Today I’m digging into the latest insights from Pentaleap’s biannual Sponsored Products Benchmark Report—and it’s challenging some long-held assumptions about online advertising. Shoppers say they don’t love ads, but the data tells a different story. I’m sharing what Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot are doing right when it comes to high-volume sponsored product listings—and what mid-tier retailers can learn as they scale their retail media networks.

We explore the delicate balance between ad inventory expansion and shopper satisfaction, and I highlight how smart retailers are mastering ad relevance to avoid click fatigue. I also break down why increasing sponsored product coverage doesn’t have to mean compromising user experience—and how it can actually unlock significant revenue potential if done right. Whether you’re building your retail media strategy or refining an existing one, this episode is packed with practical takeaways.

🕒 Episode Timeline

[0:36] - The surprising truth: heavy ad coverage doesn’t always hurt engagement

[1:22] - Market leaders vs. mid-tier retailers: who’s winning at retail media

[2:26] - Kroger’s leap in ad coverage and why it matters

[3:18] - Why under-monetized search inventory is still a missed opportunity

[4:24] - How Amazon keeps CTR high even with more ads

[5:25] - Grid strategies: how Walmart, Staples, and CVS handle ad placement

[6:39] - The risk of irrelevant ads—and how they can hurt both sales and trust

[7:35] - A simple framework to decide how many ads are too many

[8:00] - Key takeaways for maximizing retail media without annoying your shoppers

🔗 Links
Pentaleap's 1H25 Sponsored Product Benchmark report
Read the original post for this episode in my Forbes column
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