Kiri Masters is an independent commentator, speaker, advisor, and podcast host covering the retail media industry.
Blog
Retailers and brands that win won't be those clinging to purposefully opaque points-and-discounts models hoping to outlast AI disruption. They'll be the ones rebuilding their programs as preference engines that agents can actually read and act on.
Blog
Today's AI models treat sponsored products like a credibility tax. But viewing this as permanent misunderstands both how AI evolves and how markets adapt.
Here's a question that might sting a little: When your brand launches a new product, are you finding out about it at the same time as everyone else? Or worse—are you getting a heads-up just days before launch with a cheerful 'Hey, build a forecast!'
![What Is Your AI Agent Buying? [New Research]](/content/images/size/w600/2025/08/agentic-shopping.png)
AI
A new research study from Columbia and Yale researchers gives us the first real look at how AI agents actually shop when left to their own devices. The findings should make every brand and retailer rethink their assumptions about the AI-driven commerce future that's coming faster than most realize.
AI
Retailers who continue playing hide-and-seek with their tech stacks risk losing advertiser interest, as advertisers take their budgets to partners willing to have honest conversations about how their platforms actually work.
AI
Rufus is building persistent memories of who I am as a shopper, transforming from a search tool into something closer to a relationship. A relationship more like the ones we're starting to build with AI tools in our personal lives.
Career
The key isn't being reckless—it's being willing to challenge conventional wisdom when the opportunity presents itself.
Blog
Just as ad networks and exchanges brought order to the fragmented display advertising market, retail media federations are emerging as the logical next step in an industry that's grappling with signficant complexity.
Blog
Ads have been quietly running inside AI assistants since February 2023, generating real revenue and delivering performance metrics that often beat traditional search advertising.
Blog
70% of shoppers have experimented with AI tools to help them shop, yet less than 15% use retailer AI shopping assistants.
Blog
The Amazon FBA goldrush of the 2010s minted millionnaires, before becoming unsustainable. Now we could see the same pattern emerge with AI-enabled checkouts.
AI
Everyone seems to want to dunk on Criteo lately, even their tech partners. What does this tell us about the state of retail media?