The news: Macy’s Media Network, the department store’s retail media arm, will test a partnership with Amazon Retail Ad Service—the ecommerce giant’s ad tech product for other retailers. The pilot will launch in early Q4, just ahead of the holiday season.

The details: The partnership streamlines ad buying by letting advertisers use Amazon Ads’ console or ad-buying firms like Pacvue to purchase Macy’s sponsored product ads.

• The bet is that the easier it is for brands to manage Macy’s campaigns alongside their other retail media buys, the more likely they are to spend.
• The deal is “complementary” to Macy’s current ad tech stack, Macy’s vice president of retail media Michael Krans told AdWeek. He noted that it expands access to Macy’s ad inventory without requiring brands to go through the retailer’s own sales reps or platforms.

Our take: Macy’s is the first major retailer to test Amazon’s ad product since its January debut, making this a high-profile proving ground. The pilot will show whether Amazon can drive incremental ad spend for retailers, and crucially, whether other chains are comfortable sharing data with a direct competitor.

The results will have ripple effects across the ad tech ecosystem. If the partnership proves effective, Amazon Retail Ad Service could emerge as a meaningful threat to intermediaries like Criteo and Publicis, which have built strong businesses helping brands navigate retail media. It would also open another lucrative revenue stream for Amazon’s already fast-growing ad arm, strengthening its position at the center of digital commerce.

Go further: Read our Retail Media Search Ad Spending Forecast and Trends 2025 report.