. MuteSix spans Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Pilothouse runs it through a dedicated in-house team.
Retail media is where the purchase happens inside somebody else's platform, using their data, attributed by their rules. That makes the honest question less about bid management and more about who can tell you what the spend actually caused. Several agencies here also work the retailer relationship itself, which is a different and often more valuable lever than the ad account.
At a glance
| Agency | Best for |
|---|---|
| Tinuiti | Enterprise brands buying retail media alongside search, social, and CTV |
| Canopy Management | Brands whose Amazon problems are operational, not just media |
| Mars United Commerce | CPG brands whose growth depends on what the retailer agrees to do |
| Darkroom | Brands attributing retail media against DTC and marketplace at once |
| MuteSix | Brands wanting holding-company reach across retail networks |
| Pilothouse | Brands wanting retail media run by the same shop as their paid social |
Agency profiles
Tinuiti
Best for enterprise brands buying retail media alongside search, social, and CTV
New York, NY
Tinuiti runs Amazon and commerce media as a core practice inside a much wider media business, with named work including Carter's, DSW, and Blue Apron. Its Bliss Point platform targets the point of diminishing returns per channel, which is the question that matters once retail media is one line among several.
Worth knowing: Built for scale. Smaller brands may not be the account team's focus.
Canopy Management
Best for brands whose Amazon problems are operational, not just media
Austin, TX
- Amazon Ads Preferred Partner
Canopy covers listing content, inventory, reimbursement claims, and customer service alongside PPC and DSP, reporting $3.2B+ in managed marketplace revenue across 1,000+ brands. It states Amazon Ads Preferred Partner status and runs a Chewy practice that is unusual and directly relevant to pet brands.
Mars United Commerce
Best for CPG brands whose growth depends on what the retailer agrees to do
Global, with Americas, Europe, and APAC operations
Mars United works the retailer side as well as the media: shopper strategy, digital shelf, retailer intelligence, and joint business planning, with named work for Walmart, Campbell's, and Conagra. Very few agencies offer that retailer consultancy, and for a brand negotiating shelf and promotional support it can matter more than the ad buy.
Darkroom
Best for brands attributing retail media against DTC and marketplace at once
New York, NY
Darkroom runs an in-house modeling platform aimed specifically at how much growth in one channel was caused by spend in another, and states it manages to contribution profit. Named work includes Olipop, Everlane, and Cravings by Chrissy Teigen.
MuteSix
Best for brands wanting holding-company reach across retail networks
Los Angeles, CA
MuteSix names Amazon, Walmart, and Target as its retail media coverage and operates inside Dentsu's iProspect, which gives it a resource base beyond its original DTC footprint.
Worth knowing: Ask about team continuity given post-acquisition restructuring.
Pilothouse
Best for brands wanting retail media run by the same shop as their paid social
Victoria, BC
- Meta Business Partner
- Amazon Ads partner
- Rebuy Partner (Silver)
Pilothouse runs Amazon advertising through a dedicated in-house team sitting alongside the Meta, Google, TikTok, and retention teams for the same client, which makes the trade-off between retail media and paid social an internal conversation rather than a negotiation between two agencies. It states Meta Business Partner and Amazon Ads partner status.
What we compared
- Which retail media networks the agency actually buys, beyond Amazon
- Whether operations (listings, inventory, reimbursements) are in scope or advertising only
- How retail media performance is attributed against DTC and other channels
- Whether the agency works the retailer relationship and joint business planning
- Published retailer or platform partner status
- Named client work at comparable scale and category
Frequently asked questions
- What is retail media, and how is it different from Amazon ads?
- Retail media is advertising bought inside a retailer's own ecosystem using its first-party purchase data, of which Amazon Ads is simply the largest example. Walmart Connect, Target's Roundel, Kroger Precision Marketing and others work the same way. The practical difference is that each network has its own inventory, targeting, reporting and attribution rules, so competence on Amazon does not automatically transfer.
- How much does a retail media agency cost?
- Pricing is commonly a percentage of managed ad spend, often in the 8 to 15 percent range, a percentage of marketplace revenue, or a flat retainer typically starting around $3,000 to $6,000 per month. Revenue-share models get expensive fast for brands with large existing marketplace sales, so clarify whether the percentage applies to total or incremental revenue.
- Does retail media advertising cannibalize DTC sales?
- Frequently, yes, and most reporting hides it because each channel credits itself. A customer who would have bought from your site may buy on Amazon after seeing a sponsored placement, which shows as marketplace ROAS while your DTC revenue quietly falls. Agencies that model across channels rather than reporting each one separately are the ones positioned to answer this.
- Should retail media sit with the same agency as paid social?
- If the channels compete for the same customer, one team is usually better, because the allocation question cannot be answered by two agencies each reporting their own channel favorably. If your marketplace business has a separate catalog, margin structure and P&L owner, a specialist is defensible.